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The school lobby shows the true impact of the apocalypse, as the dead canvas the building's ground floor lobby like a field of war after battle. The bodies of teenagers, easily several dozen, lie scattered across the tile floor. Dried blood coats most of the floor in a muck. Ripped banners for a school-wide fundraiser cover several of the dead, and hundreds of bullet casings litter the entrance. On the far corner at the double doors of an office, the charred remains of burnt bodies sit in a pile, some still smoldering. You cover your nose at the awful stench of the rotting and the refuse.

Woody paces along the wall, hands on his hips, unable to look at the sight of the lobby.

As you stand at the front of the lobby, one pile of corpses shifts, and you quickly move to the far wall where a path through the dead lies toward a side hallway. Past the doors, the hall is silent and empty, and you stop for a moment to collect your thoughts.

On the wall hangs a map of the school. The building has three wings, with the north and east ones ascending eight to ten stories. Jaime said he's on the fourth floor roof, which means he's in the west wing. You locate three maintenance closets along the perimeter and figure Jaime could have climbed any of them. There's no direct path to the roof, but there are multiple routes through the school. You might even have opportunities to search for useful gear to help rescue Jaime and to survive in this damn apocalypse. Between the zombies and the bandits, you'll certainly face a confrontation at some point. The real question is—what's the best way to reach him?

The map shows one path leading up the southwestern stairwell past the cafeteria on the second floor. Since the outbreak occurred a day ago, there will be food left in the kitchen, and you could stop there and scavenge. You imagine a cafeteria to be well-populated, so there's a high chance of zombies in that area. Instead, you could travel through the library on the northwestern end of the school. Starting on the first floor, the library actually consists of two floors, meaning you could avoid the stairwell. From what you know of libraries, they have fewer people than cafeterias. However, they're typically packed with rows of bookcases and furniture, so making it through the area could be tricky. Plus, zombies could be hiding at any turn.

You decide to…