✓ Step 4: Find shelter
If you have a shelter, is it the right one? Not necessarily for the rest of your life, but for right now. If you don't have shelter, find one fast. Bad guys and zombies are going to be everywhere soon. In a martial law situation, military or law enforcement might arrest or shoot you if you're caught out after curfew.
A fenced-in parking lot may not keep out bad guys, but should protect you from zombies. A vehicle makes a fine mobile shelter as long as the windows and fuel hold out. If you can't get inside a vehicle, you could hide under it. You could climb a tree or fire escape. You could hide in or behind a dumpster (just don't trap yourself in a dead end alley).
Storage unit facilities can make excellent shelters thanks to the fenced lot, password-protected entry gate, and limited number of people who can gain access. You can clear out the junk in units to block off the entrances. Chances are good you'll find a mattress you can sleep on as well as a variety of reading material. Looters may eventually target these facilities, but since the contents are a crapshoot, they're more likely to target businesses where they know they can get what they want. In an apocalypse, the idea of “one-stop shopping” becomes more important than ever.
When seeking shelter, look for a place that's nondescript to avoid attracting attention. It should be away from the main streets but not too far from routes out of the area.
In a zombie apocalypse, avoid taking shelter in hospitals, doctor's offices, schools, churches, or public gathering places. These are some of the first places to be overrun. Despite having a high concentration of armed survivors, police stations and sheriff's offices are no safer. Officers responding to attacks are likely to be bitten, suspects may be infected, and it's only a matter of time until the bullets start flying. Do you want to be there when that happens?
✓ Step 5: Fortify your area or use natural barriers
Board up doors and windows. Leave yourself an opportunity to see out: don't cover peepholes or block off all access to windows unless absolutely necessary. If you run out of boards, break up some wooden furniture or cabinets. Still running short or need extra reinforcement? Push some heavy bookcases, tables, or mattresses into place.
If you're in a single-story residence with an elevated entrance, can you saw off the entry stairs? That won't stop determined humans, but will keep zombies from knocking on your door.
The staircases in a multi-level house or apartment building provides a second line of defense in case the ground floor is breached. You can block off the stairs to buy yourself time to escape to the roof or jump out a window.
In a multi-story shelter, prioritize securing the ground floor first (as well as basements with outside access). If you have any leftover boards, you should keep them on hand in case you need to shore up ground floor defenses. Boarding the upstairs windows is only necessary if bad guys can gain easy access via a nearby tree or neighbor's rooftop. Otherwise, you'll want to keep one or more upstairs windows free in case you need to use them to escape.
Keep the lights off or low! Stay away from windows. You don't want to be seen by any passers by (living or undead).
Obvious external fortifications announce your presence to the outside world like a big red flashing light. Unless you have a large, well-armed group, it's probably better not to block off the street with cars or build a guard tower in your backyard. The zombies won't care, but the bad guys will. After all, if you're going to all this trouble to keep them out, you must have some tasty stuff worth stealing…
If your shelter is in an insecure area, at some point, you will need to abandon it. Make a “bug out” plan for that and where you will go. The longer you wait to leave, the more you need to realize:
The world outside is getting more dangerous; and
All the good stuff (or at least the easiest) has been looted.
If you're in a wilderness setting, use natural barriers to reduce the number of ways an enemy can approach. While a campfire and hot meal might make you feel better, it also draws attention. Smoke can be seen from miles away. Fire or not, set up a series of tripwire alarms around your camp to warn when someone is approaching. You can do this by stringing noisy objects to the wires.
✓ Step 6: Plan your long-term strategy
Once you have found and fortified your shelter, you have time to think. However, that time is limited by your ability to defend yourself and how much food and water you have. Even if you have plenty for now, you don't know what problems the next day, even the next minute, might bring. Government forces could be coming to round you up. Armed looters could target your hideout. Or a zombie horde could sniff you out and surround you. Even if they can't get in, you can't get out. You may starve to death or die of dehydration before they go away.
Use your time wisely. Consider all your options, keeping emotions out of your decision-making. Dismiss ideas that are too ambitious or rely on others outside your current group. Always have a back-up plan in case things go wrong.
If you're in the city, plan to get out. If you're in the country, plan to get to the most remote and defensible location you can find. Either way, be prepared for others to have had the same idea and to have already beaten you there.
✓ Step 7: Find a group to help you survive
Joining a group is something almost every survivor must do at some point. On the surface, it makes sense. There is safety in numbers and groups provide for your social needs as well as your physical ones. You don't have to face the horrors of the apocalypse alone. But it's not just about finding a group, it's about finding the right group. Joining the wrong one can be more dangerous than going it alone.
Find out as much about the group as you can before and after you approach them. Shadow them; see how they treat each other and the people they meet. How effective are they are at scavenging supplies and killing enemies? Are they generous or cruel? Chances are, that's how they'll treat you.
