“What would you do if you knew there was no hope? How would you protect yourself? Would you build a shelter? Make weapons? Would you learn martial arts? Would you be a leader or follower?”
I had a few minutes to kill while sipping my morning coffee, so I decided to use the downtime to update my blog. As a writer-in-training, I push myself to write about a variety of topics, including those that seem far-fetched. This article will discuss how to survive a zombie apocalypse because the Covid-19 pandemic stinks. Enjoy! – Gino
The Knock
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of this scenario: you’re sitting around the kitchen table when suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see someone walking up to the door. It’s a stranger. You think about it and figure he must have a reason for knocking. The thing is, there is something off about the knocking; it’s erratic. Maybe he’s lost? Perhaps he needs help? So, you open the door, and a man looks somewhat professional but with bloodshot eyes and a hungry, menacing look.
Now, let’s say that this man is a zombie, but because there was nothing on the news, you heard nothing outside, and you did not know that the man standing in front of you is PATIENT ZERO.
What would you do? What would your gut instinct be? In this situation, would you open the door? Would you slam it shut in his face? Would you call the cops or try to reason with the guy? Would you run? Would you hide? Or would you welcome him into your home?
Because we are civilized, good-natured, and we believe in the essential goodness of people, our first instinct would be to open the door and perhaps welcome the man into our home, especially if he looked like he needed help. In this case, our good manners and kind nature will become humanity’s doom.
The first Zombie
As you open the door, the man grabs you by your shoulder. In shock, you struggle to push back, but his lurch, coupled with brute strength, knocks you down. Your head hits a nearby table, and you hear a loud thud. But you don’t feel any pain. The man gets the better of you, pins you down, and straddles you. You are too shocked to move.
In horror, you look at the man’s face. It seems as if it is smiling. It’s a genuine smile. Its teeth are long and sharp. It’s grinning from ear to ear.
You’re thinking: “This cannot be happening.” Then you remember that there was nothing on the news. There was no one to warn you about this. All of a sudden, you are the one who is living in a nightmare. And then the man opens his mouth. He bites your face.
The bite is so deep that your entire cheek is gone, right up to the bone. You feel the cold enamel of his teeth against your jugular, and you think: “I will die now.” But you don’t feel any pain.
Now, your entire body is paralyzed. You can see him eating your face. Your eyes are wide with horror, but you can’t do anything. You can’t move a finger. He continues biting your face and gnawing on your neck, tearing it open like a shark. His eyes are filled with pleasure. Your head tilts back, your eyes close, and your heart starts racing.
Then, all of a sudden, he stops. He is sitting, licks his lips, and looks around. Patient zero sees your wife, son, and daughter crying and shocked in the dining area; this was your chance to push the zombie out of the door, despite the agony of the experience. Half of your face is gone, and blood is oozing from your neck as you fall to the floor. You are aware that you are dying.
You no longer have the vocal cords to call to your family, and because you have seen too many zombie movies in your life, you somehow knew you were going to turn. YOU ARE ABOUT TO BECOME THE SECOND zombie, and your wife and kids will be next. So you signal your wife to get the gun in the closet and shoot you in the head; that is, after all, the only way to terminate a zombie.
Because the wife has never killed a person before, she refuses. She can’t do it. She can’t bear the thought of killing another human being, especially her husband. Her first instinct is to call for help. In this scenario, it’s a big mistake.
She grabs the phone and calls 911, but you have already turned before the EMS would arrive. Your wife, son, and daughter are trapped in the house. They are alone and frightened. They have no idea what just happened. All they know is that you are lying on the floor, dying after being violently bitten by a stranger.
When the emergency services arrive, your wife, son, and daughter are already dead and turned. You are now the first zombie family.
It all starts from patient zero; then it goes haywire from there. In this situation, the world becomes a different place. It goes beyond the imagination of a person who believes in God.
What used to be fiction becomes a reality, and just like the Covid19 pandemic, a virus shuts down the entire planet. All of a sudden, living becomes survival.
So, how do you survive a zombie apocalypse?
1. Learn, understand, and teach Zombie 101
You could think you don’t know anything about zombies. But you do. You know what they look like, their routines, how they live, hunt, and move.
You have seen zombie movies, and you have also watched zombie videos on YouTube. You know how to kill them, you know how to escape from them, and you know how to survive in a world overrun by zombies.
