So what would you realistically do if the dead walked? [Archive]

JDFP

09-Sep-2009, 07:02 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 07:08 PM

Shit myself. :stunned:

Get drunk and hope I don't wake up. :D

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

09-Sep-2009, 07:55 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 08:24 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 08:32 PM

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. :D

EvilNed

09-Sep-2009, 08:57 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 09:04 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 09:09 PM

Tricky

09-Sep-2009, 10:24 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 10:46 PM

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

09-Sep-2009, 11:49 PM

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

10-Sep-2009, 04:22 AM

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

10-Sep-2009, 04:24 AM

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

10-Sep-2009, 07:39 AM

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

:D

-stray-

blind2d

10-Sep-2009, 10:40 AM

MaximusIncredulous

11-Sep-2009, 12:27 AM

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.

You must get drunk. Conflagrations are not fun if you aren't buzzed.

zombieparanoia

11-Sep-2009, 04:40 AM

sandrock74

11-Sep-2009, 07:08 PM

C5NOTLD

11-Sep-2009, 09:54 PM

Find Ken Foree - he knows how to survive.
:skull:

Mr.G

11-Sep-2009, 11:03 PM

United or not, we are still talking about the undead. Unless aliens were landing, eating us, and biting others of us who in turn become additional aliens...the two are not comparable.

I would like to hope the human race would rally but large metros would fall pretty quick. Look at recent disasters in large cities...the sh## hit the fan and chaos took over. Imagine that exponentially.

Danny

11-Sep-2009, 11:38 PM

Find Ken Foree - he knows how to survive.
:skull:

i'd laugh if it turned out that ken was a crazy survival nut and he thought dawn was real and lives in some cabin somewhere waiting for it to die down.
..theres probably a spoof movie in that.:lol:

Tricky

12-Sep-2009, 01:18 PM

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).

What if your actually a paid up, albeit part time serving soldier though ;)

kortick

12-Sep-2009, 02:29 PM

who the hell would want to live in a
world where dead people were walking around.

i like Johns advice from Day

"lets find a little island somewhere and spend
what little time we got soaking up the sun'

Rancid Carcass

12-Sep-2009, 04:30 PM

You know, I think that if zombies suddenly were a reality, people would get their shit together and be ok. Its like in district 9 or the watchmen, all humans need is a common enemy and we'll stop fighting amongst ourselves and unite against the common foe. It would be like an space alien attack, there would be noone on earth who wouldn't be proearth.

Everybody with a pulse is suddenly on one team.

I think the authorities and institutions would drop the ball and geta lot of people killed but people on the grassroots level would look out for each other.

I'm not sure that we actually would all pull together to fight the fight. Do you honestly believe people like the Taliban or Bin Laden would suddenly have a change of heart? No, they would claim it would be something like divine retribution against the western infidels and in all probability use it as a means to further undermine western civilisation - instead of bombs they'd just send suicide squads into major cities armed with a pack of razor blades, find a quiet back alley, slit their wrists and wait for the shit to hit the fan. Martyrdom through zombification. I'm afraid all the old tensions will still persist in the apocalypse and we'll be fighting a war on many fronts I'm sure as various dissident groups, religious nuts and assorted other organisations seek to further their own agenda by taking advantage of the situation.

sandrock74

12-Sep-2009, 11:42 PM

I'm not sure that we actually would all pull together to fight the fight. Do you honestly believe people like the Taliban or Bin Laden would suddenly have a change of heart? No, they would claim it would be something like divine retribution against the western infidels and in all probability use it as a means to further undermine western civilisation - instead of bombs they'd just send suicide squads into major cities armed with a pack of razor blades, find a quiet back alley, slit their wrists and wait for the shit to hit the fan. Martyrdom through zombification. I'm afraid all the old tensions will still persist in the apocalypse and we'll be fighting a war on many fronts I'm sure as various dissident groups, religious nuts and assorted other organisations seek to further their own agenda by taking advantage of the situation.

Once they are zombies, it wouldn't matter. They would all be dead.

bd2999

13-Sep-2009, 04:21 AM

I would probably go down pretty fast to be honest with you. I would get caught in some no win situation more than likely, not to mention I am not that good at foraging or anything like that. When the world goes down I am probably not going to be worth that much in the end.

