Zombie Apocalypse scenario: What will you do?

[Tomeran]

I think some university somewhere did a study on how long humanity would last against a zombie apocalypse, and against even the slow buggers, it ended with fairly grim results, at least in the long run. Against fast buggers? Humanity wouldnt last a generation, unless the zombies all die out after a while like they did in some movie versions.

As for what I would do personally: Loot as much food as I could find as quickly as I could find it, grab my dad's boat and go out for one of the many islands dotting the nearby coastline.
Because hey, going to an island worked great for the survivors in Dawn of the dead!







...oh wait.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Assuming I survive the first attack (college campus, decently near a major city, don't have a car, not likely) find something like leather I can cover myself in and be bite proof. Find some kind of guide to surviving in the wild. Hide out in the hills away from civilization and wait for it to blow over.

 

[Comando96]

Step 1: Go to local gunstore with family shotgun, get more shotguns and more ammo.
Step 2: Go to local supermarket steal shitloads of bread and water.
Step 3: Give dog chew stick.
Step 4: Shoot Dog while enjoying chew stick.
Step 5: Bury Dog.
Step 6: Move all bread, water, ammo and survivors to attic.
Step 7: Cut open water pipe in attic and attach tap in hope of additional water.
Step 8: If time, drag all books I promised myself I would read but haven't, up to attic.
Step 9: Retreat to attic. Bring ladder into attic.
Step 10: Wait for as long as food and water supplies allow or until some powerful military force delcares all Zombies are dead via loud speaker. Rebuild civilization.
Step 11: If no army victory then hope all zombies are dead. Leave. Rebuild civilization.
Step 12: If zombies are still alive but starving with their physical capacities decreased then leave, be careful not to feed them. Rebuild civilization when zombies are dead.
Step 13: If zombies are still alive and well and all sorrounding my house, at least I read those books. Shoot others then self when starvation is inevitable and no hope remains.

 

[dyre]

I'd barricade my house (in a medium-populated suburb) with the rest of my family, get in the attic and pull up the stairs after piling up food/ loads of water/ lights/ batteries/ etc (hopefully the internet will be up long enough for me to do some quick research on survival essentials), and hope that the government takes care of it. If not, I'd wait until our supplies run out and hope that our Ruger Mark III .22 pistol is powerful enough to commit suicide with...

edit: If I was feeling especially courageous, I'd try to book a private flight to some small, obscure island nation that has civilization and enough agriculture to sustain itself.

 

[The Heik]

Well it depends on the rules of the specific zombies we're talking about.

As for us being good at survival, I'd say the comforts of modern living have actually made most of us not as fit for surviving under harsh conditions.

As for pests, if we're talking about virus zombies (which most zombies seem to be nowadays) then of course once anything from the zombie enters another entity they'll become infected, whether it be by the zombie attacking them or them attacking the zombie (talking about pests of course).

As for environmental effects, yes they'd stop moving in the cold, and they would rot faster in hot, humid areas, but this would also only apply for where and when the zombies appear.

And for not feeling pain, well I'd argue that's what would make them more dangerous. If you had one coming at you and you had a gun. If you shot a human in the chest or anywhere they would react to the pain and stop, a zombie would continue to come at you. Not feeling pain would also mean they would be able to push their bodies longer and harder than we can, making them harder to outrun. When you stop to rest, they'll have time to catch up.

Pardon if I interject here, but I feel there area couple flaws in your logic about the undead's threat level.

human survival: Just because the major populace isn't composed of scouts doesn't mean we won't flatten the zombie horde in short order. There's a reason why most countries have a military, and I'm pretty sure a few well placed lures/decoys and a strategic air strike will wipe out a very large amount of undead, ending their threat long before society has collapsed past the point of repair.

Pests: just because zombification works on humans doesn't mean it'll necessarily work on other animals. Different biological makeups can affect how the undead process might work on other creatures, if it works at all. Remember, there's a reason why dogs can't eat chocolate, and we humans can devour it by the pound.

Environmental effects: Doesn't matter what climate the zombie is in. Desert, tundra, rainforest or grasslands, simply being exposed to open air would cause zombies to rot/dessicate. Honestly even in the most ideal climate, most corpses wouldn't last a month before completely falling apart.

