What's your zombie plan?

[Meganjo23]

My plan basically involves staying in my apartment, taking out both the fire escape bottom stairs and the first floor/second floor connecting stairway. If I do that, then I can still get in and out with help from a rope ladder, and still get to the roof via the rest of the fire escape. I'd pretty much just loot canned and dried goods, set up elevated gardens on the roof (I'd have to loot a garden supply or the supermarket for those handy seed packets, and find some bricks...) and try to stay alive through at least 2 or 3 winters. By then, I figure the worst will be over. Maybe. I'd also want to loot some sort of heat source, that's my main worry. Winter would be a godsend in terms or freezing zombies, but without electricity, I'd have to work something out. Maybe steal a little oven/woodstove thing and vent it out the window?

As far as weaponry, I've got an ice-chipper that would be pretty deadly sharpened. I'd need an axe to take out the stair cases anyways, so I'll have to pick up one of those someday. Guns are good, but I've never used one, so I think I'd be better off sticking to close range weapons. Once my 'looting' phase starts, I can just scavenge for things like crowbars and whatnot.

My only weakpoint would be my kitty-bits. I don't know if I could find enough cat food to suffice for a few years, and I doubt she can hunt well enough, being a spoiled indoor cat. I suppose with rationing, and maybe using canned meats and gravy, or some rice, to 'stretch' her diet, she could make it. That's the part I worry about the most actually. Not me, but the cat. Yeah, I'm silly like that. Plus, she'd help keep me warm in the winters, through cuddling, so it's practical, too (and you can't tell me otherwise!).

[terakhan]

yeah, I imagine the zombies would either walk the bottom or do a combination of floating and feeble thrashing, but would be able to cross waterways without a current. Alcatraz would be just about right for my plan, save for the terrain being unfriendly toward farming. Its not called The Rock because of nightly concerts, after all.

The only concern for getting off the island in emergencies is the current, and if you bring a method of propulsion that can overpower that, ie sails or a motor, you should have few issues.

Further Additional Notes:
- Do NOT make yourself visible, especially at night. Zombies always have enough brain left to associate lights with people, and thus food. All lights must be visible only from inside your secured area, and preferably indoors only in case of reflective surfaces.

- Conversely, securing yourself near a carnival may be a good idea as well. The abundance of noise, light, and movement could be well used to mask your own movements and location. But in absolutely no situation will you EVER hide or try to escape through the house of mirrors. You will use up all of your ammo and wind up eaten by the zombie that was right next to you and not in front of you like you thought.

- As for our friends in ZA-survival across the pond, you have lots of castle ruins about, and thus perhaps a better option than busting open and trying to re-seal a prison. And holding a castle against something too primitive to build let alone use siege equipment seems like it would be child's play.

- Invest in a turkey vulture. With what is basically the best sense of smell around and a stomach strong enough to digest disease-covered bones without incident, this bird will be instrumental in both zombie detection and disposal. Though of course, local exotic animal laws apply right up until Z-Day. At which point, I believe most local zoos have at least one in stock, and I think the keepers will be too busy either running or shambling to argue with your choice in new pets. If the zoo is out of turkey vultures, check also for Komodo dragons. While not as useful in the detection phase, their tolerance for disease and preference for disease-ridden carrion makes them equally suited for zombie disposal.

Futher companion advice (More people to stay away from):
- Mr. Fixit: No matter how bad the situation, this guy believes he can find the cure to reverse all the problems. Personally, I believe the solution has already been invented, by men of the names Glock, Winchester, and Colt. Any other cure puts normal humans at risk for both specimen gathering and testing.
- Mom: While I appreciate the need to maintain the population of humans, dragging along an easily-traumatized child that gets lost easier than a set of car keys is a good way to get everyone eaten while looking for them.
- Lassie: I like pets. More to the point, I like QUIET pets. Man's best friend is a very vocal friend, and without special training will tell you it doesn't like the situation you are in very loudly, and usually at a very bad moment. Sadly, dogs are also probably our most mobile pet, so I do not recommend any of the others if you are on the move. There is a reason they are called house pets and not travel pets.
- Ash: Great action anti-hero, horrible person to be in a dangerous situation with. His frequent one-liner pauses are bound to get him or someone else killed. Leave him behind, but see if he has an extra boomstick you can take along.
-Me: I have obviously put too much thought into this, and may actually be more dangerous than the zombies.

[dispatch]

Terakhan, I have a friend who, much like you, just may be more dangerous and the Zeds and I really wouldn't want to have him with me when this hits due to his hero/martyr complex. His plan is to form and lead a band of zombie hunters and raid supplies anywhere he can. I made a deal with him; I offer safe harbor for him and his non-infected subordinates and he brings food, medicine, and anything else of use to the camp when he can. I figure there will be more than one pack of raiders and hunters, so making deals like that could work out to my advantage, but if anyone tried to storm the camp by force it would be an interesting day indeed!

[Sliceanddice]

has anyone thought of a boat? you might not be able to grow food on it and you would need to be careful of water supplies but if it was big enough to provide good water to deck coverage and small enough to be propellable without gasoline its a movable fortress.

[terakhan]

Actually, if you could somehow wrangle a naval vessel it would work amazingly well.
-Pull into a port that looks relatively free of zombies, grab a transport of some sort, and load the deck of the ship up with garden supplies, soil, seeds, etc.
-The larger ships have Desal plants aboard if I recall correctly, so water ceases to be an issue with proper maintenance. Same with the power supply.
The issue being finding one that doesn't have a crew aboard, or at least has one that likes your idea of staying alive by staying out at sea. Even if you drop anchor near a port and the zombies float at you, all it takes is one guy with good aim to watch the anchors and shoot any who get lucky enough to grab on and start climbing.