In the idea scenerio have a little bit of time, head out to the country with alot of lumber and bricks. Brick up low level windows, fill everything with water and stockpile as much food as possible. Probably try to get a garden going too but that would be harder, the house some relatives live in you might be able to mess with the roof but that is it. I figure it is better to hide, lay low and hope things come back under control. If they do not in relatively short order it is unlikely that they ever will.

strayrider

13-Sep-2009, 08:12 AM

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.

Well, if it isn't the Trash Can Man.

http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/4/7/6/9/13029674-13029677-large.jpg

I will set you to burn!

:lol:

-stray-

Yojimbo

13-Sep-2009, 06:01 PM

If GAR has taught me anything, it's that my fellow humans are a greater threat than the zombies.

Agreed. In a zombie crisis situation I would be much more concerned about the threat posed by other panicked survivors than the zombies themselves.

JDFP

13-Sep-2009, 06:21 PM

Well, if it isn't the Trash Can Man.

http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/4/7/6/9/13029674-13029677-large.jpg

I will set you to burn!

:lol:

-stray-

Bumpty-bumpty bump...Bumpty-bumpty bump... My life for you! My life for you!

haha... couldn't resist...

M-O-O-N, that spells Trash Can Man.

j.p.

Slain

14-Sep-2009, 03:07 AM

If a zombie pandemic were to really hit the world, I'm going on the warpath against anybody who's ever wronged me. Since I consider certain organistations or classes of people enemies, this vendetta could go on for sometime. I suppose the best outcome I could hope for would be to become a Road Warrior type figure prowling the wastland.

Wyldwraith

14-Sep-2009, 05:14 AM

Ok you want realism,
**Warning, this will not be Khardis-like B.S, BUT it WILL be ugly. If you are easily offended, you have been warned**

Here's the thing. I'm addicted to painkillers because of my back. So I'm already a couple steps behind the rest of you, because I have to risk getting shot by police or fellow looters more than once, because I'll have to try and rip off a few pharmacies to build up enough of a stash to remain mostly functional for awhile. If that doesn't work, I'll have to go the hyper-high-risk route, and head into 99.9995% certain death by entering a hospital in an attempt to scavenge their painkillers.

Now, assuming that God watches over addicts as he does drunks, madmen and children, and I somehow survive THIS extremely high-risk behavior, AND the extremely high-risk behavior in trying to lay hands on the vital supplies the rest of you have been working on while I was looking for pain pills. I can't even conceive of just how unlikely it is I'll survive ALL OF THAT, but saying that I do...

I live in Florida, and I own a Jonboat (sp?), now Florida is interesting, in that if one has an extensive knowledge of the river systems, and you're willing to enter the Gulf and hug the coast for a brief stretch when the St. Lawrence can't take you further southeast so you can reach another one of the minor river or estuary entrances that can get you into the South Florida Loch system. Once you're in there, you're golden, because jonboats and airboats are the only watercraft that can negotiate the oft-encountered shallows in the Lochs (sp?) Problem being that airboats are too heavy to pick up and lug over the top of the many small dams, waterworks etc. that you'll have to get by to continue a mainly-direct southerly course.

Now, while one COULD get shot by a nut on the banks, it's highly unlikely as long as you avoid the few waterways that empty out into lakes in large upscale residential communities. The area is mainly empty most of the regular time, so....

Ok, so assuming that I'm STILL NOT DEAD, my ultimate goal is to enter the Everglades via the artificial waterways, and hunker down a good distance in. Depending on the supplies I was able to acquire before entering, and if I could avoid the various natural perils of the Everglades, I think it would be my best chance of lasting for a long time. LOT of natural resources to take advantage of, plus its an intimidating locale that I believe would prevent a large exodus into it. Plus, that environment is all-but-impossible for the undead (and unwary people) to travel in without ending up either gator-bait, snakebit (the living), or swallowed up by the many patches of quicksand and mudboils (the undead).

