Dallen ignored her comments and kept moving forward, following parallel with what he figured had to be the main street pipeline.  His thoughts were still of Ava.  Could he have saved her?  Was her death his fault?  He punched a brick and kept moving.  He hesitated, then saved himself.  But if he had stayed back for her, there was absolutely no way he would have made it out.  He paused halfway down the line to catch his breath and think.

[color=steelblue] "This way," [/color] he said.  They continued on for about an hour, stopping only when Dallen noted 'RMS' etched into one of the underground pipes.  It was the school's initials, so he found the nearest man hole ladder and headed to it.  [color=steelblue] "Maybe you two should stay here this time..."[/color] He started to say it, but he didn't want to be in control of their choices and their lives.  So, rather, he let them do whatever they wanted.  Everyone has their own choices to make.

Dallen climbed up the ladder and opened the man hole, and after taking a quick look above ground, he exited.  He came out with the baseball fields to his back, a few dumpsters and a back alley leading to the school in the front.  He was near a gated over side entrance, and the undead were sparse but around in random places.  Dallen led the way over to some steel pipes that ran along the side of the building, then started climbing them up toward the roof.

[color=steelblue] "Stay there!" [/color] was all he said.  After he scaled the top, it was only moments later that he re-appeared and opened one of the doors from the other side.  They all locked one way.  

They would enter a hallway, the doors all around them were locked as well.  Dallen started walking toward the end, where he thought he saw people.  The hallway was long, but by the end of it they peered out the windows of the double doors.  The school's courtyard was there, in the middle of it was a small group of survivors.  They were all students, just kids.  

Dallen opened the door and began to approach, but as soon as he was spotted they became defensive.  One student aimed a .357 at them, he looked old enough to be a senior or higher.  

[color=steelblue] "We're not infected," [/color] Dallen said.  [color=steelblue] "I'm just looking for my daughter." [/color]

"How did you get in?  Is there more help coming??"

"Who are you?"

"Can you help us?"

They asked a million questions, all of them completely ignoring what he was saying.  They must have been in shock, all of them having to stay here for the past three days.  It was clear that they had been stuck here, but were there more of them?

[color=steelblue] "Kelsey Larson, she's my daughter," [/color] he started.  [color=steelblue] "Have you seen her?  Are there more of you here?" [/color]  

He started his own questions, and quickly everyone was getting nowhere fast.  Until, Ethan Hall came from a different hallway and out into the courtyard.  He heard Kelsey's name, and then stepped up.

"Yeah, Kelsey's alive," Ethan said.  He was also one of the older ones, and he dressed like a street thug with baggie clothing and pants, a beanie on his head.  "You her father?"

[color=steelblue] "Yes, yes.  Thank you, please.  Where is she?" [/color]

They walked down another hallway.  Ethan held a pair of the school's master keys with him as they went, going in different door after different door, locking everything up behind them.  

"The Principle locked the school down," Ethan told them.  "By the end of the first day, it was impossible to get out.  A lot tried..."  Dallen lit up a smoke.  "...can I get one of those?"

[color=steelblue] "Kelsey..." [/color]

"Anyway, we stayed," he continued.  "We have every room with the infected locked down, that's including the cafeteria.  There's too many of 'em in there.  No cafeteria means no food, it's been three days.  We're getting weak already.  The plan was to try to make it out there, but none of us have it in us to leave yet."

He opened the last locked door, it led to the school library.  It was a three story room, with large spaces and high shelves filled with books.  A few adults were in the room, teachers that had given up hope.  Other students were huddled around the large center of the room, most of them covered in blankets and towels.

[color=steelblue] "Kelsey?" [/color]  Dallen said loudly, disrupting the silence.  His daughter turned to him, her face pale and weak.  "Daddy?"  she spoke, her voice horse and dry.  Dallen ran to her and hugged her, tears forming in his eyes.  [color=steelblue] "Are you hurt?" [/color]

"You found me Daddy, I knew you would," she said softly.  "Not hurt, just hungry.  We all are."

Dallen stood.  There was a large open window at the front of the library, it overlooked the courtyard and the entrance to the cafeteria.  The entire place was already boarded up, curtesy of the woodshop students that still lived.  

"Do you have a camp?" one of the teacher's butted in. 

[color=steelblue] "How many are in the cafeteria?" [/color] he asked, pulling out his brown bag from his coat and giving it to his daughter.  Inside she would find candy bars and some fruit.

"It was packed, the first place to go," Ethan answered.  "Everyone stuck inside the school, we all got trapped.  But...I know the place.  I'm the one that locked the dead rooms, made the safe rooms.  I can tell you from personal experience, you won't survive the cafeteria.  From the food alone, oh!"  No one laughed.

[color=steelblue] "Elizabeth, I need your help," [/color] he said.  [color=steelblue] "We need to clear the cafeteria." [/color]

"Whoa, whoa bro, I said you WON'T survive the cafeteria, did you not hear me man?"  Ethan said.  "I'm pretty sneaky, but that place is full of them."

[color=steelblue] "We came from the court house," [/color] Dallen said, shifting his words to everyone.  [color=steelblue] "There are survivors there.  We have enough food to last us at least six months.  I only have until 10 am tomorrow to get back there, then they close their doors for good.  I came for my daughter, but if you all help me get the food from the cafeteria and we bring it back to the court house, they will let you all in as well.  It's safer there, here you won't last a month."[/color]

"How do we clear the room?" Ethan asked.

[color=steelblue] "I saw a few vans outside," [/color] he replied.  [color=steelblue] "We get one working and move it to the back doors leading to the cafeteria.  We then use noise to lure the infected out into the courtyard, while we sneak in and take the supplies to the vans.  They're school vans, they should have the keys here somewhere..." [/color]

"I'll do you one better, I got a schoolbus," Ethan stated.  "Still, there will be lurkers that don't get lured out..."

[color=steelblue] "We take them out ourselves, hand to hand to avoid any more noise.  Get them in the brain, it's how we kill them." [/color]

There was still confusion and nervousness with the group, but most of them didn't have a choice.  They all had the hour to get ready, to be by the doors inside the hallway.  Ethan volunteered to bring up the vans, while Dallen and Elizabeth would fight off any dead so the others could load up and go as fast as possible.