The Greatest Threat Might Not Be The Undead
When the outbreak happens, and believe us folks, it will happen, what would you consider to be the biggest threat against the living? Would you say the lack of preparation, the inability to fight off the undead, the difficulty and strain of basic survival? I would argue a different point. Our greatest challenge will be the living.
This was a reader submitted topic. Thank you for your continued support and valued comments. While we may not have the time to reply to every email, we certainly read them and appreciate them. With that said, here is a direct excerpt from a reader’s email to us about this very topic:
“With the inevitable turmoil of people across the world that the zomb-holocaust is bound to stir, our already overpopulated country (the US in my case, at least) will without a doubt cause mass panic, traffic, riots, and crime. Stores will be looted, people shot, electronics hacked, stolen, and broken, protestors, and not to mention religious upset. Not to mention the suicide factor.”
Here are some discussion points to consider:
- Panic: People by nature will panic, evoke greater chaos, and be generally their own worst enemies. As mentioned above, the undead bring with them a very complicated set of issues to deal with. The living introduce an entirely different set of issues which also have to be dealt with. Many will be unable or unwilling to cooperate or help other living human beings. Stores will be looted, fights and turmoil will be commonplace, and the living will also kill the living when they should focus their attention on the undead. Be ready for this.
- System: Develop a plan. Develop a plan. After that, develop a plan. Having a game plan will help guide you as much as possible. But think broader picture. Think beyond your own family, friends, and surrounding area. It would not hurt to have a plan for communicating across greater distances, notifying people of survivors, and working together. You might not be in a position to impact others across vast distances, but wouldn’t you rather be ready in case the opportunity came about?
- Decisions: At some point, you will have to make a decision to stay with a group or make it on your own. Now, on your own could mean with your family or totally by yourself. However, you may also encounter another group of survivors, possibly a very large group. You will need to evaluate your plan and how their presence will effect that. Some groups might be misinformed, unable to deal with the truth that there actually is a zombie outbreak, or adamant about remaining in an unsafe position. You will have to assess this quickly in order to survive.
- Life: Surely, somewhere, during the outbreak, someone will come to another point in their life where they will have to decide who lives and who does not. This confrontation will most likely be living person to living person. Are you ready to take out someone who will eventually get you killed? If not, do you have a back-up plan ready to subdue this person long enough to navigate to safety? Are you ready to keep your life?
The basic gist is that the unknown factor of how the living will respond to the undead will have as much determination on our survival as anything else. As much as we can prepare for the dead, we also have to prepare for the living.
Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay alive.
Comments (46)
Kain - ZAC Weapon Consultant on 10 Mar 2009 at 11:14 pm #
Hmm, interesting. This has been one of my own thought that I have yet found to put into words. The zombies aren’t the only ones who are dangerous, don’t believe me watch the news. As much as people like to say that they can adapt, when you crush their comfort zone people freak and only those who are strong are able to effectively adapt quickly.
The comment about life also brings up a very good question which has yet to be asked.
Can You Pull The Trigger?
More importantly will you be able to kill someone you love if they become infected? Your girlfriend, your wife, even your kids. Some decisions are a stone cold bitch and I expect the suicide to be rampant during the short period as civilization falls and people’s lives fall with them.
“They won’t get me they won’t get me thought they never cease to try
they won’t get me they won’t get me I would rather fight and die
they won’t get me they won’t get me well my friend will they get you?
when they get you when they get you tell me what are you gonna do?”
Dropkick Murphys – The Gauntlet
another mike on 11 Mar 2009 at 3:47 am #
As much trouble as the zombies will be, I think other survivors will be a larger threat.
Brooks’ Survival Guide recommends fighting the battle on only one front. Zombies, weather, and other survivors. Decide which of the three you prefer fighting and get to a place -in gearing, training, and location- where you are only up against your preferred enemy.
/be prepared
ZAC Admin on 11 Mar 2009 at 6:45 am #
Another Mike,
While Brooks has written a great guide, I think it is a bit unwise and impossible to select a single front. When the undead walk, there will be mass chaos and I believe that many will find themselves in a situation where they are unable to control what or who they are fighting against.
But I see what he is getting at. I think the goal should be to reduce the threat as much as possible, to the point where it is a non-issue and you are able to wait until the entire situation is resolved. But it may be tough for some to get anywhere near that point.
McLuvin on 11 Mar 2009 at 7:11 am #
This is one of the reasons we need to get out of heavily populated areas as soon as possible.
