Taking it seriously: The zombie problem

[Oregonaut]

SF = Security Forces. It's a USAF term. This was a "real" CC helmet.

Gas masks suck, long term. The longer you wear it, the more wear you put on it, the more the bond between the mask and your face wears. Also, if you don't shave regularly, you lose the protection it provides.

[Arabascan]

Hey, you can't have everything.

[Oregonaut]

Hey, you can't have everything.

When it comes to the Zombpocalypse, I'm all sorts of Freddie Mercury.

[Arabascan]

Well, that's a point. Good luck with that.

[Torvaun]

Hey, you can't have everything.

When it comes to the Zombpocalypse, I'm all sorts of Freddie Mercury.

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for you?

[Oregonaut]

"I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now."

[Beardhammer]

Necro to say:

If we're going off of Max Brooks-style zombies (slow, dies only from losing the brain, relentless, in other words basically a zombie, not a pissed off rabid superhuman), oddly enough I find myself well-prepared.

- I work at a hotel. Everyone could move up to the fourth floor, leave the elevators at the fourth floor, and barricade the stairwells (there are four, unfortunately.) The stairs are concrete and steel, so destroying them is probably out of the question. There is easy roof access from one of the stairwells. The coffee urns (each holds roughly 3 gallons) could be filled with water and carried upstairs - there are eight of them. There's also plenty of food in the kitchens.

- The hotel is situated directly behind a very large Drysdale's. That's a Western-themed clothing/outfitter store. Weapons aren't likely to be there, but clothing and supplies like backpacks and cooking kits would certainly be.

- There are several restaurants within 100 yards. They could be raided for food and other supplies.

Assuming the stairwells could be satisfactorily barricaded (again, the only issue is that there are four of them - one near each elevator and two more at either end of one of the wings), I imagine this hotel would actually be pretty safe from zombie attack, and while leaving the hotel to raid for supplies after the zombies pop up would be unwise, it IS an option. Roof access also provides an emergency escape option (only an issue because it's only available through one of the stairwells), since Max Brooks style zombies can't climb ladders or walls, and it'd also allow collection of rainwater to replenish water supplies once the water and electricity and other services run out. Additionally, there's a bathtub and toilet and sink in every single room on the fourth floor - that's a LOT of water storage.



Yes, I am bored at work.

[Arabascan]

Where would you get your weapons? Even melee weapons? And what if the police and military forces can't handle the problem? What if you are sieged by a horde? What if the zombies are fast?

[c0smic]

If I ever found myself in a zombie apocalypse consisting of the slow moving, hit em' in the head, type zombies I've got a pretty good plan worked out for my buddies and myself.

First of all, I live in a very big suburban area, pretty far from anything rural, and I'm in the desert. So I'd go with the turtling strategy, head over to my old middle school that's a 2 minute walk away, and hold up in there. It has very large fields surrounding it on all sides, and chain-link fences around the edges of the property, so you'd be able to see zombies coming from pretty far off from the roof of the buildings. The school, is built like a bomb shelter, so don't have to worry about zombies breaking down heavy steel doors, or bashing through concrete. We have a courtyard in the middle of the school that is blocked off by large steel fences, that can't be dug, under of climbed over. There's room for possible growing off food there and such. The cafeteria would have a good supply food to last for a bit, but when that runs out, there are several grocery stores within 5-10 minutes of the school. Bookshelves could also be used to blockade doors and other weak points and loaded with heavy text books for added protection.

Like every other school, there's a nurses office that will have some medicine for sure. When ever there was a power outage at the school, a separate generator would kick on, so we could rig that provide power to possible radios for communication. I might also add that there's a cell phone tower on the property as well, so that might prove to be helpful as a look out tower or an antennae. Right next to the school, there's also a park which also happens to have a water well on it, so getting water shouldn't be too much of a problem. And if that water source doesn't work out, one block away, there's the neighborhood's water tower thing.

