Day 1

You’re at home, you just got back from school. Your test in Calc 3 didn’t go so well, so you crack open a cold one and turn on the T.V. to watch th news.  The reporter on T.V. is interviewing a witness to a 10 car pile up on the highway you use to get to school. So you’re on your first beer and are like “Oh shit! that could’ve been me”, but you are relieved that it wasn’t, and are now enjoying the fact that you have something entertaining to watch. On your second beer the story is still on the news, and now a rescue crew has started to pull people out of the wrecks. Cars are all on fire and firefighters are using the jaws of life and other tools to help the victims. The reporter isn’t talking anymore and moves to the side of camera so the viewers can watch the event unfold.

Out of nowhere a couple of people run out from the wrecks as though they freed themselves. Paramedics and firemen rush to aid the victims. They lay them down and start to treat any urgent symptoms before placing them in the ambulance. When they started to give aid to the victim, she started thrashing all over the place and seemed to be having a seizure. You notice that they calm the victim down, but you couldn’t help looking at what the news reporter was doing. She wasn’t saying anything, she was just pointing. The camera panned over to where her finger is pointing. There are about 20 people standing around and staring at the crash scene. They appear to be innocent bystanders. The reporter then screamed in fear, a man snuck up behind the cameraman and herself, and he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground. The camera falls sideways, but was still on. You could hear the camera man struggling, trying to help the reporter from the grips of the man. You then see firefighters and paramedics running in full sprint across the screen. Nobody watching this at home knows what is going on. You can only hear people running around, people screaming, and the camera man yelling. You notice that there seems to be civilians running around also, not just firemen and paramedics. In the middle of the screen a firefighter falls on his face.

“CRACK!!!SMASH!!!!THUD!!!” You turn your head and notice a man just broke through your living room window. He is now looking at you with eyes that say I want to kill you. “Get the FUCK out of here!” you yell. There is no response. He moves closer to you. Without hesitation, you pick up your 6 pack by the handle and swing it at his head. He falls, then gets back up and runs at you. Your bottles are broken. You pick up the lamp next to you and chuck it at his face. The man falls forward. You move a few feet behind him. He resumes to get up. You keep yelling at the man, but he gives no response, and no sense of stopping. You run to the kitchen grab a butter knife. You run back to the man and as he is getting to his feet, and you stab him in the chest. You pull the knife out; the man falls back and you on top of him. He attempts to pull you close to his face, and he tries to bite you, you punch him and push yourself up. As he stands he swings an arm at you, he missed. He charges at you again. As he comes forward, you put one hand behind the other and jab the knife through the top of the man’s skull. He falls limp, no movement at all. Before you consider what you have just done (you killed a man), you look to the T.V. and see the firefighter being mauled from a group of homeless looking people with torn clothes and scraps and cuts all over. Then the T.V. cuts out to the emergency broadcast channel. So now you’re like “What the fuck do I do?” You fear the worst and consider your next plan. What is it?

Your Situation:

• You and your friends go hunting every thanksgiving, you rent your weapons from a gun store so you have no weapons in the house
• You live with 2 room mates but you are home alone (one is still at school and the other is at work just up the street)
• You drank your 2 beers quick and have a slight buzz (you chugged those bitches) so you may want to sober up first
• You have a house phone, and cell phone
• Your apartment has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 storage basement that belongs to the landlord, and a kitchen
• Your apartment is two stories tall with a roof access hatch
• You are freaking out because you killed a man (he may have been a zombie/infected but you don’t know what is going on anyways so you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference).

Why Study the Zombie Apocalypse?

Some of you may be wondering, with the unlikelihood of such events taking place, why one would put time into preparing for a zombie apocalypse. Because shit happens, and you have to be prepared for it. Earthquakes, floods, riots, fires, revolutions, plagues, escaped lunatics, rabid monkeys, and the 10 o’clock news are happenning all the time. If you can be proficiently prepped and ready for the walking undead, you can pretty much handle anything. Besides, you never know when grandma’s comin for your brains!

On the issue of walls…

Taken from a recent discussion:

The issue of wall size comes simply from the fact that the immense hordes of walking undead will heave themselves towards our bases, piling on top of each other, until eventually (and quite unplanned by the zeds), they breach our perimeter. There is a lot of weight and force behind thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of bodies, which should not be taken lightly. (Haha, pun!) Even if you rain lead on them, the bodies will remain to be clammered over. Higher, concrete walls give you time to burn the bodies down and away from your fortifications. They also provide you with distance from the enemy which has real effects on both physical and mental well-being. A wider, thicker wall also provides you and your defenders a more stable platform from which to fight. I wouldn’t want my men (and women) running back and forth on a 2ft wall they could easily fall from. With 5ft, you could even install guard rails/parapets, which would prevent falling, and provide weapon stabilization. Hell, with thicker walls, you can mount heavy guns. (Giggity!) You can stockpile ammo and fuel on the wall for destruction and disposal of the hordes. There is also the threat of raiders to consider. A thicker, reinforced wall gives you good protection from many forms of weapons fire, and a taller wall will provide you with your very own high ground. So when it comes to walls, sir, bigger is definitely better .