If the group you approach is not immediately suspicious of you, that's a red flag. Either they have not adjusted to the new reality brought on by the apocalypse, or they have already sized you up as a victim. An overly-friendly group is likely to rob you, kill you, or worse. Keep an eye on the whole group, not just the ones you're talking to. If you see some circling behind you, you're in trouble. That may just be a wise precaution on their part, or else they are closing a trap. By the time you figure out which, it may be too late.
Don't assume a group will take you in just because you're human and “we're all in this mess together.” They may only accept those who demonstrate some valuable skill or characteristic, or they could cling to old prejudices. They may simply not want to take on members outside their immediate friends and family. This does not make them bad people. If the group is neutral or reasonably friendly given the circumstances, tell them you understand and use the opportunity as a chance to exchange information or trade goods and services before you move on.
THE THING ABOUT GROUPS
One of the main criticisms of zombie stories in general and The Walking Dead in particular is just how dumb some of the groups act. While ordinary civilians can be expected to make their fair share of mistakes, this should not happen when their group contains members trained in combat, security, and survival.
Since it's beyond the scope of this book to cover how every possible combination of civilians might act, I'm going to focus on the four types most likely to lead and survive: military and law enforcement, and preppers and survivalists.
MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Having a character with a military or law enforcement background means the most common security errors never get made. That is, unless the character in question is one of the reckless or lazy “bad apples” discussed in the previous chapter. Then all bets are off.
Military or law enforcement characters will implement a “buddy system,” so nobody ever goes anywhere without backup―and a weapon. Every character (who isn't obviously insane) will be provided with a weapon and shown how to u
se and care for it. For example, if it's a gun, how to clear a room, how to keep your finger off the trigger and to never point it at anyone you don't intend to shoot. How to field strip it. If it's a hammer or a club, how much room you need to swing it so you don't hit your buddy in the face.
On top of these basics will be training how to use the weapons in different situations (for example, against humans vs. harder to kill opponents such as zombies). In a zombie apocalypse, you can bet they will teach a “brain buster” protocol that shows how to prevent slain human opponents from coming back to life as zombies. After all, it's no good to kill someone who is only going to get back up a few minutes later and attack you all over again. You have to make sure they stay dead.
The only good zombie is a dead zombie.
When a group led by military or law enforcement approaches a building where the occupancy is unknown, and assuming they have at least a three-person team, the building will be presumed to be held by hostiles. The first team member bangs on the door, standing to its side so he can't be hit or surprised by anyone on the other side. Two more will crouch back and to either side, ready to provide covering fire or prevent any snipers from aiming out a window. Any resistance or refusal to answer the knock will be met with force; a locked door will be broken down, an unlocked door thrown open. The team will enter the building and proceed to sweep it clear, room by room. If the team has extra members, these may be stationed to cover the front and rear of the building. Their role is to prevent any hostiles from escaping and to keep the team's escape routes open should the mission go bad.
Military personnel know you don't waste ammo on an impossible fight; you beat a strategic retreat and save your bullets for whoever gets in your way. You do not stop or turn around and shoot at whatever is coming after you, especially is it's slow-moving zombies unlikely to catch you. That's a great way to get yourself and your buddies killed. What if you trip? What if you need those bullets later? And yet time after time, we see characters who should know better make these exact same mistakes!
There's also no shooting at zombies from a moving vehicle. That's because shots from a moving vehicle are already likely to miss people. How much harder do you think it will be to hit a zombie when only head shots count?
Ammo checks will be frequent and accurate before, during, and after fights. Everyone loads, everyone reloads. Nobody is allowed to walk around with just the bullets in their gun; they are going to have at least enough to reload once or twice. When writing gun scenes, keep track of the bullets! Make sure the characters stop to reload. Not only is this realistic, but it gives you a chance to break up the action a little bit.
Finally, no group run by someone with a military or law enforcement background would allow a member to run or wander off for selfish or silly reasons. The buddy system, remember? And more than that, this is the apocalypse! You want to get yourself killed, that's your business. There's no splitting the group up to chase after someone who's acting like an idiot. That gets everyone dead, so the group is better off without them.
With military and law enforcement characters, the mission is the priority, whether it's scavenging for food or scouting an enemy base. Once people deviate from mission parameters, once they cease to follow orders, discipline breaks down. Things go south in a hurry.
There will always be scouting and surveillance with a military or law enforcement character in charge; the group will never rush blindly into a situation they have no intelligence on as Rick's group did with disastrous results in Season Six of The Walking Dead. It turns out “The Saviors” Rick's group killed weren't just a dozen bandits but part of a much larger, deadlier group. Likewise, military or law enforcement characters will always have an exit strategy and a rendezvous point.
