So what would you realistically do if the dead walked?

[JDFP]

Granted, this question is posted about every other month, but I'm looking for some more "realistic" considerations -- not a bunch of silly tripe idiot stuff that would never pan out (like trying to build a home with a mote around it -- really, are you a contractor who happens to have all those supplies laying around right now and you can build it all in a couple days?) The answer is not: "Oh yeah, me and my friends would get some guns and kill 'em all!" or "We'd head to the mall man!" -- I guess some people would attempt this, and they'd end up being amongst the first to be wiped out. I really wonder about this. We've all spent some time in considering (Well, at least I have, I'd say many of you have as well), but most of what I've read on here recently has been some unrealistic statements about what you could do. I figure when that proverbial sheisse hits that fan, most of us would have maybe good 48 hours before everything went down-hill into insanity. The first couple of weeks the living would be more dangerous than the dead -- crazy people, just crazy people everywhere. The grocery stores, Wal-Mart's, and gun shops, would all be wiped out within a day, the streets would soon become useless for transportation, and you don't know who to trust anymore. Mass looting. Mass destruction. I always thought I'd be able to board up my apartment and knock out the out-side stairwell someway or another (when you're desperate enough, you can figure it out); but then when I started really thinking about it -- yeah, I could probably get by for a good 30 days on food supplies and water and what not, but then what? It's a rough situation, not much to look into doing other than fantasies of being amazing zombie-fighter heroes that just isn't terribly realistic for the most part. Eh, maybe I'm being a bit of a downer... but realistically speaking, the best option may be just grabbing a 24-pack, a pack of smokes, and saying: "Eh, que sera sera." j.p.

[capncnut]

Shit myself. Get drunk and hope I don't wake up. Eh, maybe I'm being a bit of a downer... but realistically speaking, the best option may be just grabbing a 24-pack, a pack of smokes, and saying: "Eh, que sera sera." Pretty much. Even if it did get all out of control, I don't think a zombie uprising would last beyond a day or two 'realistically' anyways. Of course we have diseases like AIDS that wipe out millions and it's still with us years later but with the dead coming to life, new rules would be made. Everyone would have the knowhow in a very short time. The funeral business would rocket, the arms industry would make billions but I think people would 'realistically' deal with it. Edit: 100th edit. In answer to the question at hand, I would meet up with all my friends, family (easily done) and watch Dawn Of The Dead, saying "Fuuuccckin' 'ell! This film ain't real at all!"

[krakenslayer]

Stay in my house. Keep my head down. Not make any rash decisions. Think every move over very carefully. Wait until all the panic-stricken people - who are gonna get themselves and others killed - have all snuffed it, then take my chances with the zombies. If GAR has taught me anything, it's that my fellow humans are a greater threat than the zombies.

[Russian DeadMan]

First thing to do is to grab your family and leave the city. Not just because of the dead, but alive, who positively will lose their wits when realize that there's no police anymore, or army, or any other force that can curb their vices. Then you should go as far from the crowd as your gas tank allows and find a farm. You can try to arrange with the owner (if he's still alive) to live there and help him with cattle and crop. That's how you and your family can be rather safe and not starving. And remember, your prosperity depends on wheter the fast or slow zombies epidemic it is.

[bassman]

I live in a small neighborhood far from large populations....so that's good. My house is also pretty high off the ground. The only way to get to the main floor is through climbing 15+ stairs at every entrance. So I would knock out those wooden stairs and then from there I'm kinda cruising.... I have a few guns and enough ammunition to last for a bit. Same with non perishable food. If somehow the smelly f*ckers find a way to make it up a large wall with nothing to climb and get to the doors/windows....I'll try boarding them up. If that doesn't work, I'll climb into the attic(which has small ventilation windows that can be easily removed). If I need to go higher....I get on the roof. If that fails? Well.....I make sure my family won't turn and then take care of myself. *shivers* Horrible thoughts... Although I think the "f*ck it....i'm getting drunk" idea sounds pretty good.

[EvilNed]

If it gets as bad as it does in the movies? I think I'll answer for all of us here: I'd die. Yepp, I'd get caught unaware and get bitten somehow. And if I did managed to make it through the first few weeks I'd starve to death, or get shot by some people with less respect for human life than I have. And this, my friends, is what would happen to ALL of us.

[SRP76]

Realistically, die. That's about it. Since it's physically impossible to wipe them all out, the only thing you can do is run, hide, and "survive" for awhile. Maybe even for years. But sooner or later, they get you.

[krakenslayer]

Realistically, die. That's about it. Since it's physically impossible to wipe them all out, the only thing you can do is run, hide, and "survive" for awhile. Maybe even for years. But sooner or later, they get you. Well, that's life. Albeit speeded up.

