 In the opening segment , sisters Andrea ( Laurie Holden ) and Amy ( Emma Bell ) are fishing in a boat . They discuss their childhoods — the two are twelve years apart — and express hope that maybe Florida , where their parents live , was not hit as hard by the zombie epidemic . After getting into a heated argument with Daryl ( Norman Reedus ) , sheriff 's deputy Rick Grimes ( Andrew Lincoln ) returns to Downtown Atlanta with Daryl , Glenn ( Steven Yeun ) and T @-@ Dog ( IronE Singleton ) . They are searching both for the bag of guns Rick dropped , and for Merle Dixon ( Michael Rooker ) , Daryl 's brother , who was left handcuffed to a pipe on the roof of the department store ; T @-@ Dog and Rick feel guilty for leaving him there . The group ultimately fails to locate Merle , having only found his severed hand , a hacksaw and a blood trail . An enraged Daryl retrieves Merle 's hand and turns his crossbow on T @-@ Dog , but Rick puts his revolver to Daryl 's head and bloodshed is averted . Continuing the search , they follow Merle 's trail of blood through the building ; the group encounter two walkers that Merle had previously dispatched single @-@ handedly and a gas stove where he had cauterized the stump of his hand . 
