A few minutes later…

"What they're going to BLOW the hallways?" Randy exasperated.

"No… they are going to blow one room at a time… each time killing five girls." The doctor explained. "Are you happy? You got your answers. Now lower your weapon." Trevor lowered the weapon he had been holding steadily the entire time. The doctor was unsure how he felt about a boy handling a gun that well,.

"Where did you get that gun anyway?" Mr. Wilkes asked.

"Off of one of the escorts." Trevor answered darkly, "I don't like being pushed… and it just kinda happened."

"I though you said something about 'not trying anything." Noah said.

"I wasn't… it was a precaution." Trevor said, tucking the gun away. He turned to the doctor, "So you don't know what they're after, but it's got something to do with this particular school, and they are going to blow a room every five hours if they don't get what they want, to show the outside world they are serious." The doctor nodded, "SO where the other agent?" The doctor blinked.

"How do you know there's another agent?"

"Working with terrorists… a man with your kinda wits… and a school… they aren't going to send one man in… there's more. How many?"

"One… she's over in the girl's hallway." The doctor said, "we were close to finding what they wanted when they barged in."

"Close?" Randy asked.

"Yes. I found something that might help us out… but it's in their code and I can't read it."

"But your partner can." Noah said. The doctor nodded.

"Trevor…" the doctor said, now using his name instead of 'boy', "Why suddenly so hostile? Why pull a gun?"

"I have family in that hall." Trevor said.

"I thought they died in the outbreak." The Doctor said. Trevor turned his back.

"They did." He said, "She's my new family."

"I'm… I'm sorry." Wilkes said, "Trevor really. I know it must be hard to loose family… but to loose them twice…" Randy and Noah exchanged looks and looked at Trevor. His back was turned his face hidden. This kid had gone through a lot in the outbreak. Noah didn't see how Trevor made it this far… and only to find his only family was going to be killed? He didn't understand how Trevor was STANDING. He would have been crying and on his knees. The human body can only take so much tragedy.

"I'm sorry as well." The doctor said, "We did try to stop them… through paper work." Trevor said nothing. He was trying hard to keep his mind blank… to not think about it, "but certain obstacles and certain people had different priorities, and new elements were added… I really am sorry for you loss." Trevor lifted his head… and turned around. His eyes were dark.

"She's not dead yet you know." His snapped.

"What I don't understand is why you didn't stop them if you knew their plan." Randy spoke up, "What kinda people are you? You know how many people are going to die because of you?"

"we needed to know what it is they want. I was ordered to find out before they moved if I could… but I couldn't."

"So if you find out what they want… can you end this? Before anyone gets hurt?" Noah asked.

"I was trying to do just that. See here?" the doctor pulled out a piece of paper from his shoe, and unfolded it, "It's their code. Abby… my partner knows how to decipher it. But I was caught… along with her before I could get to her. Until we could find what they wanted… we were ordered to let things proceed."

"Ordered to allow murder." Noah said, "It's sick." The doctor sighed.

"It's inhuman." Randy said darkly.

"You do not understand. Which is understandable." The doctor said.

"Doctor… if I may." Spoke the third teacher, finally joining the conversation, "These boys DO understand. They understand how precious a single life is. Randy came from a rough patch near Texas… and Noah is part of a small group who volunteered to help purify some of the states. Trevor I'm sure has his own story… but all of them put their lives on the line to save a life… even if it was just ONE life, to them even one life meant survival, it meant there was still hope. And guarding hope is human instinct… it's natural. One life… one person was the most presious thing out there for them. And you are simply ripping it from their hands and burning it, treating it like trash. You are burning the only hope these kids survived on. To me… that's inhuman… to them it's murder. Whether your identical to the infected or a murderer is up to you. But there is no third choice." The doctor was silent, pondering on the teachers words. It made sense. It did. The doctor himself had been one of the many adults throughout the U.S who started the New Haven. He had forgotten what it was like back then in the outbreak.

"Why do you think… that the adults move on so much more easily then the minors?" The doctor posed. The teacher who had spoken, answered this question as well.