The unprepared/stupid living will be a bigger immediate threat than the undead. Only once the zombie hordes have reached critical mass will people stop being the biggest threat to eachother. In a class 1 or 2 outbreak we may never personally see a zombie but you can be sure we will see people doing stupid shit.
Cyaegha42 on 11 Mar 2009 at 9:07 am #
In any event, get out of population centers. Humans bring chaos with them, during the best of times. In a horror show like an outbreak, it gets worse by an order of magnitude. Even a well trained military unit can lose cohesiveness and do damage. From my POV, get somewhere remote, and start on the acceptance phase. The question as to whether or not you can pull the trigger will answer itself in the first encounter. But what if you can’t? RUN. Run your a** off. Eventually, you’ll tire, and stop, and then be left with the aftermath of that decision. If you can pull it, well, more trauma anyway.
I have had real world involvement in disease outbreaks, and the panic that ensues. It is terrifying how quickly even the smartest and well trained got go off the map. The question posed by this article is undeniably one of the best yet. The question of how we react, how we resign ourselves to whatever action it is we have to take… great material. In my experience, in a disease outbreak, quarantine procedures break down quickly, leaving the infection out there for everyone. Not out of spite, but some react that way. Those people are the ones you must watch out for. Get away from them, or find a way to stop them. From the DA POV, eliminate them, but for a purpose. IF you have a group of survivors, and one or two individuals in it that have lost it, kneecap them, put them on the second floor of a building, and run. Their cries will draw the infected, and that takes some off your tail. But again, how to deal with the fact you’ve just effectively killed these folks yourself?
The biggest threat in an outbreak, of any magnitude, is your own mind, in my opinion. Temet Nosce. Then you can survive.
3ID on 11 Mar 2009 at 2:10 pm #
well this is quit a interesting discussion. i know in this case 2 out of all my friends could pull the trigger the others talk a big game but i would not be so sure for me on the other hand killing some one i know that turned in to a zed would be hard but not that hard they are not the same person ones is your Mum the other a zed that looks like your mum to different things. as for killing other people for being stupid is fine by me i am a little antisocial people disgust me so getting ride of some unwanted baggage is like shooting targets just a little more to clean up.
but people will be the worst they think the will know every thing but they just lead you down a road so you can get ambushed by a couple hundred zeds. and the religious groups will be weird also you will see cults praising the zeds and such and offering sacrifices to them so they will stay away its going to get real crazy the first months of a full on out break but in a year time all of those crazy will have died off do to thier own incompetence.
Angryvikingman on 11 Mar 2009 at 7:19 pm #
Ah yes, the inevitable human threat. When I was a child of 5, my father made me kill for the first time. While it was only a small game animal, I felt really bad about it and even cried. My father told me that killing was a part of life. Since that day I have killed so many game animals that I couldnt even give an estimate. I have never killed a human, nor do I ever hope to, but I would like to think that if I was pressed, I could certainly do it. This being said, I hate stupidity, and hysteric people piss me off to no end. Killing someone else to preserve myself and my family probably wouldnt even register to me as a decision. IF/when an outbreak occurs, I would adopt a shoot first, ask questions later approach. Large groups of armed or even unarmed people would warrant observation to determine their intent. As we all know, ten unarmed people can disable and kill one armed person if they arent careful, and facing overwhelming firepower is not something that I want to even think about doing. If I become part of a collective, I would still be ever wary of the other people and guard whatever food and possessions I had with extreme prejudice.
Cyaegha42 on 12 Mar 2009 at 11:07 am #
Alright, lets try another angle here. We’ve established one very important question, that of the ability to kill if need be. Let’s got to the other extreme, the need NOT to kill.
Let’s just ask this: What if there is a cure to the rampaging horde? What if they can be brought back, whole, with no repercussions(no memories of the experience)? If this is known from the start, and is well known and publicized knowledge, what then? Do you kill an innocent person, who is simply and tragically infected and acting under the impulse of that infection? Could you pull the trigger on someone who is trapped in their body, with no way to control their actions? Someone who could be cured, even if it a later date?