A guard schedule and watch perimeter will be established and maintained around the group's camp or shelter. Guards will be trained what to watch out for and instructed not to be lured beyond the perimeter; they are to alert others in the group of any threat, preferably without calling attention to themselves and giving away their position to the enemy. When possible, a guard will take up watch in an elevated post that allows a 360-degree view of his surroundings, and he will maintain that field of vision, not just stare off in one direction with his back turned. Remember in The Walking Dead, Season Two, Episode One (“What Lies Ahead”), when Dale was on top of his RV with binoculars and a scoped rifle, yet somehow magically failed to see the zombie mega-herd coming until it was too late? That won't happen if military and law enforcement people are present.
When someone in the group proves incapable of obeying orders, they get reprimanded. They get punished. If that doesn't correct the problem, then they're out of the group. There's no time for babysitting troublemakers and morons when the world is falling apart. Military and law enforcement characters know this. They're here to help, they want to help, but if you can't help yourself, there's nothing they can do.
While military characters come with a number of impressive survival advantages, they do suffer one potentially fatal flaw: The tendency to blindly stick with any plan that has worked in the past, at least until it is proven that the enemy has not only caught on to it, but taken appropriate countermeasures. This failure to change and adapt can quickly translate into a high number of friendly casualties. Sometimes even then, these characters remain stubborn, failing to adapt to changing battlefield conditions.
To get a feel for how military characters might act in a war zone, watch Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Blackhawk Down (2001), and Tears of the Sun (2003).
For a concise, well-researched sourcebook on creating realistic military and law enforcement characters, I highly recommend Armed Professions: A Writer's Guide by Clayton J. Callahan (2016).
For tips on writing realistic violence, check out Violence: A Writer's Guide (Second Edition, 2013) by Rory Miller, and my own Post-Apocalypse Writers’ Phrase Book (2015).
PREPPERS AND SURVIVALISTS
Characters with prepper or survivalist backgrounds will be able to lay hands on a ready stash of wisely hoarded supplies, or else be in a better position to acquire one. They will know which things are worth taking, which ones aren't, and why. Remember, most survivors are limited to what they can wear or carry. Excess weight slows you down and gets you killed or left behind.
Survivalists may know which plants and berries are safe to eat, how to hunt wild game, and which signs warn animals, humans, or zombies are nearby.
Both are likely to have a safe and secure well-stocked shelter in a remote location, from a hunting cabin to an underground bunker.
It's important to point out that although a lot of people use the terms prepper and survivalist interchangeably, they represent two different mindsets and skill sets (obviously with some overlap). Preppers typically plan for a specific foreseeable disaster, such as a tornado or nuclear war. Therefore, their plans vary greatly; some may only have enough supplies to last a few weeks, while some will have enough for months or years. Preppers prefer to gather in likeminded groups or communities. Prepping becomes a lifestyle for them, perhaps with gardening organic vegetables or other healthy, self-sufficient choices. For examples of people prepping for different types of disasters, take a look at Doomsday Preppers (TV, 2012-2014).
Unlike preppers, survivalists tend to be loners. While some focus on creating a permanent shelter for themselves and possibly a few others, they rarely have much interest in saving anyone outside close friends and loved ones. Also unlike most preppers, they train to be able to survive in one or more terrain types under difficult conditions. Think Bear Grylls of Man vs. Wild (TV, 2006-2011) or Les Stroud of Survivorman (TV, 2004-present). Note that just because a survivalist knows how to live off one terrain type, doesn't automatically mean he knows how to survive in others.
Survivalists are the most likely―and most dangerous―type of survivor to be encountered alone. They will be suspicious, if not openly hostile to strangers. Although unlik
ely to invite you into their shelter, they may be open to sharing information or trading goods and services. However, some are so paranoid they will want to kill you simply for knowing their location. Which, when you think about it, is not an entirely unreasonable reaction. While they may trust that you won't come back, they have no way to know who you might tell―especially under torture.
Note that if you see one survivalist, there's likely a second hiding nearby, and you can bet he's pointing his rifle at you.
SURVIVOR PSYCHOLOGY
You can't live through the apocalypse without being traumatized. Watching your loved ones shot, stabbed, ripped apart, or worse, being infected and then coming back to life, is bound to take its toll on you. Attachments to others are dangerous in a world where people die every day in one horrible way or another. It only stands to reason that survivors are likely to develop a number of temporary or permanent mental illnesses as “coping skills,” such as delusions, OCD, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's one thing to go through a war, but what is it like to live in one that lasts forever? Because that's what the post-apocalypse world is: War against man. War against zombies. War against nature. War against yourself and your own crumbling sanity, your crushed dreams and broken soul. The old world, the safe world, is gone. You live in a savage land, a land without pity, without mercy. And it will eat you alive if you let it!
Some survivors will no doubt develop a strong belief system rooted in the principles of “terror management.” Terror management is the conflict between the desire to live and knowing you are going to die. So you invent things to reassure yourself life has meaning, anything to nourish your self-esteem in the face of the cold, hard truth. A belief in immortality, in superiority of the human species, superiority of self, of country, or other things that keep you from giving up, from shutting down and going mad.
Writing Apocalypse and Survival Page 3