Zombie Apocolypse - What would YOU do?

So you wake up one morning to find that a zombie plague has taken over the world and pretty much everyone is now shambling around looking for tasty brains to eat. It happened overnight so all automated systems will keep working until the powerstations blow up, probably about a week. There might be some survivors somewhere in the country but everyone you know is dead.

What would you do?

Would you go Shaun of the Dead style and go for a pint? Dawn of the Dead and go shopping? Day of the Dead and lock yourself in a nuclear bunker with some terrible actors? 28 Days Later and head to Scotland? Land of the Dead style, build a massive walled city with a moat then send out underlings on a big armoured car thing to fetch you booze at night?

Personally, I'd head to Dover and the customs warehouses where they keep all the confiscated drugs and stuff before they burn them, load up on narcotics then try to get to a remote farm somewhere and have a party until the tinned food ran out, at which point my actions would depend on whether I'd bumped into anyone else on the way.

Any better suggestions?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, if we've learned anything from zombie movies it's that if you hole yourself up anywhere in the city, you'll die eventually. Yeah, you'll have those first few nights where it's all fun and safe. You laugh to your two or three companions and say "Yeah, I think we're going to make it when [they] save us." And that's when an undead hand bursts through the god damn barricade you had set up.

Point is, I'd get out of any populated city center, look for some kind of warehouse and a truck and keep moving. And somewhere along the way get a shotgun. Because if we've learned anything from movies and video games...shotguns make zombies explode.

All depends on the type of zombies we're dealing with. If we're dealing with the slow rambling undead, might be fun to mess with them a little before you leg it. If we're dealing with the running zombies of 28 Days Later...not so much.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'd probably try to find a companion and a healthy amount of firearms first, then take the fastest route away from former civilization to the most uninhabited region possible. An island or something, far far away.

Probably would go through Canada to find Skills. I'm sure even the zombies don't want him and all from all those video games, there's a small chance he knows what he's doing with a gun.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've had goddamn plans for years. Not just for zombies, but for, you know, general shit.

One of the plans includes taking off to a National Forest somewhere and build a treehouse. From the inside out, I would build a bunker replete with ammunition, motorcycles, quads, and explosives. (Tree house has retractable ladder~)

The only real hope I would have for survival up in there would be that very few people zombies would be up there. They'd likely pool in metropolises where I'd be as far from as possible.

I don't think it's safe to hole up in a place and think of its permanence. You've always got to be ready to take off if need be.

Although I have to admit, Dawn of the Dead scenarios always seem so awesome.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I've had goddamn plans for years. Not just for zombies, but for, you know, general shit.

One of the plans includes taking off to a National Forest somewhere and build a treehouse. From the inside out, I would build a bunker replete with ammunition, motorcycles, quads, and explosives. (Tree house has retractable ladder~)

How would you get the quad bikes up and down the ladder?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'd find whatever survivors I could, and somehow find my way to a small island somewhere. Maybe even Hawaii. With some luck, we'd hopefully be able to take out the zombie population there, and assume that the zombies in the mainland wouldn't be smart enough to make their way across the waters.

Sounds like a fair idea, at least. I mean, shacking up in a shelter somewhere... You'll eventually run out of supplies. Sure, an island might not have all the food and stuff you'd find in say, a warehouse, but chances are there's self-replenishing sources like fruit trees and whatnot.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Shin

How would you get the quad bikes up and down the ladder?

The tree house would be the living quarters, man. I build outward. FORTRESS STYLE.

I would just want to ensure that my living quarters would be an alright fallback in case my fortress becomes overtaken.

Of course, this is assuming we're not talking 28 Days Later rabies zombies, but Dawn of the Dead, actual zombie shuffle zombies.

If we're talking rabid zombies, well. I'd have to rethink that plan, I suspect.

FELIPE NO

I'd head down to Whitstable and hang out on one of these.

Spoiler:

Unless we're talking Resident Evil 5-type zombies with the running and the vehicles and the sentience and the like. In which case I'd go looting.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

You (and maybe Dopefish and a few of your other family members) would build this fortress by yourselves? Zombies or desperate survivors would overwhelm you before you could erect adequate defenses. Why not just clear out a military base somewhere and use that (presuming the actual military has been killed/zombified)?

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Originally Posted by Sousuke

I'd find whatever survivors I could, and somehow find my way to a small island somewhere. Maybe even Hawaii. With some luck, we'd hopefully be able to take out the zombie population there, and assume that the zombies in the mainland wouldn't be smart enough to make their way across the waters.

Considering zombies have no need for air, water wouldn't be a very effective barrier against them. It may take them a while to get to the island, but they could shamble around underneath the water indefinitely. Plus, miss a few zombies already on the island and you're trapped in a confined area with a resurging outbreak.

I'd be more worried about the panicked mobs of people than the slow-moving undead, so I'd spend the first few days holed up in my apartment with all entrances barricaded. As long as I'm careful not to make any noise there wouldn't be much need to worry. Once the initial outbreak died down a bit I'd set out to scavenge weapons and supplies from wherever I can find them. Maybe try to join up with a few other survivors, but stay moving and away from any cities as much as possible.

