Chapter One-Hell Frozen Rain

"There is a moment in time

When all the cards that you've played divide"

"That's your daughter!" Carol screamed at her husband as Shane, Glenn and Daryl ran into the woods behind Rick. "Why don't you do something!?" Lori's arms were locked tightly around her waist but she fought against her friend anyway.

Ed glared at her. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye on her, this is your fault. You fix it," he spat. He took a menacing step toward her causing Andrea to step in.

"Alright, Ed, back off," she snapped, pushing him back. After their encounter at the quarry she'd had about all she could take of him. He'd been in his tent when the walkers came upon them. Amy's screams had alerted them and Ed managed to squirm away from the walker trying to get into his tent.

Now when Andrea looked at him she felt a surge of hate and disgust. Why did this wife-beating moron get to keep his miserable life and her sister had to lose hers?

The man slapped Andrea's hand away from him. "Don't you touch me, you fucking cunt. Too bad it was Amy and not you. She was the sweet one."

Fury surged within her again, just as she leaped toward him with an angry growl two arms locked around her waist. T-Dog was pulling her back while Dale suggested Ed take a walk.

"Yeah I think I'll do that." He turned to walk the highway between the cars. "Rather be around walkers than these weeping cunts."

Andrea lunged again but T-Dog was ready for her.

"Just calm down now, Andrea," he said evenly. Rubbing her arms so she'd calm down.

"I hate that man," she said under her breath. He nodded in agreement, though she didn't see. Her eyes boring holes into Ed's back. The sound of Carol's sobbing snapped her back to reality. She rushed to her friend's side. "Carol, honey. It's gonna be okay."

Carol shook her head, her eyes never leaving the tree line. "You don't know that, you can't possibly know that." She wiped her eyes and snuck a glance at Ed. Her next words were whispered "He's right. It was my fault. I should have kept her closer, I should have-"

"Stop it," Lori cut her off. "If anything it's my fault, you tried to get to her but I held you back."

"Then Carol would have been walker bait," Andrea interjected. "Lori, you did the right thing keeping her back. Things would be way worse for us all." She imagined that Carol out in the open when the herd approached would have cost them many lives.

Carol sniffed again. Her blue eyes wet with tears. "If only I'd have-"

Andrea cut her off this time. "Stop this. Thinking of all the things you could have done won't change anything."

"If anything happens to her, it'll be my fault," Carol said, continuing as if she hadn't heard.

Now, Andrea stepped in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Hey," she said, giving Carol a shake. "Listen to me, they're gonna find her." Carol opened her mouth and Andrea went on. "Don't forget, that's Daryl out there, trust me. They'll find her."

Carol smiled a little then. "Yeah, I guess." Daryl being out there helped ease her worry just a little. He knew the woods better than anyone.

Andrea rubbed her shoulders and sat back on the guardrail. Lori gave her a smile, a silent thank you. Andrea nodded in response with a small smile of her own. With a sigh, she looked over the group. Dale, tinkering around in front of the RV pretending he wasn't listening to the women's conversation. T-Dog hovering protectively behind Carol in case Ed should start something else. Though Ed was several yards away from them, Andrea was keeping tabs on where he was. Carl was between two cars, playing with something he'd found.

Branches snapped and leaves rustled in the woods, everyone spun around, instantly on alert. Shane and Glenn emerged with no sign of the two other men.

"Where's Rick?" Lori called.

Shane waited until he reached the highway to answer. "He and Daryl are on her trail, they're gonna keep looking. Sent us back so Daryl could work easier." He started handing out various orders to keep everyone busy. He asked Carol to keep scavenging cars.

"Shane," Lori whispered, with a shake of her head. He looked from her to Carol, his tongue peeking out as he licked his lips. With a shrug, he gave out a few more orders and everyone set to work. Carol stayed near the guard rail staring out into the woods, waiting for the tiniest indication that Rick or Daryl were coming back.

The sun had begun to fall behind the trees when they finally came out, empty handed. Carol started to cry at the sight of them. Lori put her arms around her to comfort her. Behind them, Ed rolled his eyes.

"Where is she?" Carol asked.

"She's fucking gone," Ed said. Shane shot him a look and he backed off. Rick and Daryl began their explanation about finding the walker they had cut open, just to be sure it hadn't bitten a human recently. This comforted Carol a little but not much.

"So what, you're just gonna leave her out there?" Ed snapped. "It's almost night and you're gonna leave my fucking daughter out there for those things to get her?"

"We can't go back out there tonight," Rick said patiently. "It's like Daryl said, we'd be falling over ourselves we wouldn't be any good to anybody. We'll pick up the search at first light."

"By then she'll be walker bait." Ed continued. "Those things'll have her torn apart, all you're gonna find in the morning is pieces of her scattered across the woods."

Andrea drew back and punched him full on in the face. Shane and T-Dog grabbed her before she could land a second hit. A string of curse words flew from her lips as they pulled her away. While that was going on, Carol had dropped to her knees next to the guard rail, Lori's arms enveloping her.