Basically, could you NOT kill them, even if you had to sacrifice yourself or others to the same infection, or suffer a gruesome death? This is a moral dilemma now, not a matter of survival. These people are unfortunate victims of a curable disease, and all you have to do is not kill them. I suspect I know a few responses from a few people, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. I want a real response, a thought out one. Not a knee jerk, kill them to stay alive response. Think on it, then respond with your ideas, or convictions. Can you kill an innocent victim simply to save yourself?
leor buch on 12 Mar 2009 at 11:33 am #
Tough question but it brings up another one.
lets say that there is a cure and it is “ok” to get infected, how do you know somone else won’t kill you once you are infected by these “innocent victims”
another mike on 12 Mar 2009 at 8:52 pm #
Could I not kill a zombie? Nope; promote the undead to full dead. It’s all a matter of current status. When corpses get chompy, that status is enemy combatant and a threat to my life.
By all accounts, the body’s normal maintenance ceases on zombification. The flesh quickly becomes necrotic and rotted. I wouldn’t want to be brought back if I still looked like a corpse. I’d rather contribute until I turn, then get my skull cracked with my own Fubar.
Maybe we should clarify. Is this cure for use after you’re dead and risen, or is it more of a counter-agent for before you turn? I guess it wouldn’t be a counter-agent if you’re talking about braining the biters.
So yeah, full death would be the proper treatment for undeath.
/be prepared
The Doctor on 13 Mar 2009 at 1:22 am #
Mainly I would just try to stay away from people. Just have a small group of 3-5 people out in a forest somewhere.
Marius on 13 Mar 2009 at 1:45 am #
Another mike, from the way it was phrased, if the cure is given, the person comes back to normal, Think more ragezombie than true undead zed.
Now that being said. Yes they’re trapped in their own body, and yes (per reversal) there’s a cure, would I still kill a curable zombie to save myself or a loved one? In a heartbeat. If it was practical, I’d try to render them harmless, but I wouldn’t hesitate to drop them if there was a greater than 40% risk of death or infection to a loved one. The reason being they’re not likely to stop at infecting me/us, they’re going to keep attacking/eating until we’re not interesting to them anymore, and thats never first bite, which means my loved ones or myself stand a better than even chance of dying anyway if the zeds get their hands on us. Sorry not gonna take that chance if I can avoid it.
For one of the primary questions, could we put a loved one down if we knew they were infected. No I couldn’t I care to much for them. I’d knock them out, and try to get them away from where I was, but thats about it. And if it was my girlfriend? Well lets just say I’ve always wanted to see how the other half lives. She’s the only person that I would do that for too, so don’t take me as being too soft
Dsurion on 13 Mar 2009 at 5:11 pm #
If it was feasible, I would try my hardest to render a ragezed incapacitated for application of cure. Under those circumstances, chances are good that every zombie I “rescue” is an ally in the future. On the downside, where is the cure coming from? Would I even know about it? And if I did, how would I get my hands on some?
Even if they were ragezeds instead of undead, saving as many as I can probably isn’t the practical solution. It sounds cut-throat, especially if they’re aware and can’t control their actions, but unless I happen to have a large supply of cure sitting in my fortress of solitude, it’s probably far more humane to put them down than tie them up. Could I pull the trigger on another human? Honestly, I’m not sure. I believe I could, but nobody really knows until they’re forced to face the issue with no way around it. When that happens, all I can hope for is that my training serves me well.
Strictly thinking like a mentat, humans are just another animal. If they get crazy, you put them down, even if you love them. After all, trying to save a zombie is a negative-sum equation: kill them and maintain the status quo, or try to save them and risk losing everything. Staying sane will be as big a part of this future as anything else, and a large part of that will be cold calculation in place of emotional reactions and the ability to compartmentalize “bad” actions.
If you gotta do it, you gotta do it.
GSP on 13 Mar 2009 at 5:37 pm #
you know ppl will freaking panic and if need be you will have to kill somebody to ensure the survival of your group (family/friends).. to me my family and friend are all I care about so if somebody living or dead threatens them I will do everything in my power to protect them, up and including killing somebody/thing….
Angryvikingman on 14 Mar 2009 at 1:00 am #
Can’t think of one single reason to NOT kill a zombie. IF I knew of a commercially available vaccine that was absolutely proven to work and the pharmaceuticle companies weren’t charging $10,000 a shot, then if say my wife got infected and wasnt horribly, and irreparably disfigured, then I may try to round her up until I could get a dose of the cure for her. Assuming zombies dont have superhuman strength, then I can easily over power her and shove her into a closet or the extra bedroom and secure the door. The vaccine would have to be 100% reliable and the company producing it would have to have proof of no relapses. Still, if you couldn’t get through the horde outside your door to get the cure, then is it really worth it to try and save someone else at the cost of your own life? Probably not.