Assuming that this worked out and against all odds I survived to reach the 'glades, I'd lurk along the border between the settled area adjoining the wetlands buffer between subdivisions and swamp proper, doing whatever was necessary to survive, no matter how repugnant.

Kinda a moot point, but that's what I'd TRY to do. I have some proficiency with navigating the south florida waterways via jonboat, and I have some VERY rudimentary survival training in that environment...but realistically I'd never make it, and even if I did, I'd be so badly hampered in my physical efforts once the pain pills ran out, that I'd get killed that way if no other.

That would be my plan anyways. Might crack up and eat a bunch of painkillers and then a bullet right before passing out or the vomiting started.

You wanted realism...

Trin

14-Sep-2009, 06:59 PM

I'd wait outside the hospital and see if Wyldwraith makes it out alive. If he does I'll gank him and take all those sweet, sweet drugs.

AcesandEights

14-Sep-2009, 07:09 PM

I'd wait outside the hospital and see if Wyldwraith makes it out alive. If he does I'll gank him and take all those sweet, sweet drugs.

+1 for using the word gank and making me laugh.

Mike70

14-Sep-2009, 09:02 PM

I'd wait outside the hospital and see if Wyldwraith makes it out alive. If he does I'll gank him and take all those sweet, sweet drugs.

not unless khardis beats you there first. remember, he is the baddest, toughest dude on the planet.:lol:

Wyldwraith

15-Sep-2009, 01:51 AM

I rest my case as to not making it out alive ;)

Big believer in realism in my zombie apocalypse fantasizing, no matter how ugly. Of course if Trin proved to be a non-Khardis individual, I might attempt to strike a deal with him. I do all the high-risk work of going into the hospital deathtrap and scavenging amidst the zombies, and if I make it out alive and uninfected, I cut him in for a 40% share for a) not killing me and making off with all the loot, and b) watching my back while I'm carting around thousands of highly-desirable pain pills and ampules of narcotics and antibiotics...

Win-win situation for Trin. Lots of loot for no effort unless I actually beat the odds and survive (and hey, I'm enough of a man of my word that even if I got bitten I'd still try to make it to the entrance and deliver the loot to him. Of course I'd want him to give me enough time to shoot up with a lethal dose of Demoral or Fentanyl, and then put a bullet in my head before I begin to suffer the unpleasant portion of the overdose, ie: Aspirating vomit into my lungs, etc.)

End of the day, Trin walks away with either a partner and 40% of the take from a hospitals pharmacy, walks away with all of it for the price of a bullet and five to ten minutes of his time while the drugs are kicking in before he shoots me, or nothing, but also no risk.

I'd like to believe that Trin is not Khardis-like enough to murder me if he could benefit by my continued survival. Besides, from a purely pragmatic point of view, if I'm dead he has to carry all the drugs by himself, PLUS all his other supplies. Brings new meaning to the term Drug Mule, eh? ;)

Sorry for responding seriously to a very amusing post. Just got me thinking about my priorities. I'm actually MUCH more frightened of narcotics withdrawal or living with the pain hour to hour, day after day, than I am of being devoured alive by zombies.

Screwed up, eh?

That, and if you're anywhere but in the panhandle and you're stuck in Florida when the zombie rising gets out of hand, the Everglades is your only viable choice but putting out to sea and trying to avoid being wiped out by the storms that plague the region. Which could be good, IF you've got the various skills, manpower and access to a sizable ocean-going craft. Least it gives you the option of eventually aligning yourself with other crews/ships.

Ultimately however, I think I believe in the words of the guy who said we'd all die, because 99.5% of us would do just that.

Mike70

15-Sep-2009, 05:38 AM

well, i've thought about this thread for a bit before chiming in.

i have moved back to the east side of cincy and am living on top of a huge set of hills that are about a mile from the ohio river. i have access to a good sized houseboat and it is located at a marina that is only about 1.5 miles from where i am at now.