So holding out in the school wouldn't be a bad idea at all from the way I look at it, you can set up guard posts on top of the building, the gym would serve as a good place for sleeping quarters (again, heavy doors, no windows). Eventually, groups of people could go out foraging for more supplies. I know there's a gun club/store 4 miles away, with all the ammo we'd need for most any gun out there.


Comments? Questions? Quandaries-Queries-Haikus?

[Beardhammer]

Where would you get your weapons? Even melee weapons? And what if the police and military forces can't handle the problem? What if you are sieged by a horde? What if the zombies are fast?

Weapons would likely just have to be melee weapons, probably just whatever we could find that would be hefty enough to do the job. I own two rifles and a shotgun, but obviously I don't take them with me to work, and I don't have enough ammo on hand for each to last an extended siege. The outfitters just next door carries some things that could be used effectively as weapons - entrenching tools, machetes, and hunting knives. Nothing ideal, but you could duct tape a (non-serrated) knife to the end of a sturdy broomstick or tent leg and use it as a spear.

The idea is that the police and military would be overwhelmed - else, why would we hole up in the top floor of a hotel when we could just head to the nearest safe zone established by the police/military?

Being sieged by a horde would be the general idea. As I said, elevators can be recalled to the top floor and left there (not that zombies can use elevators but whatever.) The stairwells would need to be barricaded - again, because there are four, I would probably stick everyone in the wing that doesn't have the side access stairwells, which would leave us with only one stairwell that would need to be closely guarded. There are fire doors between the wings (large, thick, heavy steel doors designed to automatically slam shut in the event of a fire to prevent it from spreading) that could be closed and reinforced as well. Downside: the roof access is located at the top of one of the side-access stairwells.

Something I forgot to mention, but we're also caddy-cornered to a three-story physicians' office. It's not a hospital, which is good, but it DOES function as an urgent care center, which is bad. You don't want to be near police stations or hospitals in the event of a catastrophic, world-ending zombie apocalypse, because people will flock to them. Additionally, we're located near two freeway overpasses - again, not ideal. However, that also means we'd have the possibility of raiding the physicians' offices for medical supplies.

Fast zombies? Well then they wouldn't be zombies, would they? They'd just be angry, rabid humans hopped up on PCP.

[SecondTalon]

Zombies are the dead animated. If they can run just as fast in death as they could in life...,. They're still zombies.

[Beardhammer]

Zombies are the dead animated. If they can run just as fast in death as they could in life...,. They're still zombies.

Bullshit. A zombie isn't a zombie unless it's slow, moany, rotting, and virtually unstoppable.

The little puny rabid humans that have been in vogue since 28 Days Later aren't fucking zombies.

[SecondTalon]

Go watch Return of the Living Dead already.

[SlyReaper]

Zombies are the dead animated. If they can run just as fast in death as they could in life...,. They're still zombies.

Bullshit. A zombie isn't a zombie unless it's slow, moany, rotting, and virtually unstoppable.

The little puny rabid humans that have been in vogue since 28 Days Later aren't fucking zombies.

Oh joy, this argument again.

You're wrong.

[SecondTalon]

I believe I just said that.

[Beardhammer]

Go watch Return of the Living Dead already.

That's not George Romero. If it ain't George Romero, it ain't "canon." Well, more specifically, it's an offshoot of Romero, but wasn't done by Romero himself. I suppose that'd be close enough if it were comicbooks we were talking about, but it's not.

Fast puny zombies aren't a threat. Fast tough zombies are cheating.

[SlyReaper]

No True Zombie...

[Beardhammer]

No True Zombie...

Neither Google nor Wikipedia pull up anything that makes sense given the context.

[SlyReaper]

No True Zombie...

Neither Google nor Wikipedia pull up anything that makes sense given the context.

No True Scotman

[Arabascan]

@Beardhammer
The fact is, if you are sieged, you would starve. It would take much time, but you would. You can't grow your food and looting is extremely difficult.

And if you aren't sieged, it still would be smart to stay. The streets might be crowded with panicking people and zombies. It's as dangerous as being sieged.