"…because the children here were still developing in the outbreak. They were still growing and learning. They grew up in a different environment… and that is what they live with. Adults had a taste of normal living, had a taste of what it was like to not worry about life. We have the outbreak in our lives as a difficult obstacle, but not impossible to get over. These kids… wether they like it or not it's all they had to build off of. Everything they learned out there, are their building blocks… their base of life."

"Is that why most adults seem so …. NOT paranoid?" Noah asked. The teacher nodded.

"So are you a psychology teacher or something?"

"No… I'm the school's counselor." He said.

"…counselor? For the kids? Good. I'm sure some of them need it after the outbreak."

"No… I'm here to counsel the adults… how to deal with the kids. Your not the first to have a gun pulled on him." The teacher said.

"And who are you?"

"My name is Ethan." The man said, "Just Ethan."

"Now… just to get this straight… Randy. You came from a rough patch?" the doctor asked. Randy nodded, "And your… loss?"

"My best friend and my dad." Randy said slowly, pulling a desk around and taking a seat.

"Where in Texas did you say?"

"The north boarder."

"Ah… and Noah… after finding safe haven, you VOLENTEERED to go back out?" The doctor asked. Noah licked his lips, his eyes clouding over.

"Ya. Someone's got to do the dirty work… other wise we'd HAVE no safe haven. I wanted to play my part in making our future a safer one."

"And… your loss during out outbreak?"

"One cousin and my aunt." Noah said, "So far that all I know about."

"And Trevor? Where did you come from in the outbreak?" Every looked at Trevor… a little curious to the answer. Trevor turned his head and looked at them, then at the doctor. For a moment, he was silent. Then he turned his back and spoke.

"A rough patch." He said.

"And your loss?" the doctor asked. Trevor bit back a rude comment. It seemed to him the doctor could not get it through his thick skull that this was a touchy subject.

"Doctor, please… what is your objective in asking these questions? If you must, most kids loose from one to two, depending where they were. Rough patches seem to be a bit higher loss but why are you asking… clearly they don't respond well to these questions." Ethan asked.

"Simply trying to understand where they come from." The doctor answered, 'Trevor?"

"You know where I come from… what's the point in knowing my loss?" Trevor asked.

"It helps me understand your attitude towards life. So far I suspect you lost more than one." He said. Trevor's eyes flared a little, "More than two? Three perhaps?" Trevor said nothing, "More then three?" Trevor looked the Doctor straight in the eyes. The doctor was about to speak again, when he caught the look in Trevor's eye. It was then, the Doctor decided this boy had been through enough.

"I lost count." Trevor said almost drily, "I saw things I wish I never had. I saw plenty of people get killed. I saw people very close to me die. I saw my world fall to slavery before the infected. I saw the hope die from people's lives and went on helplessly as it died in me.i had to deal with the nightmares of that hope fading in the eyes of the people I loved as they fell sick and ill and finally went for my throat. My sister tried to kill me. My parents almost finished me off. I did what I had to, to survive. You understand me now, DOCTOR?" Trevor asked. He held his gaze with the man, keeping his sharp and burning. The doctor urged himself to look away, but a sense of blind pride made him hold Trevor's gaze. He was thankful that the silence was broken by Noah, giving him a reason to look away.

"Die? Or just fall sick?" Noah asked, "The infected don't kill, they just bite." Trevor looked away and went over to the door. He folded his arms and leaned on the wall, looking out the window by the door into the hallway.

"Not where I lived." Trevor said.

"The only place they killed in the numbers your talking of, was the New York area. No survivors were found there." Wilkes said.

"Actually…." Ethan started, "There were rumors. There still are."

"Rumors of survivors. Two of them." Randy added.

"And a dog." Trevor said, keeping his eyes on the hallway. They all looked at Trevor.

"You… you can't be…" Wilkes said, "No one was said to be able to survive that."

"I wouldn't have. If it weren't for the two people I found there. They survived there the entire time. I traveled there from Pennsylvania."

"You mean… someone actually LIVED there?" Randy asked.

