Advice needed on zombie story I am writing!

[EvilNed]

A hunting crossbow for weapon. If it's a 5,000+ community, then some houses could be packed close together, with highrising hedges. That could be a spooky scene being chased through those paths.

[Debbieangel]

Sorry I havent posted for awhile, I love all the ideas thank you everyone! I am not sure how how I will put your ideas in the story but they are good! I am going for a realistic point of view...my point of view like if it were to really happen here where I live. It's going to be interesting because I can think of atleast3 or 4 men right off the top of my head that hunt, so I think guns might be a good portion of it, and lol I just now thought of this my next door neighbor has a crossbow! Keep the ideas coming! OOh ya, when you are thinking, think there is probably a "lot" size space inbetween each house or some house more space than that.

[wyvern1096]

Another thought for defense: Simple snares and rope traps. No, it wouldn't harm the zombie but it would stop it for easy disposal. This would be a simple, effective means of security in areas with trees. Also, a bell to draw them to certain areas, especially combined with a goat or chicken (or for a grim image, a condemned prisoner) in a sturdy cage. This could draw your zombies away from critical areas for easier disposal. The area around the bell and cage could be cleared with elevated hunting blinds about 200 yards away.

[benjamin03]

I dont want to give anything away I just need some ideas like guns, ammo, like that I am clueless about guns. Thanks for your help! Concerning guns and ammo you have two choices : 1) You actually give guns realistic names ( and if u really want to be specific ammo too ) but then you have to see that it all is physicly possible and not strange meaning that in the country farms they have mediocre shotguns and hunting rifles but no rocketlaunchers and .50 machine guns ... etc 2) Option 2 is that u just call the guns : rifles, machine guns, pistols, handguns, shotguns, ... and concerning ammo ... well u call it ammo. I say option 2 sounds better, i have read a lot of zombie fics out there and when writers give thir guns realistic names , well sometimes it works out really well such as in the bodyscnatchers story, there it's about millitary men so that's a good reason to be specific about the guns and ammo but then again in Neils story The midas touch , he never gives a gun a name jsut calls it a machine gun or rifle or something and that worked out beautifully because it's simpler and it leaves a lot more for the imaginiation of the reader, and if the reader imagins ( sorry for the spelling ) how the 'rifle' looks himself he will always like the result because HE imagined it ! Hope this helps

[dracenstein]

You could always have your villagers steepen the slopes around their houses to almost vertical, guaranteed that no mindless zombies can climb up that! But what are the capabilities of your zombies? Can they work out how to drive a car, for example? Can they reason? Can they run and talk? As for another defence idea, if most people are staying (I presume some are just going to run screaming blue murder/zombies all the way to the next town or main road, if they get that far), why don't they fortify, say, four houses or so, enough space for all of them, then form a barricade out of cars and timber between the houses.

[boblord]

I was thinking of the catapults for flinging molotovs and improvised explosives. Accuracy would not be much of an issue. I knew a couple of guys who made a ballista but have never attempted it myself (don't have that kind of time on my hands...) so I don't know. With flammable ammo they could still be somewhat useful. I was thinking of a machine perhaps 5 or 6 feet long, not a huge trireme mounted one. You have to admit it would be a very interesting and vivid scene to write though. Fire is not such a good idea. while it will kill zombies, it will take awhile because the fire has to burn through the skin. In the mean time you have a flameing zombie walking around. Also you could start wild fires that way in which case the people would be forced to leave. Is there a river near by? If not you might want to think about how the people get water/food and such because if you want it to be realistic then if they don't have food/water people are going to starve/get dehydrated.