Cyaegha42 on 14 Mar 2009 at 3:15 am #
Yes, a rage type viral infection was my intended poison. And I like that all of you thought about it. And I never said anything about the cost of YOUR life. Simply A life. Or lives. This is the DA’s job. Ask the hard ones.
Now, if the cure was indeed 100% effective, and no remission possible, I myself would become an awesome kneecapper. Just me, and my idiosyncracy.
Now, how about this one: You are infected, but no one else knows. You have NO idea if there is a cure, and you are in a group. What then? Take off in the night, or stick around for those last few moments of human contact before the red haze takes it all away?
This is kind of fun… and a little disconcerting. I’m a very fair guy in real life, but I find it exceptionally easy and fun to play the Devil’s Advocate. Any suggestions why? Other than I’m sick and need help, please. ;}
McLuvin on 14 Mar 2009 at 10:16 pm #
If I was infected and there was no cure I would kill myself as soon as possible.
I will go through hell to protect my friends and family. All that would be wasted if I put them in danger for a little bit longer as a human.
Dsurion on 15 Mar 2009 at 4:39 pm #
If I was infected, there’s no way I’d just plug myself; that’s no warriors death. Instead, I’d load up on as many weapons as I could use so I could take as many zombies with me as possible, and a nice suicide jacket for when I finally get my ticket punched.
Checking out without even trying to make things easier for the survivors is almost as bad as waiting around to turn. Every bit of action can make a difference, even if it is the last thing you do.
Angryvikingman on 15 Mar 2009 at 8:53 pm #
Yeah, if the boom is big enough, then you wont feel it too much before theres nothing left of you to feel it.
phantom-edge on 16 Mar 2009 at 11:47 am #
well,it’s a matter of perspective,mostly everyone in this site has a plan so i’ll let that be.
in the side notion most likely you will pull that trigger,when all is said and done you’ll
think in the romantic perspective(me me me) and who do you value more,you or a
complete stranger who’s assulting your family/group?of course there will be some trauma
I assume but instinctively you’ve already pulled that trigger..just live and move on.
as to people themselves I always worry about getting lost in translation,sure people have
atleast 2 or 3 launguages but what happens when you can’t understand,can you trust?
my priorities are people I know,if I don’t know you and you seem hostile and uncooperative
most likely I’ll leave you for the (undead) buzzards.
Amy on 16 Mar 2009 at 5:40 pm #
I’m afraid I’d have to agree with the last few posts. If I were to be infected, I’d like to think the ‘mother bear’ instincts would take over, and I’d walk outside with a weapon. Do my best to lure as many as I could away from our safehouse, then go down swinging.
Anyway, as I stated in my previous posts on the topic of getting trapped in a grocery store when the outbreak occurs, your biggest threat will eventually become the living. If a very high level outbreak occurs, it will be first and foremost the undead. But in a smaller scale outbreak, or even a large scale outbreak in a different part of the country/world, widespread panic will ensue. In the short term or the long term, humans are just as dangerous as the undead, if not more so. They’re still thinking, and can be armed. A desperate human can do far more damage than an instinct-driven zombie ever could.
An example would be: You’re small shelter is safe, but your food supplies are running low. Your family is worried. Then a group of survivors shows up, begging to be let in. Your shelter won’t be able to contain them and still remain safe, and you know you can’t possibly feed them all. What happens when the people outside, terrified and starving, have you turn them away from what they percieve as safety and food? Anyone who thinks that they’ll accept that and leave is sorely mistaken. The outsiders will assuredly become violent, and will do everything in their power to force their way in. They’ll take everything you have, and you’ll be lucky if they leave you and your family unharmed.
No, you’ll have to be cold blooded in order to survive. You could let them in, but then you’ll get to sit around with your 15 new friends and starve to death. And that’s IF one of them isn’t infected.
Unless you’re ridiculously lucky or incredibly well prepared to house masses of people, your best bet is to apologize, give them what you can, and send them on their way. And do NOT take your guns off them til they’re out of sight.
Instruisto on 16 Mar 2009 at 6:15 pm #
I am pro-life, so I’m going to avoid killing the living. Subduing might be necessary and is most likely going to happen when someone panics and tries to run or otherwise freak out. Develop leadership skills and the Henry Rollins glare and you can bring them together FTW!