so, i'd probably pop over to dad's quickly because my old man has what amounts to a national guard armory in his house. i wouldn't at all be surprised if he pulled a vulcan cannon that he'd been hiding for years out of the basement. anyhoo, after getting him, we'd most likely head for the houseboat and take off up river toward portsmouth and huntington. strayrider and moonsylver can back me up on the wasteland that southern ohio and northern ky are. that is a very, very sparsely populated area and once you get a bit away from the river in either direction, there is literally nothing for huge stretches. i would head upriver, even though it'd be much harder on fuel, because going downriver means passing directly through the gauntlet that would be formed by cincinnati on one side of the river and the cities of newport and covington, ky directly opposite. fuck that.

i'd probably try to stay on the river as much as possible in the houseboat and at the same time, i'd be trying to gauge what was going on in some of the towns along the river: ripley, higginsport, new richmond, etc. those places are small enough and isolated enough that things might not get too bad there. it might be possible that those places would be safe enough that i might throw my lot in with the folks there. small populations, very remote, not many roads lead in or out of there, some of the river towns might make perfect strongholds for people. plus, you'd be able to make a quick escape along the river.

zombies may have walked underwater in land but i guarantee you that little trick would not work in a huge river like the ohio. sure they might try that but the current would get them and they'd be fucking done for, you'd probably never see them again or they'd wash up miles down river from your location.

so to recap: given a decent weapons and ammo situation (which i have already) i take to the river and try to stay as close to it as possible. i'd be closely checking out the small towns on the ohio and if one of them had their shit together, i'd throw my lot in there, humans are social animals after all. i've been fishing pretty much my whole life and have decent hunting exp. so, i doubt that i would starve after taking to the river.

Trin

15-Sep-2009, 02:49 PM

Dammit Wyldwraith - you hit me in my Achilles heel. There's no way that if confronted by someone level-headed with a plan and the option of working together I could say no. And there's also no way I could allow someone to take the brunt of the risk if they're proven to be selfless.

So... fine. You storm the hospital and I'll keep a watch on the exit to guard our escape and make sure Khardis isn't sneaking around waiting to gank the both of us. No sense agreeing on percentages of the loot. Once it's a team effort it's a team reward. I call dibs on the hospital jello.

strayrider

16-Sep-2009, 08:18 AM

strayrider and moonsylver can back me up on the wasteland that southern ohio and northern ky are. that is a very, very sparsely populated area and once you get a bit away from the river in either direction, there is literally nothing for huge stretches.

Mostly vacant, yes, but watch out for pockets of hillbillies. Don't make Ned Beatty's mistake.

9gLN3QoN-q8

Of course, you'd have the firepower to avoid "squeeling".

:lol:

-stray-

Wyldwraith

16-Sep-2009, 01:43 PM

There we go,
Proving my other argument from SRP's thread awhile back. That while *people* may be dumb as a box of hammers, that individuals can be reasonable, practical and reliable. My bet is if the dead ever walk, in all likelihood greedy & amoral people will be responsible for it. Say what you want about the Resident Evil movies, but they're very strong on providing a realistic cause and motive, and method for how an undead rising could come about.

With that in mind, an individual's best chance of survival will also be one that harnesses the same powerful force that could bring about the end of the world. People, specifically trustworthy individuals equally aware of the fact that the worst dangers will always come from the Khardis's of the world in the absence of deterrents like law enforcement. Zombies are dangerous, but at the end of the day still just rotting meatbag bundles of instinct. Humans can track you across half a continent, watch and wait, and strike in an organized manner when you either least expect it, or are in the worst position for it.

The only real counter to that are intelligent and trustworthy allies, and a modus operandi that includes creating as many worthwhile alliances of various sorts with other survivors you come across in various situations.

Gives you the best chance of being included in someone's workable master plan to reach safety, valuable resources, etc.

SRP76

16-Sep-2009, 04:23 PM

Romero may try to pretend that live humans are "the real threat", but I don't buy it for a second.

Go ahead and take all live threats out of the equation - you and your buddies are the only survivors. Guess what happens?

You STILL get eaten sooner or later. Why? Because unlike in Romero's world, the zombies aren't just harmless dudes "looking for a place to live". They're predators, and we're their one and only food source. Other cows aren't the threat to the cow; the butcher is.

We're just a few cows left alive, and there are billions of hungry butchers. Life at the top of the Dollar Menu.