Rick hopped the rail a second after Ed's words left his lips, his hands itching to do the same thing Andrea had. Instead, he tried diffusing the situation. "Andrea, calm down," he commanded. She stopped fighting against Shane and T-Dog but the fury was clear on her face. Carol's sobs were soft in the background. "I think what we all need is some food and some rest. We'll head out in the morning to keep looking for her." He looked directly at Carol. "We will find her and she'll be just fine."

Slowly, everyone started to break away. Lori led Carol to the RV. Ed started to follow, but Rick's hand shot out and gripped his arm, nodding toward his car. "You sleep in your car tonight. Carol will be fine with Andrea tonight."

"That's my wife-" he started to protest.

Shane gave him a shove and he stumbled against a car. Rick slammed his hand against Shane's chest telling him to back off as Ed scrambled away. Again, the group spread out. Rick went off in search of Carl.

Looking behind him, Shane caught Daryl's eye and nodded toward Ed. The man, if he could be called that, was lingering behind the RV trying to eavesdrop on Carol and Lori's conversation. Shane slammed him face first into the RV, Ed spun around cursing but stopped short when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"You think you're a big man, don'tcha?" Shane asked. "Spouting off about your daughter like that. Makes me think you don't care about her."

"She's my daughter."

Shane laughed without humor. "That's just stating a fact. Lori is Rick's wife. Amy was Andrea's sister. Those are all facts. Just because you're family doesn't mean there's love there." Ed opened his mouth but Shane slapped his hand there before he could speak. "You got Carol upset, Lori's all riled up, Andrea's more pissed off than a chained up dog. If I hear you say anything like you said earlier I'll make you regret it," he promised.

He removed his hand, wiping Ed's saliva on his pants.

"You won't do anything," Ed said quietly.

Shane looked to Daryl. "Say, you've been hunting before?" A nod in confirmation. "You probably know how to field dress a deer then?" Another nod. Now Shane nodded with him, looking back to Ed. He sniffed once. "This is your last warning. You cross me again. Say one word to Carol, put one foot out of line, I dare you. Me and Daryl will take you out in the woods. Hang you from a tree limb. Maybe give you a few cuts so the walkers smell the blood quicker." He didn't need to finish the description, the message was loud and clear.

Ed's eyes were wide with fear. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead because he was actually scared. The menacing glint in Shane's eyes told him this was no threat, but a solemn promise. He nodded a quick nod. Shane smirked and stalked off, feeling a little easier about the situation.

Still, Ed didn't move because Daryl was still standing there. The words were on the tip of his tongue, to last out and ask the redneck what his dumbass was staring at. Truth was, Daryl scared him more than Shane did.

"Shane's bark may be worse than his bite," Daryl said quietly. "I ain't gonna give a big speech, just gonna say I'll be watching you." He slipped away then, his practiced footsteps inaudible as he retreated. Ed cleared his throat and took a minute to compose himself before going to his car. When Lori brought him a plate of food a little while later, he didn't even give a snide comment about knowing her place.

The night grew darker as the hour grew later. One by one each member of the group nodded off to sleep. When Lori went to join her husband Andrea took her spot in the RV with Carol, wrapping her arms around her and letting the worried mother sob on her shoulder until she fell asleep.

Daryl shook his head in disgust, leading the group into the woods. Dale stayed behind to watch over their things and "fix the RV" though Daryl didn't think there was anything wrong with it. T-Dog was injured and wouldn't be much use in a fight against a walker.

But there was nothing wrong with Ed. He wasn't sick or injured, didn't have a special project tying him to the site. He was just a lazy bastard who complained all morning about having to go into the woods. Hearing enough of his shit, Daryl snapped and told Rick to let the fucker stay behind. The temptation to put an arrow in his brain and leave him under a bush might be too much to resist out there. Thankfully, Rick had agreed so now Dale and T-Dog were stuck with him.

Still, Daryl couldn't believe he cared so little about his daughter. Even Carl was coming along to help look for her and yet her own father was staying behind. He was glad that if- no, when- they found the little girl that he wouldn't have to be the one to explain where her father was and why he wasn't looking for her too.

No one in the group complained throughout their trek through the woods. When they reached a tent, Rick instructed Carol to call for Sophia. Receiving no answer, Daryl went inside. Thankfully, the grisly scene he found didn't include the little girl. He exited the tent and informed the group.

That's when the church bells rang. Everyone glanced at each other before taking off, with Rick in the lead, toward the sound.

"That can't be it," Shane said when they emerged from the trees. "It's got no steeple, no bells." The group paid no attention to him, everyone sprinting full force across the graveyard.

Rick paused on the steps outside the red doors, holding up one hand to signal silence. At the same moment, he and Daryl pushed the doors open. The sound alerted the two men inside and they spun around, their guns raised. One of them was at the huge crucifix at the front of the church, the taller one was in the corner, some feet away.

Rick, Daryl and Shane froze at the doorway with their own guns raised.

A/N: So obviously a few things have been changed, and don't expect it to end there. I have a few more surprises up my sleeve for you. Hope you enjoyed it.

~JLL