[Mytical]

My zombie plan needs a bit of work. Would require quite a bit of fuel, shells, and a tank. See, running them over and squishing them will do the trick, especially backed with explosives. Even if they do not 'die', no bones (or shattered bones) = not going to come after me. Stock with fuel, get an M-60 with plenty of ammo for when you have to get supplies...

Then get to a farm, dig out a ditch..fill with acid (with a retractable drawbridge that could take the tank's weight)..raise own food.

[Sliceanddice]

My zombie plan needs a bit of work. Would require quite a bit of fuel, shells, and a tank. See, running them over and squishing them will do the trick, especially backed with explosives. Even if they do not 'die', no bones (or shattered bones) = not going to come after me. Stock with fuel, get an M-60 with plenty of ammo for when you have to get supplies...

Then get to a farm, dig out a ditch..fill with acid (with a retractable drawbridge that could take the tank's weight)..raise own food.

dig out a ditch, line pour cemement, then fill with acid so you dont poison the soil

[Red_Dazes]

I figure there will be more than one pack of raiders and hunters, so making deals like that could work out to my advantage, but if anyone tried to storm the camp by force it would be an interesting day indeed!

Just be careful. After all, it is my philosophy that while Zombies are dangerous... they are predictable. When you see a zombie you always know what it is going to do... try and eat you. But people are the real threat in a Zombie attack. They are dangerous in a whole new way, cause you can never tell what they are going to do. If you have a big group of people you are less likely to be over run, but if you have a small group, or are going at it alone, you never know when someone might decide they like what you have.....

[Chromatix]

There is some chap who has just beaten the world record for staying at sea - apparently he still had a year's worth of food on board when he decided to come home. I don't think there's anything very special about the boat he used for it.

So if you can get hold of a boat and a *large* quantity of food, all you need to worry about is propulsion (sails will do, but learn how to use them), avoiding or riding storms (learn how to read the weather), and fresh water (get a distiller and run it with solar power). Zombies might float around occasionally, but you can just sail away from them - and if you carry a gun on board, you're fairly safe even if you can't move for some reason. And for sanitation, just empty the bucket into the sea and wash it out.

A bigger boat will support more people and ride bigger storms. But sailing ships are generally only available up to a certain size, and large warships tend to drink a lot of fuel and thus can only remain independent for a few weeks of cruising. (There's a reason they take oilers with them on deployment.) A warship would however be able to use the anti-aircraft guns as zombie repellant. A civilian cargo or cruise ship might be a better idea, especially as the amount of supplies they can carry is essentially unlimited - and if you can make a flotilla that includes a fuel tanker, you can stay mobile for a long time too (think of the baddies in Waterworld).

The ultimate survival capsule would be a nuclear submarine. No concerns about fuel, fresh-water and fresh-air equipment is built in, and because it's completely enclosed, the zombies won't get in. The problem would be getting inside one in the first place. A diesel sub may be more attainable (in principle you could build one), and if you can put up solar panels and sails on one, you won't need to use diesel fuel very often.

[RetailWorkhorse]

I'm still sticking with my trimaran (...it's a boat).

All these mentions of Zombies made me locate a webcomic called Dead Winter. I have such a crush on Monday now. Dammit.

[thedrunkenmonkey]

"Hokey religions and ancient flashy swords are no match for a good blaster at your side."

I'd swap out my van for a flex-fuel rig or diesel with a modified cowcatcher, park myself, my fiancee, and the mastiffs on top of the old brewery where I know there's still distillery equipment.

My experience in brewing and carbon dioxide generation, water purification, and distillation means:

I'll have the only stash of cane sugar rum, the hottest little zombie killer in a bikini ever, a giant dog, a vehicle equipped with foam-filled tires, and a nigh-unlimited supply of items capable of creating a long, high pressure stream of fire.

Also, hydrochloric acid.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

But people are the real threat in a Zombie attack. They are dangerous in a whole new way, cause you can never tell what they are going to do. If you have a big group of people you are less likely to be over run, but if you have a small group, or are going at it alone, you never know when someone might decide they like what you have.....

And this, friends, is pretty much the bottom line of the graphic novel series The Walking Dead,by Robert Kirkman, which I cannot put down. It is a zombie apocolypse story that would be every bit as compelling even if you took all the zombies out. The title refers to the survivors.

[Whiskey]

So if you can get hold of a boat and a *large* quantity of food,

I have six months, a year if I eat sparingly, worth of food in my closet. Whos gotta boat!?

[Chromatix]

In a pinch, just go to any small port and untie one. Chances are the owner's a zombie already, if he hasn't already taken it out. Pick one that's big enough to hold all your food, with sails and a motor. Use the motor to get away from the shore, then turn it off and figure out how to work the sails.

There is one small snag wth the boat plan for me: the lakes (Saimaa is HUGE) and the sea tend to freeze over in winter up here. So I would need to get on board some kind of icebreaker if it happened to be winter, or head rapidly out of the Baltic if it was merely approaching winter.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Oh, screw that, shug. Steal a freaking luxury houseboat and head for the Bahamas.

Icebreaker my entire ass.

Go someplace the deaders get taken out by heat and sharks and baracuda while you sit out on the deck drinking Patron.