Lack of pain: That's rarely considered a positive point. Just because something is immune to pain doesn't mean that it's immune to the damage that pain would have informed the creature of. You can still shoot a zombie's knee and make it collapse, and all the immunity to pain would do is make it face-plant harder and be easier to spot and kill later because it'll still rty and ge t to you (very slowly). Also, being a corpse, and therefore unlikely to heal itself, a zombie wouldn't notice if it had "sprung a leak", meaning that it punctured it's already fragile body with a wound that would eventually empty the majority of the remaining fluid out of it in short order, which would render the zombie utterly incapable of moving at all. Even a glancing blow or shot to an extremity (say for example a foot) would drain the zombie of it's vital function fluids in short order, so all you really need is a sharp stick and a little bit of patience, and even untrained your odds against a zombie are very good indeed.

 

[Ix Rebound]

Realistically? I'd grab the bayonet I have in my drawer, the small first-aid kit, and pelt down to the local supermarket, which fortunately has a gun shop nearby. Only air rifles and shotguns though, few guns in the UK.

You have a bayonet in your drawer?
please explain

For reference, that piece of paper it's on is standard A4 sized.

It's a 125-year old bayonet from Chile. I picked it up at a local military fair for about £30, and I just keep it in my drawer. Hey, why not? May mount it on the wall someday.

Thats pretty cool

 

[guitarsniper]

My plan: go to marina. Hijack sailboat--people don't secure their boats nearly as well as their houses, and sailboat means that fuel is less of a problem, and I'm a pretty decent sailor, get me some deep sea fishing tackle and plankton nets, be fine.

 

[TophatEmperor]

I have already made the plan...


I am going to return to my Home planet and live my days as the Emperor of Tarragon-9

...

or i will just settle with turning a group of surviving military into my own personal Cult...

and then Take over the Zombie invested lands as King

 

[Gennadios]

I have a slightly rusted but still functional machete and plenty of rugged outdoors clothing, so individual zombies and non-neck/face bites shouldn't be an issue.

First order of business would be to "procure" my locksmith neighbor's really awesome armored pickup(armored to protect his locksmithing equipment from breakins) with command center and dispatch radio.

After that? GTFO of populated areas and see what any survivors I might run across offer.

Step 1: Go to local gunstore with family shotgun, get more shotguns and more ammo.
Step 2: Go to local supermarket steal shitloads of bread and water.
...

Step 6: Move all bread, water, ammo and survivors to attic.

...

Step 10: Wait for as long as food and water supplies allow or until some powerful military force delcares all Zombies are dead via loud speaker. Rebuild civilization.

By wait as long as food and water supplies allow, we're talking what, 2 weeks?
Bread is the shittiest food source to rely on, it's mass to nutrient ratio is insanely low and it'll be inedible in two weeks tops.

Better off stocking up on cans of chili, bananas, and broccoli, as well as bags of dried dog and cat food.

 

[rickthetrick]

Be really pissed that I never finished that book.

Die horribly.

 

[jdun]

ze snip

Wow, that is a lot of thought you've put in there. Shame you've forgotten the most important aspect of preparation: Mass. Even when you don't consider all the ancillary gear and backup weapons that you'd have to load in the FED (which might not even fit in it), the main armament you'd be carrying about (plus extra ammunition and tools) would weigh between 25-50 pounds, which makes moving around not only difficult but uncomfortable as well. You'd pass out trying to lug all that around should things go belly up, even if you try to minimize what you carry and stick to your vehicle for most travel.

-I have no intention of carrying everything around with me, only having it available if a situation calls for it. The riot gear for example would only be donned if poking into a close quarters area. I'm also a big strong guy used to lugging crap around to little purpose.
-I've packed for major outdoor trips using a vehicle roughly the size of the FED before, the guns, armor, and compact generators being the only items I haven't had to account for before. Somehow I think I can get them to fit into the roughly 40 cubic feet of space I normally leave empty (to be later filled by other campers and their personal stuff)
-When push comes to shove, that list is what I would take if all preparations go perfectly (a somewhat unlikely scenario all things considered), fully intending to leave some behind if and when necessary. If forced to pare that list down only to the absolute bare essentials, I could still make the plan work with a little extra luck while bringing only a hiking bag filled with 60 lbs of gear. Of course, I would be stealing a few cars from the dead on the way, and scavenging quite a bit more than intended in that case, both actions increase the risk substantially. Also, if that occurs, I might actually change gears and head south, hot weather gear has less mass and bulk to them, and heat can do the same job cold will, although not nearly as cleanly.

You need to go to a survival board. Your scenario gears are base on movies and games. It's not realistic.

http://www.survivalistboards.com/

From experience, humping 70-100lds of gears is not fun. In fact it's back breaking. In an apocalypse scenario you won't have a vehicle. If you do you won't get far because of blocked roads and lack of fuel.