[Tricky]

Well, as i currently live on a farm in the UK & have access to a shotgun I would probably hold up for a while at home with my family & pets, then just live off the food we had till it ran out, it would be a bonus if the power stayed on as our deep freezer is full of stuff! The windows are double glazed & we could park our cars in front of the doors, no GAR zombie would realistically get through that!I expect the toilet would keep flushing & the tap water would stay on for a while so we'd be ok for the first fortnight at least! After that I guess it would be a case of figuring out what to do next, heading down to the local local clay pigeon shooting range would be an option to get more shells for the shotgun, probably travel there in a tractor too, even if it took all day! After that if we couldnt realistically hold up at home for the foreseeable, then I would probably suggest travelling by day to either strensall or catterick in the UK, both of which are large fairly local military bases & would likely be more than able to defend themselves for a long,long time (lets face it, in real life the army wouldnt fold within days, and the chances are they wouldnt be the evil ones that they are portrayed in most disaster movies either)

[JDFP]

then I would probably suggest travelling by day to either strensall or catterick in the UK, both of which are large fairly local military bases & would likely be more than able to defend themselves for a long,long time (lets face it, in real life the army wouldnt fold within days, and the chances are they wouldnt be the evil ones that they are portrayed in most disaster movies either) That actually begs the question: Would going to be a military base really be a wise move? Next to perhaps dumb-asses heading to the mall, you have to figure anywhere within a 100 mile radius (or more) of a military base would be saying: "Hey, I can get to Ft. Campbell / Ft. Bragg / Ft. Wherever and be safe!" meaning you'd have possibly hundreds of thousands converging on a military base within a number of weeks. Then you have to contend with the fact that if it's martial law or state of emergency, at least in the U.S., the base would be on lock-down, meaning NO ONE into the base under any circumstances. And I think those who attempted to break through would have a quick ending. No, I'd say out of all places to go -- a military base would probably be on my list of top places to not go to during such an event. I live in the 'burbs of Knoxville, TN. It's a decent sized city, but we're also surrounded by miles of countryside. If waking up the next morning after my "end of the world" drink-fest and finding myself still alive, I'd probably take my chances with some good-ol'-'boys up in the countryside drinking warm Pabst. If you saw me in "DAWN" I would have been the guy getting a cup of coffee out on the airport road to Monroeville with the National Guard and redneck garrison. j.p.

[AcesandEights]

That actually begs the question: Would going to be a military base really be a wise move? I've always maintained going to a military base in the midst of an outbreak would probably be a horrible idea. If you go as soon as you realize there's a problem, you'll be surrounded by gobs of other people with the same idea, many of them quite possibly being turned away or rioting and some of them infected. If you go much later than that you risk being shot out of hand (what with the military wanting to survive and you likely being in breach of the recent martial law).

[MissJacksonCA]

I would say 'I told you so' to everyone who bites it... and allow the years of research into how to survive the zombies payoff... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l9ocz8jlKs

[sandrock74]

I would head up north to the tip of the thumb of Michigan. It's well attainable on less than a tank of gas, no need to refuel. You pass through plenty of farm land to get there, and the population of the town is only 737 people (spread out over town, not bunched together). Many of the vacation homes/cottages would be empty (if it's the off season, they would ALL be empty), so finding a roof over my head would be fairly easy. I am familiar with the town and where to find things. Once there, I can relax and monitor events as best I can. The nearest "big town" (population 3,462) is 17 miles away and is where the power comes from. If the power goes, I would take that as a sign that things got bad there and I should be prepared to move. I could swipe a boat either at the marina or one docked by homes and take my leave via Lake Superior (yes, I know how to operate a boat)...OR...I could travel to a town that is 26 miles away (population 1,207), where the parents of my best friend (I'm their second son) live in a rather large compound (I was there this past summer and my friend and I were saying you could hold out against zombies there...even has its own generator) and stay with them. They have their own boat in the back, which is fenced off from the front, so escape via the lake is, again, possible. I agree that there aren't too many "ideal" places to hole up...you'd have to keep on the move. If you got to stay somewhere for a season, you could consider yourself lucky I would think. I think for my own specific plan, avoiding the undead and traveling by the Great Lakes as much as possible is the name of the game. Staying among towns of low populations would be a big help I think. I always felt that small towns/isolated places would fare MUCH better than any big city. Look at it this way...would you rather be in a city with 1,000,000+ people, or a town with 700 people? Less people = less zombies. I also don't think too many zombies would be going for a swim in the Great Lakes. That's my own personal plan, and I'm sticking to it!

[strayrider]

Being incapable of understanding the situation, or having any answers, I'd simply truck across the countryside blowing the zombie's brains out. -stray-

[blind2d]

Moi? I would hole up until everyone else has fled my area, then kill as many as I could before being eaten. Maybe setting the town on fire in the process. Not a great plan, but... yeah, that's it. Wouldn't get drunk, though.