Tricky

16-Sep-2009, 06:35 PM

I think out in the countryside you'd be fine in the long term unless all the zombies in the country have a built in GPRS that lets them know exactly where you are from hundreds of miles away!

SRP76

16-Sep-2009, 06:45 PM

I think out in the countryside you'd be fine in the long term unless all the zombies in the country have a built in GPRS that lets them know exactly where you are from hundreds of miles away!

That would only work if we could teleport. Just like the dead, we also have to get there first. Easier said than done. You have to get yourself through untold numbers of zombies first - and if any spot you, they'll just follow.

Try just walking to the end of your street and back without anyone spotting you. It isn't easy. And for any person that sees you, that'll be a zombie that sees you. And forget any kind of motor vehicle; the dead will hear that instantly.

bassman

16-Sep-2009, 06:52 PM

The main problem with being in the country(which is pretty much where I live) is that everyone else would get the same idea and head in that direction. So then you've got a bigger problem than the zombies - the people. They cause you more trouble and at the same time bring more zombies....

Tricky

16-Sep-2009, 06:53 PM

That would only work if we could teleport. Just like the dead, we also have to get there first. Easier said than done. You have to get yourself through untold numbers of zombies first - and if any spot you, they'll just follow.

Try just walking to the end of your street and back without anyone spotting you. It isn't easy. And for any person that sees you, that'll be a zombie that sees you. And forget any kind of motor vehicle; the dead will hear that instantly.

Quite easy for me, I live on a farm out in the sticks :D

JDFP

16-Sep-2009, 07:05 PM

You know, I've been thinking on it some...

And I think that the gov't has some type of program in case something like zombies (or more apt, unknown viral plague that turns people into cannibalistic creatures) were to come along. The question is whether they would be able to successfully implement the program or not.

Back when I was living in Atlanta I was friends with a guy who worked for the CDC. I asked him something along the lines one day, and while he didn't answer straight out (nor did he laugh for that matter); he said that there's quite a bit up the right people's sleeves to be prepared for any type of scenerio, and that there are high intelligence offices designated just for coming to terms with forms of preparedness.

Makes you think at least...

j.p.

Yojimbo

17-Sep-2009, 02:20 AM

not unless khardis beats you there first. remember, he is the baddest, toughest dude on the planet.:lol:
Honestly kind of miss that dude Khardis.

People, specifically trustworthy individuals equally aware of the fact that the worst dangers will always come from the Khardis's of the world in the absence of deterrents like law enforcement. Zombies are dangerous, but at the end of the day still just rotting meatbag bundles of instinct. Humans can track you across half a continent, watch and wait, and strike in an organized manner when you either least expect it, or are in the worst position for it.

The only real counter to that are intelligent and trustworthy allies, and a modus operandi that includes creating as many worthwhile alliances of various sorts with other survivors you come across in various situations.

Gives you the best chance of being included in someone's workable master plan to reach safety, valuable resources, etc.

I agree - it would be far better to team up and combine resources with folks who think along the same lines. I would be glad to back up wyld and his crew in a crisis if given the opportunity.

MoonSylver

17-Sep-2009, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by Mike70 View Post
strayrider and moonsylver can back me up on the wasteland that southern ohio and northern ky are. that is a very, very sparsely populated area and once you get a bit away from the river in either direction, there is literally nothing for huge stretches.Mostly vacant, yes, but watch out for pockets of hillbillies. Don't make Ned Beatty's mistake.

Oh yeah...southern Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, there are vast areas one could vanish into & good luck to the zed's trying to navigate the terrain &/or find you.

Now the locals? Hope they're friendly. I grew up with plenty of good ol' boys who I wouldn't want to fuck with...:eek:

strayrider

17-Sep-2009, 07:52 AM

I grew up with plenty of good ol' boys who I wouldn't want to fuck with...:eek:

I knew a good ol boy named Jonny from New Carlisle, Ohio. He was a man of his word. If he told you he was about to kick your a$$ that is EXACTLY what he meant. There was no BS involved.

Jonny was "ballbat" material: meaning that if you wanted to take him on, you'd better be armed with a ballbat -- and even then you had no guarantee of winning.

I stayed on Jonny's good side.