"Ya…" Noah chimed in, "I remember a house we saw on our way out of the red zone… it looked like a pretty hefty set up for the normal everyday living."

"5061 Pine St… can't miss it." Trevor said.

"Who lived there? Who did you find?" it was Ethan now, joining in the questioning. Trevor said nothing again, keeping still and quiet.

"Its… it's the girl… the girl your always with isn't it?" Noah said.

"Jacklyn?" Wilkes said.

"It's Jack." Trevor corrected, his voice cracking.

"I… I don't believe it. I can't. it's not possible." Wilkes said.

"He's got the marks to prove it." Noah said, "No one messes with this kid… now I know why."

"You mean you've been bitten?" the doctor asked.

"And not infected?"

"So your immune entirely… not to just the airborne virus?"

"Look… how much time we got left until they start blowing the halls?" Trevor asked. The doctor leaned back in his seat and thought.

"I'd say two hours at most. Maybe three if they get complications from the FBI." The doctor said.

"Two hours… plenty of time." Noah said.

"Plenty? Plenty of time to do what?" Wilkes asked.

"To rouse some… complications." Randy said, "You think after surviving the Outbreak we're going to let a few guys blow our family away?"

"No. You'll get killed if your caught." The doctor said, "You'll jeopardize everything I've worked for." Randy spun on the doctor getting right in the mans face his eyes bright.

"it seems to me jeopardizing your work seems more important to you then jeopardizing LIVES." Randy snapped. The doctor eyes went wide for a moment surprised. Then he gathered himself and spoke.

"You boys are not afraid of death, I take it." The doctor said.

"Afraid of death? Heck I come near to wet pants every time it misses me." Randy said, "but the fact is death found me fighting for life… and that? That scares even death. It can look me right in the face, but I glare right back. As long as I'm alive… death hasn't found me. If death hasn't found me… I'll live life fighting for life. It comes easy when you see death pass by everyday… you see it wave at you every day."

"That's just creepy." Noah said, "I'll have nightmares of the grim reaper's face running after me now… with a cup of noodles." Randy turned around.

"Noodles?" Randy asked.

"Ya… it's the devils food I swear." Noah said.

"Doctor…" Trevor interrupted the devils menu listing and faced the doctor, "We might see that partner of yours down there…" The doctor held up his hand to stop Trevor. He stood up and pulled the note again. He handed it to Trevor.

"I think if I could trust it in anyone's hands… it'd be you boys. For seeing so much death… you seem full of a will to survive. Remember… this could very well save everyone." The doctor said. Trevor Curled his hand around the paper, and stuffed it in his sock on his left shoe.

"I would try to stop you…" Wilkes said, "but you have a gun."

"As an adult I think it's my duty to keep you kids out of harms way…" said Ethan, "But I know to much about you to know there's to big of a chance for you guys to pass up." Ethan stood up, "But… there is a problem of how to get out of this room." Noah instantly went over to the door, and looked over the wires that were hooked around the knob and stuck through to the other side.

"I got this." He said, and knelt down next to the knob.

"Hey… don't touch that!" Wilkes said. Noah scoffed.

"My dad was an electrician. I went ultimate electrician on him when I found out I could send out radio call to anyone who could hear. I charged walkie talkies… hotwired cars and security systems. I freaking tracked the infected in my area. I set up cameras from the local sheriff's office. I rewired trip wires in dark allies… I think a simple circuit won't be to hard." Noah pulled out a knife from his back pocket.

He went forward to cut the knife but stopped and them pointed the knife at the adults.

"Anyone want to say anything about having a knife at school?" he asked. No one said anything. Noah went back to work and plucked a wire with the tip of his knife.

"I think I might want to talk to the school board about how kids keep getting ahold of weapons." Wilkes muttered.

"You think if these kids can get them past terroirits that the school BOARD can do anything about it?" The doctor said.

"Alright… we'll have ten seconds after I cut this… that includes getting us out and closing the door and rewiring it so it won't go off for our friends staying in the room… ready?"

"Wait… going off?" Wilkes asked.

"Now!" Noah hissed, and split the wires.