Of course, that's all assuming these are the traditional shambling, dim-witted zombie hordes. We're all pretty much screwed if they can run.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Interesting. Within a day any populated area would had been overrun with the worst case scenario of zombies (fast running fuckers). Assuming the origin of the infection and how close you are to it... you generally have a day to a week. So I'm going to assume if its a week, I'd go for the hills literally and find either a bunker/strong house/cave/hole to tuck myself into with a week's supply of water/food (gallon of water, sugar packets, granola bars which is something I always have on hand). IE, when the day passed and a week passed, hope to god that those infected either ran off somewhere or rotted to uselessness.

However, if a day though, I'd just stay in my room right now. I live on a third floor, I'd use my chest of drawers to barricade the door. Have plenty of furnishings to just block the only entrance. Luckily if there's a fire or something, I could just jump out of the window just fine.

Again, this is assuming how close to the origin of the infection. If early, you'd waste a lot of resources when you could had just waited it out before running to hole up somewhere.

Everything we had seen on tv and movies, its always described with a time limit. A day, a dawn, 28 days later etc etc. Makes you wonder just how much does that rotting flesh of a body actually last... before breaking into a mess. I'm much more curious about the time lapse of the degeneration of the spinal cord actually.

But honestly now that I have thought about it, I'd think that the live people in pure hysteria are the worst than the zombies. They're the ones scrambling for resources that YOU had worked hard to preserve for yourself. They're the ones scrambling for your little hideout with guns. Oh yeah they're the worst.

Thankfully I live in a nondescript apt complex that could easily not be targeted by these type of fuckers. I highly doubt they'd approach a large apt complex knowing full well there's a possibility of a zombie in each door you open.

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I have to go with the nerd option, here. Who needs drugs.

Yeah. I'd grab my bug-out bag and as much food as I could carry, head over to my friend's place and nab his guns, then make a break for the library.

I agree that desperate humans are far more worrisome than zombies, but unfortunately they're too unpredictable to plan around. As far as foraging for more food and supplies, I'd just have to play it by ear depending on what seems available and how many survivors are about. I suspect that a library is not exactly a high-profile target for most people, though, so I think it's a good choice of a hideout. Also, the closest one I know is an old building that's mostly concrete and has no large windows.

Seconding the notion that anywhere off the ground is the safest place, though. I guess I can always camp out on the roof or run for the treeline if things get hairy.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

My plan is simple. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I have a question:

When the zombies run of out human flesh, do you think they'd eventually feed on each other? Or would they turn to the animals? This could change the plan somewhat.

And Salient Worm is right, humans can be unreliable, but wait until the most strategic moments to betray them...keep them around as meat shields until then.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

First things first. I would take off my pants cause nobody wants to eat a guy thats not wearing any pants.

After thats taken care of I would head over to Sassafrasses tree house, cause lets face it tree houses are cool, but tree houses with fortified bunkers are even cooler.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Tritoch

Considering zombies have no need for air, water wouldn't be a very effective barrier against them.

For some reason I have to disagree with this statement right here. I'm not the first and foremost expert on zombies, but I do know that they still have a functioning brain, but based on the lowest level. Something has to be powering the brain regardless of whether or not it is a virus or anything such as that, and while I could say blood is needed to power the brain, we've all seen a zombie w/o a lower half and bleeding all over the place to still be active.

The same could be said with oxygen, but when you throw that power souce out the window, what -exactly- does a zombie power itself on? The need to feed is still there, of course, but that is so the body gets nutrition and is able to power itself. So if anything, oxygen is STILL a key component in keeping a zombie still going.

Saying a zombie can live without oxygen would be like saying they wouldn't become a zombie-cicle in extremely cold weather, which in every movie, book, media (etc.) states that zombies can not operate in extremely cold weather.

Case in point, however, I would not run around a zombie infested city or town with a pillow trying to smother them to death either. I'm just saying.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Zombies are always emerging from the ground, sealed caskets, mausoleums, etc. Not a lot of oxygen in those places.

Any attempt at understanding zombie biology is going to fail because it's nonsensical to begin with. But, if we're going to be consistent, we have to say that oxygen is not an issue. If you want a film example, there were underwater-shamblin' zombies in Land of the Dead. Oh, and the one that fought a shark in Zombi 2.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'd fucking die just like the rest of you would.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I would embrace our newfound undead overlords with open arms and - more importantly (and just as literally) - an open mind.

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Um zombies don't need air, real winners don't need air to survive. I guess I'm not a real winner

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The key to surviving the zombie apocalypse is to stay mobile. Fortunately my dad has a Winnebago, so I'd intend to use that as the party wagon and just siphon gasoline from derelicts until I found a place that seemed secure enough.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Please explain to me what is "fortunate" about a Winnebago when you want high mobility in a fuel-scarce environment.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Let them come.

(I'd steal a plane, make the cute asian chick who serves me at the viet thai restaurant I love fly us out (finally her pilot's license will prove useful) to Vancouver, pick up Diss, swing on by and grab Lurker, then Jessy (every team needs a whiny lesbian) then Skills. One quick stop in Montreal for a few ladies and then it's off to the UK to grab Shin. And then you know what time it is.

That's right. Madagascar voodoo zombies for everybody.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Salient Worm

Please explain to me what is "fortunate" about a Winnebago when you want high mobility in a fuel-scarce environment.

You can live in it

durrrrrrrrrrrr

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I don't know about you but comfortable upholstery is not exactly my prime concern when I am on the survival track.

Jam it back in, in the dark.