3ID on 17 Mar 2009 at 1:36 pm #
that when you prepare you house with a hundred meter kill zone three hundred and sixty degrees any thing living or dead will get a bullet between the eyes the survors will get the jist when there pint man gets his head blown off
Sharpshooter on 18 Mar 2009 at 6:54 pm #
this is why i like living in a second floor appartment. two possible exits but one can only be used by me (the outside balcony) and then theres the front door. just pile all heavy furniture to cover the door. until you can re-enforce it and then just go out onto the balcony and do target practice. with the force needed to blow open the door and get past all the furniture youd also blow a hole in the floor and possibly collapse the building so if raiders tried to get in they’d pretty much be screwed
Dsurion on 18 Mar 2009 at 7:14 pm #
Ha, it’s like you’re reading my mind Amy. You and your team can come through my neck of the woods anytime; I promise not to blow your heads off when you ask for food.
Not that I don’t respect a strong stance on personal issues Intruisto, but more likely than not a pro-life stance is going to get you killed. While you may be able to appeal to the fading moral sensibilities of the weak, a stern glare and tongue-lashing will not be able to dissuade the truly desperate or anyone hellbent on taking what you have.
On the bright side, finely-honed leadership skills backed up by stone-cold killers tends to make people see your way of thinking really fast. Then there’s always the kung-fu option, but you know what they say: never take a knife [fist] to a gun fight. So find some friends that’ll stick by you, without your morals of course, and for all we know, you might last longer than any of us as long as you play your cards right.
I don’t know about you 3ID, but where I live I cant get 100 meters of clear LOS without standing in the middle of the street. I truly hope you have that kind of advantage where you are, but I occasionally have to sleep, eat, and keep myself sane…walking circles around the interior of my home 24/7 sounds like the fast track to the sanitorium. Even if you were a robot, people have been slipping inside heavily watched and fortified perimeters for centuries without being caught; what makes you think yours will be any different?
3ID on 19 Mar 2009 at 9:26 pm #
first and for most i have friends to help fight the zombie horde and yes some of them will be chicks because i am not a fan of the Sausage fest it gets gay way to quick ( all you fagots out there F*** OFF ) i have scouted out ideal locals for my fortress i suggest you guys do this also. if the occupants don’t give it easily they can deal with the barrel of my .45 its all the same to me.
Angryvikingman on 20 Mar 2009 at 6:37 pm #
I can say that I for one am glad that I live in a 2 story brick apartment. About 30 minutes of work and my entire floor will be sealed off and no one could get up unless I let them. The other people occupying the floor can help me or get smoked. Killing a person would be a traumatic experience, of that I have no doubt. I’d probably get over it like I did the first time I killed a game animal, except quicker. With hordes of undead roaming around and the numbers growing rapidly, people arent going to just be wandering around. I know that most people are idiots, but after they see someone get eaten, they’ll probably stay inside. Its people like me and 3ID that YOU OTHERS will have to worry about.
Marius on 21 Mar 2009 at 7:35 pm #
lol Amy or Dsurion, either of you gonna want an armorer?
Andrew Morisson on 23 Mar 2009 at 4:16 pm #
Great post.
Check out my comments on the human threat from a February blog posting:
http://zombieresearch.net/2009/02/26/human-threat-mitigation-stun-master-hot-shot/
Hope you like it, and keep up the good work!
AM
Dsurion on 23 Mar 2009 at 8:46 pm #
I would certainly want more than a few women with me when the zombies come, and not to make things “less gay”. Given equal amounts of training, women are much better shots than men; just look at the Soviet and Vietcong snipers. However, I would think that most of us (unless we have a contingency plan with fifteen of our closest friends) would end up saddled with whoever is nearby and willing to help. If you’re honestly thinking about how gay it’s going to get with no women, please reassess your priorities. It’s the end of the damn world and zombies are trying to eat your face. Male/female balance seems like a non-priority.
So this apartment building of yours…it has a secure, active water supply (not plumbing) up to the second floor, right? Arable land or hydroponics on the roof? A waste-disposal system that doesn’t rely on running water or tossing it out the window? An escape route that isn’t barricaded? And all of that enough for everyone on the floor? It sounds like you’re just going to secure the floor with no prior preparation, provided the other tenants let you. I’m sure they’ll have something to say about what they perceive as some whack-job waving around a gun and telling them what they can and can’t do.
But lets assume you get your plan by the other people and enough time passes so that there are actually bandits roving the streets. I’m sure there will be plenty; its been a while, there may not be as many zombies as there were because they’re getting shot, and the people are either starving or dangerous. Either way, stupid or not, there will be people wandering instead of fortifying. If they were smart, they’d be wandering out of the cities, but humanity is unpredictable at best.