A typical survival person travel light. He only needs the tools that allow him to live off the land. For examples: fish line and hook, lighter, knife, paracord, trauma kit, compass, map, small eating utensils, thin light weight compact plastic sheet that can keep you dry, water bottle, etc. All these will be put in a 3 day backpack.

http://www.lapolicegear.com/diplomat-3-day-backpack1.html

For weapons, survival people will only carrier .22lr light weight rifles like the Papoose.

http://youtu.be/32FgaIb66bM

And yes I do have my survival 3 days backpack gears ready to bug out if needed.

 

[jdun]

I'd barricade my house (in a medium-populated suburb) with the rest of my family, get in the attic and pull up the stairs after piling up food/ loads of water/ lights/ batteries/ etc (hopefully the internet will be up long enough for me to do some quick research on survival essentials), and hope that the government takes care of it. If not, I'd wait until our supplies run out and hope that our Ruger Mark III .22 pistol is powerful enough to commit suicide with...

edit: If I was feeling especially courageous, I'd try to book a private flight to some small, obscure island nation that has civilization and enough agriculture to sustain itself.

First thing the government will do shit. They have other things to deal with than rescuing your family and you. In an Apocalypse scenario order breaks down. Government breaks down. Everybody is on their own.

The best way to survival an Apocalypse scenario is to run to the hills. Live off the land. Avoid other groups because they might be hostile or will be extra burden if you allow them in.

 

[jdun]

btw, why is it always shotguns are the weapons of choice during a zombie apocalypse?

Because most bullets have about as much affect on a corpse as they would a pile of dirt, and almost all melee weapons require getting within biting reach (the ones that don't take years of training to use properly). Most guns are only as effective as they are normally because the person hit can quickly bleed to death, not really a problem for the undead, or for a living person blinded by something like the "rage virus" in that one movie.

A shotgun on the other hand is easy to use and aim, usable in close to midrange quarters, and spreads the kinetic force over a large enough area to knock the target back and down. It is also capable of pulping flesh to the point that it is physically unusable.

Shotgun and other firearms doesn't knock people back and down. That only happen in the movies.

 

[jdun]

Mostly likely for me:
run down to the gun shop.
grab some guns and ammo
turns out i made too much noise and now im surrounded
hopefully i get a couple before im overwhelmed
pop myself in the head(zombies aren't getting me!)

You know what the problem with your scenario? Everybody will do the same thing. If the owner or employees isn't at the shop, whoever get there first will get all the guns and ammo. For the people that disagree with him, they'll get shot.

 

[jdun]

finally get some use out of my Zombie Survival guide!
1.store water
2.move food to second floor
3.destroy the stairs
4.hang up sign,s on the roof asking for help
5.wait it out.

It going to be a long wait. If the zombie don't get you, you probably shoot yourself in the head to end your suffering. No one going to come and help you in an Apocalypse scenario. They have their own problems to deal with.

 

[Ghaleon640]

Well, I wooooouuuuuld plant myself an artillery force in my lawn, but whether its the dead rocky dirt from my home in Texas, or the concrete outside my apartment in Chicago, I will meet nothing but horrible failure.

You can save me Gloom Shroom! .... damn, forgot the coffee bean.

 

[jdun]

Any gun will just attract more zombies than it kills, so i would have to go with baseball bat and hand axes, and then get on a ferry or cruise liner, raiding coastal towns like a pirate.

hahaha

You know what wrong with your scenario? First you need to find a boat. Second if you do the person that owns it will not let you in. In fact he will be leaving your ass behind for the zombie to feed on. If the boat is occupied do you know how to operate it? Do you know how to navigate?

Remember pirates rob other pirates on the high sea and unlike you they have guns.

As a rule of thumb in any Apocalypse scenario you'll be on your own. No one going to help you. There no one to complain to about bad services. No 911. Nothing.

 

[Akytalusia]

humans are so silly, but i'll play along. in this scenario, i'd be on cleanup. you don't have to worry, once everyone is a zombie, you'll be set free to finaly rest. you'll only have to endure that pain as long as there are survivers. everyone who prolongs the apocalypse by resisting are antagonists. the zombies have every right to be angry and hunt them down; poor souls. of course, this isn't how it goes down, so the whole thing is a moot point.

 

[Jopoho]

I would try to live in a warehouse store and eat peanut-butter-filled pretzels for the rest of my days, and I probably would have too many days left at that point.

 

[Lupus80]

I would negotiate with the zombies, because if Captain Janeway can negotiate with the Borg Collective, I can negotiate with brain-craving living-impaired corpses.