:D

-stray-

Wyldwraith

17-Sep-2009, 04:22 PM

Ok fair enough,
All the living people besides my allied crew are now dead, and it's us Vs. the uncountable hordes of zombies. Glad that I made recruiting allies a major platform for my course of action, because instead of being a lone ninja-ganker like Khardis who will die when the need for sleep finally overtakes him, I have the manpower required for individuals to keep watch, sleep in shifts, divide necessary tasks, and fight jointly (when necessary).

Does it guarantee survival? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Doesn't even make it likely. What it DOES do is make what would otherwise be a 100% hopeless situation if I was on my own into one that offers at least very slim odds that at least SOME of us will make it to a low-risk/high-resource area.

No other possible plan offers even a .1% chance of survival. We live in a universe where incredibly unlikely events happen all the time, sometimes even in strings of ever-more-unlikely/improbable conjunctions of events. So long as something isn't flat out impossible, it's worth it to keep fighting for just one more minute, one more hour, one more day etc.

If all of the people currently alive that faced "certain" death had given up and died, we'd need to portion off a patch of ground the size of Connecticut just to bury them all.

Admittedly, escaping a global zombie rising to a long-term safe haven is a VERY tall order, but I wouldn't call it IMPOSSIBLE. Call it 97.5% in favor of the zombies eating us all, 99.25% of the zombies eating some of us, and only .75% of us all making it out alive.

Faced with the alternatives, I'll take the .75% chance, and keep my chosen method of swift suicide close at hand in case the odds catch up with me.

Of course, can't the same be said about any risky venture in life?

Russ7187

20-Oct-2009, 07:34 PM

Easy for me. I live in Pittsburgh in Etna, two towns over is Millvale who has a marina with tons of boats. Also one up in Aspinewall up the street the other way. Just get some guns, food, and water and head for those. One the way get what family and friends I have. Well I have some friends who I would go for at all cost, since they are the types you'd need in the world of the dead, or after the end of the world period. Live on a few boats for a while, rig up weapons to defend em, and raid the three rivers for more food or water for a few months. Maybe find bank kinda hidden and use it as a base. After a few months when the chaos dies down, start to look for somewhere to settle down and fortify by the rivers since A) The water would start to get clean, just boil it to drink, so no problem there and B) My dad is REALLY into fishing so we'd have food. Try to find some crotch rockets and harleys and scout the area out, try to find more people and make some sort of community. Also try to find bigger and better weapons since I'm sure some people will be worse than the dead. I might add more later.

blind2d

21-Oct-2009, 02:07 AM

Find an island, eh? Not a bad plan...

acealive1

27-Oct-2009, 06:48 PM

got it kinda figured out. at my house, the windows are pretty damned high. recently added security bars, and theres a barred gate door on the front along with a steel front and back door. in door porch on the front, so that much harer to get in my house.

the windows are high to the point its very difficult to get in. and the others are so small that a small child would have issues getting through. theres 5 sources of food and water and other things within half a block, but still im in a neighborhood full of houses and a lil bit safer than living by a main street.

fenced in yard as well, u could easily see someone coming if there was a threat.

and since i've gotten to pittsburgh this week on vacation and looked around, i've realized this area would be fucked in a zombie attack. no place to hide.

FoodFight

28-Oct-2009, 07:45 PM

What would I realistically do if the dead walked? I'd download my consciousness into a cybernetic construct to defeat the undead. See? My research facility is just as believable as the dead walking, so that is what I would do. Then I'd kick Khardis in the ass.

mista_mo

28-Oct-2009, 07:48 PM

I would most likely go crazy at the thought of my entire family being eaten or killed in other horrific ways. I give myself a week tops, and that is being generous.

Cartma7546

30-Oct-2009, 05:06 AM

Kill Phillip, head home and wait for it all to blow over

deadpunk

30-Oct-2009, 05:33 AM

I would shit my pants.

Following that unhappy incident, I would batten down the hatches, load the deer rifles and just try and survive the first night. Trying to plan anything beyond that is an exercise in futility, imho.