So anyway, you’re in a box, no extra food or water, all exits are barricaded, and there are desperate armed people outside. Even if by some miracle the water was still working, a little patience, a shovel, and a big rock would cut off your supply. All they have to do is wait until you die so they can waltz in and take your stuff, or they could misdirect your attention and light the place on fire, or they could chuck dead things into the building to spread disease. Sound familiar at all? It should; it’s how sieges were conducted in the Middle Ages, and you know what? Unless the defenders had huge supplies, reinforcements coming, or both, the attackers usually won.
No, zombies don’t count as reinforcements.
These are important things to think about when taking over a building, especially in a city or a suburb, as a stronghold. Otherwise your big fancy fort is going to turn into a big fancy tomb.
Angryvikingman on 24 Mar 2009 at 7:43 am #
Actually, I have access to the roof, where it is almost level. A few 2×4s and boom, planter boxes. I do have bags of potting soil and other stuff of that sort because I grow food on my balcony. It rains quite a bit here given my proximity to the mountains, so a little plastic sheeting and I can fill/refill all of the gallon water jugs that I have in my closet. Sewage IS just about the only real problem that I would have, and since I have access to the roof I can walk to the other side of the building(its about 150 yards long) and toss my chamber pot off of that side. Or save it up and use it to discourage attackers. lol! Unless there are a substantial amount of people outside shooting constantly, then I doubt that I would be overrun. As my wife, son, myself, and my roommate are all pretty good shots. Not to mention that we’re gun nuts and stockpile ammo. The stairs up to the second floor of my building are metal and dont really look heavy, so two large barn door hinges and a boat trailer winch from tractor supply would let me have the ability to raise and lower the stairs. There is a creek that flows about 100 yards from the building, and plenty of dirt that I can haul up onto the roof. If, IF there are no interlopers, then it wont be too bad. Also, of the four apartments on my floor, only one other is occupied. Thanks for trying to shoot holes in my plan. I also have all of the equipment needed for water purification and beer making, although hopps would take forever to grow.. A nice supply of dehydrated and canned food, all I would really need is a generator and a gas supply. If all of my other gun nut friends in town made it here, then I’d have more black rifles than you could imagine, and plenty more ammo. SO MEH! :P:P:P
Kevin on 24 Mar 2009 at 11:26 pm #
This is a definite cause for nervousness where i live, a small town in hunting country, the large issue may end up being having a gun pointed at you when you leave the house, eventually leaving the residence will be necessary and I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that there are few zombies in the area and a high level of deaths, although i also have to look at natural disasters and you notice that not everyone is freaking out and chaos will not always rain supreme, i mean even though government failed during hurricane katrina that did not stop small semi organized bands of people using there own boats, or what every they could find to save people from there flooded homes, but of course this brings up another issue they faced, what now? a huge number of people moved into the super dome and then when the hope of government ran out it got bad. so i think always having a 3rd and 4th back up plan is advisable to say the least.
anyway i think the people i would keep near me would only be people i know fairly well, and i know how they’ll crack up, because i think all of them are already on the edge, but i also know what to do in such a case. beyond that i dont know what i would do to other people who are unstable/likely to get me killed.
3ID on 25 Mar 2009 at 11:08 am #
Dsurion i have to say calling me out for wanting to have women as a priority is quite interesting women have the same place as men in my opinion but not having any women at all in your group will be come quite demoralized if i do say so my self personally having women on your team would actually make your men fight hard because they are actually fighting for something instead of killing the undead for no particular reason. now i am not a womanizer or anything but the facts are very true why do you think women are not aloud in our Infantry or SOF units because men can and most likely to get very aggressive so in the end i would like to have women in my group because in the end it might give your group a little bit of hope in the end.
Melissa on 25 Mar 2009 at 11:12 am #
I think that all of that is very true….
Naturaly people will freak or fret because its a act of human nature duh
AND Two when you have the undead aka Zombies after your living brain after the freaking out is over you know what to do that is if your not alread killed by them LOL MEM
Whatever.. on 28 Mar 2009 at 10:19 am #
1) Trust noone.
2) Preorganize your own group.
3) Make sure your group wont ‘crack’ against you in any situation.
4) Extremely careful while aproaching other groups.
Then again if you cannot have a preorganized group, you must be very aware of other people you approach. They wont hessitate to end you if they think this will be for their own good. Finally Plan ahead as you judge
Oh…and something very important for men:
Do not let women control your emotion world. Use your head.