If you don’t, well, here’s a tip – go for the undead’s brain or sever the spine. Either of the two can take out a zombie.
Also, a zombie apocalypse is not a disease; a virus causes it. Therefore, if the virus is introduced into a person’s system in whatever way (a bite, accidental ingestion, or getting sprayed in the eyes of infected blood), expect to die, then turn.
2. Get Weapons and Ammo
You must have a gun. You will never survive a zombie apocalypse scenario without a fully loaded gun. You don’t have to be a survivalist; you can also buy a shotgun or an assault rifle for a few hundred dollars. They will work as long as you manage to reload them. The problem with a gun? They run out of bullets pretty fast, especially in the heat of battle.
So, allow me to state the obvious, the most effective weapon is your brain; the guns and ammo you collect is merely a tool. So, keep your wits about you in every encounter, and you will survive.
Besides this, a good blade, like a jungle bolo, a samurai sword, a survival or kitchen knife, should always be in your arsenal.
Unless you have many bullets to spare, only use your weapons whenever necessary, and please remember, if you can avoid firing your gun, avoid it; this is what I mean by keeping your wits about you in an encounter. You’ve seen The Walking Dead. Trying to kill one or two zombies in your path quietly is better than running away from an overpowering horde.
3. Keep your weapons with you, all the time
In the zombie apocalypse, you are constantly on the run. It is essential to keep your weapons with you at all times. Do not carry them in your pockets or bag because you will most likely drop them during a chase. It is much better to have them close to your body to reach them fast when you need them.
Corollary to this, guns are weapons that need maintenance. They don’t show you this in movies, but it’s essential to learn to maintain your guns. So, it would be best if you learned how to disassemble and reassemble your weapons.
Zombies can be more vicious than you can imagine, so you must be prepared to use your weapon to defend yourself. Even if you are armed, you will not be safe if you clumsily try to grab your gun from your bag.
Zombies aren’t the only enemies you need to watch out for in an apocalypse like this. Rival groups and people with malicious intentions within your very own community are a threat to your survival. Be wary of people, whether you know them or not.
Finally, familiarize yourself with your weapons and learn to use them properly. If you have spare bullets, learn precision shooting. Learning how to use your weapon can avoid accidental misfires which could hurt you or your family. Also, make every bullet count; fire when you are sure to take out a target.
4. Plan a survival Strategy
Planning is essential in any situation where life is at stake. If you do not plan, you may find yourself in a place where you are at a disadvantage. This is especially true in a zombie apocalypse situation. You must improvise your plans, especially when it comes to food and water.
Plans can be as simple as how to board entrances inside your home, find and store food, water, weapons, and ammo, and create exit strategies when your shelter is being invaded by either a rival group or a horde of zombies.
Planning is about thinking ahead, so you need to consider the possibilities and the probable outcomes. If there is an ambush, invasion by other humans, or an attack by a horde of undead, you need to be able to execute it flawlessly. So, besides planning, it’s necessary to rehearse this plan repeatedly. When the inevitable happens, your muscle memory (from the practice executions you’ve done with your family or community) will help save your life.
So, start thinking ahead, plan your strategy, and practice until all of you have memorized what to do.
5. Turn your home into a survival shelter.
If you have a place to live and a source of food and water, it is essential to take this opportunity to turn it into a survival shelter. In the event of an apocalypse, your place of residence may be attacked and possibly overrun. Therefore, you need to think about defending your home from such an attack.
A safe room in your house can be created using a basement or a bombproof room. When creating such a room, the best thing to do is to ensure that it has a door with no windows or any other access points. Make sure that you plan to get out of the room if you need to evacuate. Also, make sure that your home has a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.
Turning your home into a survival shelter needs to be done in a hurry. So, you need to evaluate whether your home can be turned into a shelter or not. By this, I mean, is it easy to break into? Most houses in North America, for example, are surrounded by glass. Also, many of these residences do not have high fences or grills on their windows. Unless you have a panic room, these houses are easy to invade. I mean, throw a rock at the glass, and you’re in.
Once you know that your home is vulnerable, you need to start making changes; this may be as simple as putting up a perimeter fence around your house, putting a grill on your front windows, and keeping multiple locks on your door, or, if fortification may seem impossible, you need to leave to find better defensible shelter.
These are all essential steps to plan your home before an apocalypse. But if you’re already in the middle of one, find ways to board your windows, and make sure you have at least two secured exits that you can use as an escape route in case of a horde invasion.
