Le Zombie-Challenge: Day 1.

Zombie Apocalypse, prepared are you? who'd you save and who'd you not, and why? Post pictures.

(disclaimer: for this blog I'm assuming that Zombies are like the one's depicted in Shaun of the Dead, seeing as that is both an excellent movie and I don't have the cardio for any fast-paced zombies.)

How can one prepare for a Zombie Apocalypse? I would be, by default, something which would come as a surprise. There are, however, steps you can take. And if you follow the steps outlined in "The Zombie Survival Guide", you're on your way. But, I havn't read it, and I'm not in favour of running myself according to something which 'might, hopefully, happen' so this blog will be about how I'm prepared [i]right now[/i] with no special steps taken.

So, what do you need for the Zuckalypse?
- weapons
- armour
- food
- shelter
- survival skills (urban and/or rural)
- alcohol and/or the capabilities of making it

What would be the ideal weapons for killing off zombies? For preference it would be something you could use from a distance, a projectile weapon, but that would, eventually, run out of ammo, besides I don't own any. I do, however, have my share of both sharp and blunt melee weapons. It would have to be heavy enough to bash in their skulls and destroy the brain, or cutting off the entire head, but also light enough so you wouldn't get too tired wielding it. Remeber I'm assuming that these creatures does not feel or react to any kind of pain, but cutting off limbs would slow them down even more.

At this very moment I have 4 blades(not counting knives), one axe and a large war-hammer which I would consider (remember I'll be talking armour later).

All four blades, and the axe, can be wielded in one hand, and with the exception of one of the blades, they're light enough to be used repeatedly for longer periods. The hammer, on the other hand, in a two hand weapon, and a rather short one at that, and very heavy! But it is, by far, the perfect weapon for bashin' zombie noggins'!

If moving around alone, I would go for the axe, the middle-most sword (the saX) and the short blade next to it as well. Reasons? Well, I could have all three weapons on me without being too encumbered. The sax is lightweight and sharpens up easily. The axe is fast, heavy and with a nice long beard if the Zs get too close. The short blade next to the sax is extremely light, it would NOT serve very well if it wasn't sharp, BUT the lightness makes it a good extra weapon.

The hammer is simply too encumbering :(

Moving on to armour.
Remember, we're assuming these Zs are rather slow and infect by biting. So I've opted for the perfect fit for my chosen weapons, either of these shields:

They're both 16mm thick and made from sturdy wood, this makes them slightly heavy, but also very, very durable. Especially against those pesky zombies. Use the shield to hold off the biting horde while you chuck away at them with either axe or short <3 If I had to choose, and if I'm running around alone, I'd chose the large one, the green, covering most of my torso it would be ideal!

You're bound to get hit in the head, one way or the other, and for protection against that I have two options:

I'll choose the right one. Even though it doesn't look as fancy as the other, I doubt that I would have any need to protect my cheek-bones. With this helmet my head would be protected against all kinds of bashes and such.  However, when thinking about it, maybe I [i]should[/i] choose the other helmet. Were I too crash on my bike, it would provide much better protection! Yes. That'll be the one. True anti-Zombie viking.

As for the rest of my body I have a thick padded coat which I'll use

It's thick enough for the Zs not to be able to bite through it, and it will protect me against most other things as well. My hands will be protected by a pair of sturdy gloves with a hard plastic covering, sadly I don't have a picture of those. I realize that my legs and feet will have hardly any coverage, though I would be wearing my sturdy military-grade boots. (Note on weapons and armour, it's actually light enough for me to be able to ride my bike <3)

That - I think, concludes the weapons and armour part of this blog. And I've suddenly realized that the Vikings might just have been the people best suited for a zombie apocalypse.

Now, shelter. Where should I hide out from these nasty biters? Well, because I live in the middle of Odense I have a few options. I could stay in the dorm in which I live, it's a quite sturdy building, made of concrete and with few access points, [i]but[/i] the room I live in is on the groundfloor and has a huge window facing the street - that would certainly be a disadvantage! One could also consider the OBC - but again, there are some huge faults in the design, particular in a sure-fire way to keep out Zombies! It would be the same with the old Thrige buildings. What else is there? The old harbour of course! It's littered with old, very tall, and rather well-built storage buildings! And several of those are actually filled with either food or materials for safing the building itself! Also, along the piers there are several boats which could be utilized in an escape should the situation become too much to handle! Another little nifty thing to note, it that it's quite, quite close to where I live! I would actually have a chance at getting there.

As you can see on the map - there are also several ways to get there, in case the most direct route is blocked. There is also a bridge which, if destroyed, limits access to the pier to waterway only. The gap would be too big to jump, however athletic the zombie is.

Several of the buildings along the opposite pier holds food, primarily grain, from which you can make porridge, or even alcohol if needed!

Now, I know I havn't adressed all of the issues, like who to save and who not to, but it's already become quite a lengthy blog >.> But I'll throw you a bone, and add the issues to a later blog. Raluca, roommate, would definately not be one I would save, I would actually use her as bait. For two reasons:
Were she to live, she would distract every other surviver with her highpitched screams and she'd constantly nag everyone with her uselessness. And, perhaps most importantly, were she to be bitten, I'd have to kill her - she'd then rise as a zombie and I'd be... "forced" to kill her again. <3 :D

Remember, equipments-wise, I've only counted things I have in my room at this very moment!

Tune in tomorrow for: "2. Assume that you are 'pro-life', how would a Zombie-Apocalypse affect your stand-point? Discuss."