Umm? on 31 Mar 2009 at 2:29 am #
So, in terms of Zombie Apocalypse , I really hate the public, they would over think the whole thing, as far as panic, there is no need, zombies are not quick, they retain very few motor skills, muscle deterioration would make them ridiculously weak, it wouldn’t be hard to exterminate the threat if country’s, nations, cities all these things worked together it would become very easy. Of course if the virus spreads too fast, I do have a plan(I’m assuming the thing turning people into Zombie’s will be a Virus, Might not be Meh I’m open to most ideas on it) me and my two very good friends are completely prepared, We are stocked on like blunt and sharp edged weapons.
We have a truck and S.U.V. for a little bit of travel, we are going to see how long that works. If cars are out of the question, then there are a few grocery stores that don’t have full window fronts that will definitely work, I’m thinking grocery stores for food.
My group of Zombie killers will consist of 6, (4 men, 2 -ish women, maybe more) 3 of us are completely battle ready, and are pretty good shots, one of the girls is the classic bad ass, ass kicker trained boxer/mma (and she’s mine : P) the other two I can’t leave behind (but would not be unable to end if it really came down to it.) Unfortunately none of the houses around here (at least not Ours) is very zombie proof, But I might try the School, it’s a weird place all your school can be locked down, and are relatively easy to defend.
I think I could survive a zombie attack.
P.S.- I’m sorta new to zombie forums, feel free to … “Criticize” I’m sort of a rookie.
Angryvikingman on 03 May 2009 at 9:25 pm #
As no one has really ever had contact with “real” zombies, we dont know how fast they’d be, or anything else. All we do know, is that they’ll be a danger to the living. Do NOT make assumptions based on movies. Base your ideas on information, solid data. Like Rabies. Rabid animals become violent and can attack up to 100 other animals before the disease takes their life. It may take 2 weeks or more for the infected animal to die, BUT in that time they could inflict major damage. I prefer to think if any disease could cause a zombie like state, then it would be rabies. Humans can be infected, and by the time you begin to exhibit symptoms it is too late to anything about it. You can only get the vaccine for rabies if you go to the hospital immeadiately after you are bitten. I doubt that it would take very much tinkering by some insane biochemist to make rabies much, much worse that it already is. Watch the movie “Quarantine”. Its at least based in fact, and is a realistic portrayal of what could be. I doubt very much that zombies want to eat your brains, but in a rabid state, a person could bite you and infect you. And IF someone tinkered with rabies, they could shorten the incubation period, and increase the dementia producing effects of the disease, and release it on an unaware public. IF the incubation period were shortened to only a few hours, or even an hour, then you can expect exponential spread of the disease. If the zombie disease were based on rabies, then you could kill the zombie without destroying the brain. Just kill them like a normal person. Avoid any contact with bodily fluids, and protect your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth from accidental contact. Although, any open wounds, or scratches could possibly cause infection. You never know what the infected are carrying under their fingernails. Yes, I know this is all a little bit redundant, but you can never hear it too many times. Don’t expect things to be any certain way if theres an outbreak. Don’t assume that the zombies are going to be shufflers, because that could most likely end up causing your or a loved ones death due to your stupidity.
Me on 07 May 2009 at 10:12 pm #
1.) I’d rather stockpile firearms, supplies, rations, and the like.
2.) Reinforce your vehicles or whatever you have with any kind of plating like they did on Dawn of the dead.
3.) Find other survivors (I got at least 10 people with me at this moment. 4 are highly capable of killing others so to say as myself, 2 for the first-aids and medical stuff, 2 engineers (My dad and mom), 2 for scouting and watching. ( I don’t sleep much :D)
4.) Make sure your good to go for the journey ahead.
5.) Avoid travelling in tight spots or immensely dense populated cities or areas. (Forests and Swamps are highly advised.)
6.) If you find a suitable place to stay for the night. Clear it of any living dead then fortify it. Keep watchers overnight and booby traps that will trigger an alarm when zombies or someone else is closeby.
7.) Find a way out of the city! Go to a remote place far far far away. (Oh don’t forget to stock up on livestock if there are any surviving.)
8.) On the remote place establish a fort and uphold a new order. (Kinda like establishing a new city :D) then voila! Humanity has a hope! Muahahha :)
DirtyDeeds on 21 May 2009 at 7:52 am #
Be afraid….be very afraid. For its me and my band of raiders who will be surviving on YOUR supplies….your ammo….your women. We are opportunists as much as survivalists.