You can create a safe room if you have a basement by sealing off the access points; this will help create a haven that you can quickly get to, but it won’t let the zombies in. Of course, this means that you will have to keep it sealed off from the rest of your home for the duration of the crisis.
If you can find a way to fortify your home, it will be easier for you to survive in the event of an apocalypse. However, there is one caveat to this – fortifying your home to stop any possible invasion is not just the only goal; you need to be able to sneak in and out of your home to get supplies, so you need to consider this in your survival plan.
6. Find food and water.
If you decide to stay in your home and use it as your shelter during an apocalypse, you need to think about where to find food and water. You need to ensure that you have enough of these things to see you through an extended period.
If you’re still at the onset of a zombie apocalypse, it’s possible to still run to the closest grocery and buy supplies, but without rationing, your food and water supply will quickly evaporate.
That means you’re going to have to find other ways of obtaining food and water, like foraging. If you’re trying to survive during the zombie apocalypse, you need to think about where you will go to forage for food and water. I mean, if there are zombies everywhere, it will be tough for you to find anything. So, you need to start looking for places that may be safe from zombies; this is where your neighbors will come in handy. You need to ask them if they have any food or water they would like to share or trade with you. The worst thing that can happen when you start to rely on others for food and water is that you will be taken advantage of. So, you need to be very careful when asking people for help.
When foraging for supplies, keep your weapons with you at all times. If possible, don’t go out alone, but make sure that your companion is armed and able to run and fight.
Like the Covid19 pandemic, a zombie apocalypse can last for a long time, and you need to be prepared. Start planting fruits and vegetables if you have a garden secured by a fence and inaccessible to other humans and zombies. When your supply dries out, you have crops to turn to.
7. Find and communicate with other survivors.
This is a crucial part of your survival plan if you’re trying to survive during a zombie apocalypse. In a large population of zombies, you will not find many allies. You also need to consider what you want from other survivors. What is it that you hope to accomplish by doing so? Is it to help them or yourself? Some are friendly and cooperative, while others may have a sinister plan. Are you ready to take them out to help you, your family, and your community survive?
The challenge here is not just how to find other survivors. How do you communicate with them if you’re couped up in your makeshift survival shelter and zombies roam your street? There are many ways to communicate – a simple flashlight can inform neighbors that you are alive, and you can meet with them when the road is devoid of zombies, or you can use ham radio or a walkie-talkie if you have one. Although reliable, radio communication devices run out of battery pretty quickly, so you also need to think about how to power them up. In 2022, the presence of solar power chargers will solve power outage problems.
8. Build a defensible village
Whether you decide to stay in your own home or leave to find shelter, you need to make it as defensible as possible; this is for your safety and your neighbors (if you have any). After all, the chances of surviving a drawn-out apocalypse are more prominent if you are in a community.
So, you’re going to need to build a village that has a clear and well-defended perimeter.
As an illustration of this, assuming that you live in the country, I suggest you build a moat around your village. You need to make sure that the trench has a strong fence or wall that can be easily defended. You also need to make sure that it is deep enough so that zombies won’t get through. If you have access to wood or metal, you can use it to build a defensive fence or wall that will protect your home from zombies. You may also want to use rocks to make an improvised ditch around your village to prevent zombies from coming in. A moat or a trough that is deep enough and well-defended is the best defense against any invasion.
For your safety, you should consider building a watchtower. This will allow you to see zombies or rival groups coming from far away. If you can construct a lookout tower or a lookout house, you will see the entire area around your village.
9. Turn your village into a Safe Zone
After your village is safe and secured, you need to make it a Safe Zone.
You will need to do a few things to turn your village into a Safe Zone. First, you need to make sure that you and your neighbors are prepared for any invasion. Second, you will need to ensure that you have the best possible defenses. You can use improvised defenses, or you can use modern weapons. You can also use traps to ensure that zombies don’t get inside your village.
You also need to make sure that your village is appropriately lit at night so that you can see what is happening around your village without being seen. With the abundance of solar power lights, perimeter lighting is no longer an issue in this day and age. Best of all, it only lights up at night when it detects movement from people or animals, which automatically alarms your guards for a possible attack.