ProfessorChaos

30-Oct-2009, 05:46 AM

i would start believing in god, cuz i pray every day that zombies will wipe out our moronic, celebrity/technology obsessed society...and he's still not answering.:|

deadpunk

30-Oct-2009, 05:49 AM

i would start believing in god, cuz i pray every day that zombies will wipe out our moronic, celebrity/technology obsessed society...and he's still not answering.:|

That 'technology' bit caught my eye. In an ironic twist of fate, I would likely be logged onto this very site when it happened. :lol::lol::lol:

capncnut

30-Oct-2009, 05:50 AM

i would start believing in god, cuz i pray every day that zombies will wipe out our moronic, celebrity/technology obsessed society...and he's still not answering.:|
Wouldn't it be nice to drive a bunch of nails through a plank of wood, leave the house, go up to the nearest walker and just batter the fucker to bits knowing you wont be arrested and you just helped society a little bit more? :)

ProfessorChaos

30-Oct-2009, 05:54 AM

That 'technology' bit caught my eye. In an ironic twist of fate, I would likely be logged onto this very site when it happened. :lol::lol::lol:

i'll concede the fact that technology is pretty nifty at times, allowing me to bond with fellow dead fans, (and get to know some rather irritating ones as well) but it's getting out of hand. people feel that they've gotta be plugged in, texting, on the net, breaking news, instant-messaging, tweeting...:rant:

and don't get me started on the celeb/fame-junkie aspect of society.:annoyed:

as long as the net was up and running long enough to make some contacts with a few people from here who i'd like to ride out the storm with, it'd be okay, i suppose.

JDFP

30-Oct-2009, 06:38 AM

Damn, just damn, this has gotten entertaining...

When I first posted this thread, I never realized how interesting and just plain out fun this thread would become. Here's some thoughts I have...

If the proverbial shit ever hit the fan, my first stop would be to my vodka-drinking Khe-Sanh surviving Vietnam vet Kenny's place (he lives three apartment buildings over from mine). The man is ready for WW3 (and as scary as it sounds, would welcome it with an opening of a new bottle of Vodka) with a great big grin. The apartment complex I live in is really entertaining, we're all a bunch of Southern rednecks with just enough class and distinction (and far too much gun knowledge) to ever mess with as a whole. Kenny lived through absolute Hell in Khe-Sanh, but he's a man I truly respect who isn't worried about anything except the IRS in this life (grin).

The worst thing I've ever had to deal with here is coming home in the summer to find someone who lives in the apartment building across from me saying, as he is sleeping on my steps: "Ah, man, I'm sorry, I thought this was mine, do you want a beer?" People here know each other, while we may mess around and get drunk and do stupid shit, we respect each other as well and look out for one another. That's something to be said about Tennesseans.

I have no doubt that I probably wouldn't make it long. In all honesty, most of us probably wouldn't make it long, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't pull a "Mother-F'er, you just messed with America!!!" and kick some zombie ass while we could. We'd do what we could while we could.

Seriously though, I think that if the Zombie Apoc. ever came into being, America (if not everywhere) would get their "stuff" together as a nation and do what is necessary -- at least in the south of the U.S. You can mess around with some folks, but you don't want to mess around with pissed off Southerners who want their 5 A.M coffee at Waffle House and a couple pitchers of beer at their joint that evening while listening to some local bands bringing you "Lynyrd Skynyrd". Messing with that, well that's a remedy for death right there.

In all honesty, I'm going to say I'd probably eventually end up doing what I originally said I'd do. I'd get a couple of twelve packs of Budweisers, get a few packs of non-filtered Pall Mall's, and just say; "Eh, screw it!" and drink myself into oblivion.

Zombies or no zombies, I wouldn't be surprised if the morning after I'd wake up to find some good ol' boys with a ton of Stainless Banners on turned over cars screaming: "HELL YEAH'S!!!" while loading up their (not so legal) Kalashnikov's and M-16's listening to Rob Zombie from battery-powered speakers. And even if I go out dead in the long run, well, damn, at least that's going out in some class... :):):)

Yep, we'd all probably end up dead in the long run, but at least we'd go out fighting, and I can guarantee you the folks around these parts (including me) would go out taking more of those ghoul's out than they would end up taking out from us locals.

j.p.