[Okita]

I was thinking about zombie traps the other day. Obviously, a zombie is attracted to something via some sense organ (ie. sight, sound, smell). I happen to live by a very high cliff and the way I see it:

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Take a long sheet of plywood or sheet metal.  Big enough to walk on.  A door can do in a pinch.

Balance the platform so that it is extended as far out onto the cliff as possible without falling down.

Secure the end of the platform so that it doesn't fall off the cliff.  In other words, when a heavy object reaches the end of the platform, the weight will cause the platform to rotate.  Gravity takes care of the rest.  However because it is secured, the platform will go back to its resting position after weight has been removed.

Put bait some sort of bait hanging at the end of the platform (alarm clock on a string for sound or maybe a blinking emergency light for sight).

If this worked, you'd eventually have a large pile of dismembered zombies at the base of this cliff. Some gasoline and fire can reduce the size of the pile. I suppose a pit would work as well but would take more time to dig. The point is, gravity is your friend and as long as the target is dumb, you can build a trap to utilize this.

So I think zombie survival really would come down to surviving the initial outbreak long enough to come up with a decent solution to thin out the herd. I also like the idea of a trench and fire for slow zombies although the optimal solution would be not to just rely on a static defense but to start branching out traps from your home base so that you don't get surrounded by numbers. Thin out the herd before it gets to you.

[Arabascan]

Or just something that catches the zombies. They are still alive dead moving, but they are probably not longer a danger. But they might attract other zombies...

Or zombie traps at controlled locations. The trapped zombies are attracting others, there will be a hoard and they are away from your location and probably trapped too, so that they can be easily killed (with the people and gear)

[Beardhammer]

Or just something that catches the zombies. They are still alive dead moving, but they are probably not longer a danger. But they might attract other zombies...

Or zombie traps at controlled locations. The trapped zombies are attracting others, there will be a hoard and they are away from your location and probably trapped too, so that they can be easily killed (with the people and gear)

*twitch*

Depends on what kinda zombies you're dealing with, as always. Generally speaking the fast weak zombies really tend to obey line-of-sight for attracting other zombies. Slow zombies tend to quickly turn into a giant clusterfuck with each zombie alerting nearby zombies, who alert other nearby zombies, and so on and so forth until you have five million zombies plodding your way when you bypassed the city proper 50 miles to the north.

[eculc]

Ka-Nuke. assuming the zombies suffer from radiation (which they may or may not, although I have a feeling they don't) this could clear an area completely of zombies for a very long period of time, although it would also be inhospitable to humans.

whatevs. I have some PVC, empty 2-liter bottles, a propane grill, and some gasoline in my garage. combined with some paint or petroleum gel, I could use the buildup of fumes inside the grill after turning it on to create enough pressure to launch my homemeade napalm bottles into crowds of zombies. that, along with my lawnmower for transportation (for which fuel wouldn't be a problem, considering I live a mile from a gas station) could provide me with enough DIY firepower to give myself set up something more advanced.

EDITL woah, threadkill.

[soraos21]

Ka-Nuke. assuming the zombies suffer from radiation (which they may or may not, although I have a feeling they don't) this could clear an area completely of zombies for a very long period of time, although it would also be inhospitable to humans.

whatevs. I have some PVC, empty 2-liter bottles, a propane grill, and some gasoline in my garage. combined with some paint or petroleum gel, I could use the buildup of fumes inside the grill after turning it on to create enough pressure to launch my homemeade napalm bottles into crowds of zombies. that, along with my lawnmower for transportation (for which fuel wouldn't be a problem, considering I live a mile from a gas station) could provide me with enough DIY firepower to give myself set up something more advanced.

The fireball alone would decimate any standing forces, zomboid or not. The real problem comes along when the zombies aren't the Living Dead, shamble along type that everyone recognizes. There is potential for a few of them to survive and mutate(ala Resident Evil 2(William Birkin)) and potentially spread not only the virus(or whatever the heck it is) that makes them zombies, but also the radiation if it has bonded to the DNA and infused it, thus causing any area they step upon to be irradiated.