Traps are an effective way of protecting your village. There are many traps you can use for protection. Some are homemade, like spikes, nails, and hanging bottles connected to a perimeter rope. Others are commercial, such as tripwires, flashlights, motion sensors, and tripwire bombs. The bottom line is that you can use these traps to ensure that zombies don’t get inside your village.
10. Be aware of the competition.
In an apocalyptic scenario like this, zombies will not be your only enemy. You’ll have plenty of other things to worry about besides zombies. Like food, water, and a defensible shelter. I mean, why work hard when you can work smart?
As such, expect that you will have competition in your village. If you live in a rural area, you will have people who want to steal food from your village. So, you need to make sure that your defenses are strong enough to protect you from repeated attacks from these people.
If you live in an urban setting, you’ll have the same problem with competition. You’ll have more competition than in the countryside because there will be a lot more people living in your neighborhood.
Be wary of rival groups who might want to take over your defensible shelter. These people can be zombie-like, or they can just be regular humans. You don’t want to underestimate them, but you should know that they threaten you, so you need to be prepared.
11. Be prepared for the horde.
You cannot rely on the government or the military to protect you. Instead, you need to be prepared. You may want to build multiple defenses in case there is a giant zombie horde. Of course, this is not something you can do before you know that there will be a zombie invasion. This is why you need to construct multiple and multi-level defenses. This might sound like much work, but it’s not as hard as you think. I mean, you have a choice, to survive or to be a zombie.
An excellent way to build multiple defense zones is by using vehicles as barricades and creating a funnel where a horde will be forced to squeeze through. This way, you can focus your firepower in a specific area rather than shooting everywhere and everyone that comes through the perimeter. This is not a very easy thing to do because you need to ensure that your vehicle is big enough to serve as a barricade and has enough room to park in front of the barricade. Also, make sure you have enough time to erect the barriers before the zombies come. So, if the zombies come at night, then you’ll need to start building your defenses well before dawn. If you start building forts at dawn, then there’s a chance that the zombies will see the barricades and break through them.
Being prepared for the horde as a community is observing stringent rules; this includes, but is not limited to:
- Maintain absolute silence in camps. No loud noises.
- Don’t go outside.
- If you must go outside, keep weapons with you.
- Do not discharge your gun unless necessary.
- If you see a zombie, terminate quietly or draw attention to yourself.
- Every stranger is a threat to the community, do not invite them in.
- Shoot every infected.
12. There is no cure for the zombie virus
A virus that spreads from person to person makes it hard for governments to figure out what to do about a global pandemic. They’re at their wit’s end. There is no cure for this disease. Once you are bitten or receive infected blood, or if a droplet of infected blood lands in your eye or mouth, you’ll be a severe threat to your family and your community and must be eliminated.
It may not be necessary to terminate them immediately, but since you live in a community, creating a quarantine protocol for the bitten and close contact will be required.
A sample of the quarantine protocol would be:
If a person is bitten but has not turned yet, they must remain in their house with a guard, and all doors and windows should be locked. They must stay inside the house and not be allowed to leave without a guard. If they did not turn, they could be released after completing the required quarantine period. It’s also possible that they are immune to the virus. If they get out while in quarantine, the guard must kill them immediately.
If it’s a case of close combat contact without a bite, they must be kept in isolation for several days. If infected, they will be executed.
The reason is simple: If the virus gets into the general population, the entire community could be wiped out.
Note: The virus also spreads through a bite from an infected animal, such as a dog or a cat.
In a zombie apocalypse scenario, don’t panic. Sure, it’s a difficult situation, but you will make it through. Remember that your family and community will be there to help you. Also, the more prepared you are, the better chance you have of surviving.
One last thing. If you want to survive a zombie apocalypse scenario, there is only one type of person you should stick around with – a gamer (console or PC). Why? Because gamers have been battling zombies ever since Victor Halperin released the first zombie movie in 1932. They will be familiar with what weapons to use, how to make improvised weapons and ammo, how to build a defensible shelter or camp, and they will know how to handle themselves in a post-apocalyptic scenario.
So there you go, a short article on how to survive a zombie apocalypse. I wrote it out of boredom but it’s been fun to the point that I’m thinking about writing another one – like how to close-quarters combat with a zombie, how to survive a horde, what weapons are recommended for fighting the undead, etc. If you’re interested in any of these topics. Let me know in the comments, perhaps we can turn this into a series. Haha.
Thanks for reading, stay safe and healthy, and good luck!
Gino Borlado 