We would have no problems killing, stealing, or anything else…to win this game. Why should we bunker down and hope we have enough when the time comes…when we can just take yours. We will survive for many years like this. Befriend your groups with ours and at the opportune moment…we take from you everything.
All your bases are belong to us!
-DirtyDeeds
FreddeX on 31 May 2009 at 5:11 am #
The greatest threat according to me will be the religious fanatics that will run around proclaming that the end of the world is upon us and that anyone who dosn´t workship the same god as them should be killed or sacrifised to the undead. Sure i mean regular crazies are also dangerous but religious fanatics tends to gather in groups and that makes them so much more dangerous than a single crazy guy.
ProphetOfDoom on 03 Jun 2009 at 5:10 am #
you are all forgetting the most obvious thing, if a zombie outbreak occured WE WOULD ALL DIE!!!!!! Think about it! if the Zombie Apocalypse would be anything like in the movies, we would all die, in the movies they needed some super-heroe, or genetically-manipulated super-soldier, to save them. WE HAVE NO HEROES!!! besides what would we do? destroy the carrier? blow up some top-secret government facility? as if!!! do you honestly think that everyone prepares for this stuff, no, they will assume that it is just an outbreak blown out of proportion by the media, like the swine flu, until it is too late, millions would be zombiefied, and zombies are basically dead, theres no cure for death you think that you are prepared! you will die like all the rest! everyone would die! all of us! DIE! DIE! DIE! WE WILL ALL DIE!!! a non-existent god wouldn’t save us, there are 6 billion people on this earth! how many of them have access to guns? how many are soldiers? NOT MANY!!!!! in short, WE WOULD ALL DIE!!! whose to say that the zombies die after a while like with rabies? maybe they just keep rotting and rotting until they fall apart, maybe they would all starve to death, more likely they would scoure humanity off the globe, and all of you who are hiding in the forests and swamps, you cant hide forever, when they’ve eaten everyone in the cities, they will expand, and HUNT US DOWN!!!! WE WILL ALL DIE!!!!!!!!!!
NaySayer1974 on 03 Jun 2009 at 3:05 pm #
Well, as someone who has ready access to guns, food and supplies and knows how to move and maneuver and has training in survival skills, I think I might last longer than the average joe, that being said, not everyone around me has those skills. I think the question not being asked is what happens when someone in your group isn’t bitten but is still causing grief?
Broken down with fear
Crying in a corner
screaming and yelling
always against common sense moves like keeping moving?
What do you do with someone who isnt dead, but is dead weight when your life is on the line?
For me there is only one answer, I’m going to leave you behind. It might be cruel, but I have to look out for me and my family.
If you are attracting undue zombie attention, and I can’t leave your general area, I’m going to knife you nice and quiet like and lay you down softly. I’ll be polite about it, but I’m gonna do it.
As a father I owe my children as much safety as I can provide. End of story. My kids and wife I will keep safe as long as I can.
p.s. My bet is on rage zombies, no undead shufflers rotting away, it’ll be super rabies or some such causing all the trouble.
FreddeX on 05 Jun 2009 at 2:08 pm #
ProphetOfDoom you need to chill man. :P
ProphetOfDoom on 08 Jun 2009 at 1:01 am #
And also, what if they can infect animals too? You wouldn’t be able to hide on an island in the middle of the sea if they infect birds orfish or sharks or maybe even whales and they come after you. In my mind, Zombies would be attracted to warm, living flesh like moths to flame, and would hunt us down one by one. You can’t run forever, sooner or later they will find you, and you will become zombie food. I would fight and run until i am about to die with no way out and then kill myself so that i am not eaten alive, as i would prefer to be eaten dead. If i had kids or a wife i would give them mercy in an unescapable situation and shoot them, before shooting myself. better one moment of pain then several minutes while they eat you.
Ps. What are rage zombies?
ThatScoutKid on 03 Dec 2009 at 12:04 am #
rage zombies are just humans infected with a rabies like virus. still alive and semi sentient but just overcome by the need to kill and spread the virus. in over words zombies= reanimated dead dudes. rage zombies= really pissed alive guys. wich sucks cuz then their muscles may rebuild like normal. at least i believe so. correct me if im wrong
ThatScoutKid on 03 Dec 2009 at 12:05 am #
and prophet of doom shut up. all it takes to survive is the knowledge and will to survive.