Also, where would you get the materials to make more homemade napalm bombs, on top of avoiding the hordes you'd call in with your riding mower? You had a great idea, but, unfortunately, it had flaws.

[Telchar]

And napalm is a lot harder to make than you think.

I live in a city of 100k people encircled on all sides by steep mountains. I'd simply grab as much fuel and supplies from the glut of local outdoor supply shops, hardware stores, and firearm dealers, and then head above the treeline ~1hr away from any significant population centers. With the route planned out, I could be to my destination in 2 1/2 hours with ~15 minutes notice.

[EdgarJPublius]

And napalm is a lot harder to make than you think.

It really isn't.

Napalm is literally gasoline+gelling agent.

Actually, Napalm is the name of the gelling agent originally used, but modern formulations (so-called 'napalm-B') is just gasoline+polystyrene+benzene. In a pinch you could substitute any number of ingredients and still end up with something useable as napalm.

Napalm-B is however much harder to ignite, generally requiring white phosphorous or thermite to do so.

[Telchar]

Napalm is literally gasoline+gelling agent.

That's really not true. It was a mixture of several petroleum fractions, aluminium powder, sodium palmate and sodium sterate (so probably closer to soap than styrofoam). Most recipies for home made napalm are nowhere near as sticky, hot, or difficult to extinguish as real napalm.

Actually, Napalm is the name of the gelling agent originally used, but modern formulations (so-called 'napalm-B') is just gasoline+polystyrene+benzene. In a pinch you could substitute any number of ingredients and still end up with something useable as napalm.

Napalm-B is however much harder to ignite, generally requiring white phosphorous or thermite to do so.

Again, that isn't accurate. If you used a mix of kerosene and diesel, vasaline and 41% styrofoam by mass you'd get something approximating the military's napalm-B; which should contain enough polystyrene that it can only be lit with a very hot flame (e.g.thermite, white phorsporous and oxyacetalyne).

Unless you are going through the proccess to make it sticky and resistant to extinguishing you might as well launch molotovs at them. They are much easier and require less materials that will be scarce in the zompocalypse. All you are doing using a cheap napalm is making it less likely that an unthinking zombie will somehow manage to put out a flame, something that is already unlikely. Molotovs are relatives easy to assemble, require fewer and easier to access materials (you can make your own alcohol from almost any plant) and will do the job the halfass napalm you are making already does and you will have many more. Not only that, but you don't need a oxyacetalyne torch to light it. Overall it just makes much more sense.

[SummerGlauFan]

You all stay the heck away from my safehouse with your napalm and molotovs. You might take a lot of zombies out with the resulting forest fire, but you'll take everyone else out, too.

Safehouse weapon of choice: spear. Stab it through windows/wallslits/from above and impale zombie heads. It's the only time I recommend using spears as anti-zombie weapons, in fact.

[SummerGlauFan]

Reposting to talk about quite an interesting book I have read that you folks on this thread would like: Night of the Living Trekkies.

Yep. A zombie outbreak during a Star Trek convention. How could we not love that?

If I didn't know any better, I would swear Oregonaut wrote it. It's in a similar style to the story he wrote on these forums. Which, to me, made it even more awesome.

[Pingouin7]

In the event of a Nanashi no Game zombie: RUN!

[iCryBlood]

If it's zombies from games like Black Ops, get a weapon. If RAGE mutants count, I'll kill myself. Those things scared me. Not any ordinary zombies though.

[Badion]

With shows like the walking dead and other zombie like novels I want to revive this thread for further thoughts. Also, something this only touched on a little is the threat of other survivors. Sure the zombies are the big scare at first but how long until the survival strategy is figured out and now you are competing for resources on a regular basis and having to defend from raiders etc?

[eculc]

If it's zombies from games like Black Ops, get a weapon. If RAGE mutants count, I'll kill myself. Those things scared me. Not any ordinary zombies though.

well, if it's like the zombies from CoD, all you need is a piece of chalk and you're set.