How to Maintain Leadership in an Undead world

The establishment of proper leadership and a chain of command system within a confined community will become a vital priority for any group that wishes to survive. The assembly of such a compendium would require great charisma, knowledge, and prowess. One must first and foremost realize that they are indeed NOT running the show. You are only as strong as the people who follow you. If the people no longer believe that you are qualified for the job, then it is your duty to step down, and pass the responsibility to another person, or be forcibly removed. I must also mention that it is the responsibility of the people within the community to not be unhesitant about forcibly removing a poor leader, or one who does not have the group’s best interests at heart.
It goes without saying, that in the case of total zombification of the nation, the government may very well go out the window. Some military installations and bunkers will remain (which I hope they do, otherwise we have the terrible scenario of nuclear stockpiles going unattended, open to any person out there), as will a sort of shadow government including the President who will most definetly survive in the President’s Emergency Operations Center (giant ass nuclear bunker). I also hope that, but do not count on, the nation’s   nuclear power plants and waste storage facilites being secured. (Nuclear materials, particularly waste, decays at an astonishing rate, and without proper maintainence, will overheat, explode, and irradiate large areas. However, to get back on topic, it may be a possibility that the survivors of Z-Day would have to reform a system of government.
It should also be said that any a leader must take into account all the people and their rights. Yes, in a post apocalyptic hell hole, people have rights. Possibly even more so, because they are no longer hesitant to blow a hole in your ass. It is important to remember what people feel entitled to, and what they are and are not willing to part with. I would also put forth that as many decisions as possible should be democratic one’s, be it electing a leader, or choosing the next place to hole up. This is something that has been proven (particularly in American society) as the most agreeable with the widest range of people. This is not to say however, that you should take a vote on everything; far from it. Doing so will cause rifts to form, slow down efficiency, and quite possibly get people killed. In such a constantly hostile environment, it would be prudent for a leader to also be a military leader (military leader meaning one who leads the group in battle). It would help solidify his/her power, and One must find the happy equalibrium in between, and that is something you will have to find on your own, it can’t be explained.
Largely because of the reasons stated above, and just because it is a good thing to have in daily life in these ever trying times, I suggest that one’s bug out bag, contain a pocket constitution/bill of rights. This may seem dense at first, but if you are put into any kind of leadership position, or subject of one, it is beneficial to try and hold to these ideals. Use them as a starting basis for any kind of government you attempt to reconstruct out of the ashes. Amendments can be made, as the group sees fit, but starting from a familiar ground point, one that holds to what the people have known and come to love (whether they know it or not) has a rallying power that shouldn’t be underestimated.
One more point I’d like to touch on is an establishment of a rudimentary ranking system within the group. If the leader of the group does not facilitate this, it will happen on its own, and not necessarily with the best of results. Again, in this context, treating it as a military situation would help. Assigning every person a rank and general tasking within the group assures that everybody knows their place, and knows that they are an appreciated and valued member of the group. All quarters however, shall be equal, or one shall see the spread of low morale and unwanted dissent among the lower ranks. This holds true in small groups as opposed to larger, actual militaries, because of the close interpersonal ties that will become severed, and the general rebelliousness of being under the thumb of a select few, rather than a larger number of accepted officers.
To go along with this, the issuing of medals and awards for service to the community would be beneficial in keeping spirits, respect, and discipline up. The simple fact that as your community ages the older of the clan shall be replaced by the younger, means that those who originally beared witness to your work may no longer be around to tell the tale. This means that there will be no record of what has been done, and little reason to hold respect for those that come before. The youth, in all their irrational glamour, will not likely stand to bear witness to an old man’s tale, but have no choice to take the facts that are presented by a standardized medal. The proof of accomplishment will help quell generational gaps, and set standards to which the next generation is expected to meet and exceed.
All of this fails, though, without proper discipline throughout the group. A leader must be able to enforce the rules, but do it fairly, so that the other members of the group will still stay behind you. All members should be able to stand their ground in moments of intense stress. The leader should be the shining example of how to do what needs to be done. He/She doesn’t need to be an expert in all fields, but should have a working knowledge of how to do all things that are essential to the groups survival; letting the true adepts manage most of the actual tasking.

That’s all for now,
BanditJack

How to Kill a Zombie

Here I will quote Shaun of the Dead, one of the best movies ever.

“The attackers can only be stopped by, removing the head, or destroying the brain. I’ll say that again… by removing the head…or destroying the brain.”

That’s pretty much it.

Grab a gun, sword, knife, grenade, rocket launcher, toothpick, or whatever, and get to smashing brains!

Today’s assigned reading: Field Manual – US Army – FM 8-51 – Combat Stress Control In A Theater Of Operations

Zombie Overview

Our first order of business, is defining for the uneducated, what a zombie is. A zombie is a slow-moving, mostly-dead being who wishes to eat your flesh, drink your blood, and kill everyone you know and love. They are the enemy. They are unrelenting, and don’t take no for an answer. The average zombie is dumber than a box of rocks*, but still highly effective. The bite of a zombie is highly infectious and will spread the affliction rapidly. The time it takes for an individual to be completely overrun byb zombie misgivings depends upon the individuals size, metabolism, tenacity, and ass-kicking ability.

General Advice:

-Zombie. Shoot it in the head!

-Do NOT approach a suspected zombie.

-Do NOT attempt, under any circumstances, to mate with a zombie.

-While marrying a zombie is legal, it is highly inadvisable.

-Do not allow a zombie to “nibble on your finger”

-Never trust a zombie with your baby.

-An individual who is bitten has the same handling rules as a regular zombie.

-Do NOT set a zombie on fire. They will walk around and ruin all your stuff.

*Rocks, however, are not dumb. They can be thrown at zombies.