Zombies, from patient zero to all-clear

The zombie outbreak scenario is usually only considered from the scene where everyone heads to the mall. Let's look at the entire thing, one step at a time, from the day the first zombie shows up in your work place to the time that the very last infected corpse is thrown on a pyre.

We start on Z-Day, before dawn: Patient zero dies and rises in a major metropolitan hospital. He in turn infects a nurse and several security guards who attempt to subdue him. Within an hour there are several loose zombies in the emergency room and the infection begins to spread in the hospital. Police arrive, several are infected, the police form a perimeter and call for SWAT. They obviously have no clue what is happening or how many hostiles will be inside when they enter.

Your role: You have been detained on your floor after the end of your shift working in the hospital because of the disturbance downstairs. Out the window you see that the police are forming a perimeter. You have been told over the phone by police that you should not attempt to exit the building because they can see the carnage on the ground floor. (edit to add: a single infectee turned on your floor and was destroyed without spreading the disease- so you know from the get go that you are up against zombies).

What are your needs and how do you satisfy them, from the moment (let's say 4 a.m.) until the beginning of business hours/rush hour?

[edit on 15-11-2007 by The Vagabond]

i would say to lock your self in a room and to not move at all.
depending on how the forces of the living ( ) react to such a situation i think that you could remain there for a good while, providing that the room is solid (not dry wall and a lockable door(s).

i dont think that such a situation would remain a threat for any extended period of time (within the week before some kind of method is enacted to rectify the problem).

what is the situation with people dying? is it classic "anyone dead comes alive" or a 28 days later virus kind of scenario?
if it is the latter, i wouldnt attempt any form of physical defense unless absolutely necessary, and only with a decent weapon of some kind (which you must arm your self with ASAP).

eventually i think some kind of armed forces will arrive (extermination squads armed with napalm weapons and gas), in which case im not sure if it is a "kill anything that moves inside" precautionary method, in which case you are pretty much screwed unless you show clear indication you are not infected, dead or whatever the case may be.

with water and food, i would say that these are not a problem. you are in a hospital so water should be plentyful (in either filters which in a hospital i think that there is a lot of, or through stored bottles, for the filters, or direct running water which should be operational unless there has been a fire or explosions).

food souldnt be an issue. you wont die of hunger. there will be vending machines around. besides you wont be up there long enough, you will die of sleep deprivation before starvation.


to sum it up: just stay put and lock all the doors. wait for the guys with the guns to sort it all out, you dont really have many other options.

Well, unless you're a ninja with your sword handy. I'd say hope you have at least a dozen shirkas.

If I was able to I would slip past the police perimiter as otherwise, depending on how fast the outbreak spread, I could in the short term: Be stuck in a room with minimal food and water. And in the long term be stuck in a hospital or in the very long term a city surrounded by zombies.

My take:

There's now way the police will take the building without any of their officers becoming infected, and they will almost certainly "rescue" an infectee who hasn't died yet. Containment will not hold. Beyond that, there's the chance that zombies left the ground floor before the police perimeter was formed.

It's time to get out of town ASAP. The police are almost as big of a threat as zombies, because once you have been detained as a witness you are going to be a sitting duck in densely populated environment where they will definately have infected individuals.

In my mind, priorities are as follows:
1. Obtain improvised armor and weaponry. In a hospital setting, this probably means stealing somebody's coat and securing the collar around your neck with tape- anything that makes it a bit harder to break your skin is a good thing- and for a weapon, probably a slightly unwieldy club (meaning 2 handed weapon) taken from a heavy metal fixture such as bed railing.

2. Communication. If possible you have to get in touch with the second floor. Obviously you call. You're gambling on the idea that if there is nobody alive to answer, a zombie will be dumb enough to attack the sound of the phone and knock it off the hook, thus warning you.

Assuming you don't get any indication the the second floor is completely over-run, it's time to go to the stairs. Stairs should slow zombies down quite a bit since they're so uncoordinated. If the stairwells aren't overrun with zombies, you're headed to the second floor- because it's safer to climb down from and the cops will have less chance to see you.

When you get to the second floor your barricade yourself in a room with a window, you take out the light bulb or tube or whatever is in use there (you can use the TV for light) and using whatever non-electrically conductive material is available, you stick a metal object into the light socket, hopefully blowing out the lighting at least on that floor and making it harder for the cops to see you when you start out of the window. With any luck at all you can use a blanket (not a sheet but a blanket) as a rope to give yourself just a couple fewer feet to fall, it's out the window for you.

Now there's the small matter of getting past all of those cops. My advice: sick your pet zombies on them. Instead of making a break for the perimeter, you get as much of a head start as possible by stealth, then you make your sprint for the hospital door, make a ton of noise, and get a nice big crowd of zombies on your butt. You've got a reasonable chance of being shot at this point, but that is considered an above-average outcome for a zombie fighter, so be proud of your accomplishment as you lay dying in the street.

If that doesn't happen though, you may be able to break through the police perimeter while they are fighting with a mob of zombies.

Next step: get to your car and get on the damn road. You've got grocery shopping to do and you have to beat the morning crowd... including the cashiers and security guards.

(all of the above is invalid if your hospital has a below ground parking structure. In that case you simply get in an elevator, go to the parking basement, go to your car, and run the perimeter in your car. The resulting police chase will give you a wonderful opportunity to get out of harms way, just stay within city limits so that the police will be called off when the infection starts to spread- then you get the hell out of town).

Phase 2: You are out of the affected area for now, but you also know that this thing is going to be all over the country in just a matter of days. You have precious little time to get supplies you need before the panic goes mainstream, and then you've got to decide where to go to ride out the event.

So: Choice of terrain, choice of weaponry and survival needs, how long do you prepare to hunker down for, and don't forget as you make your choices that you'll eventually also want to be a part of wiping out those creatures and starting to rebuild civilization.

You must understand what is happening and respond quickly or you are dead. The first perimeter will be breached withing the hour. Unless your a zombie movie fan, you will not comprehend whats happening. Escaping is a good idea, but to where, within hours society will start to unravel, roads will be impassible, fires will rage out of control, mass panic.

Here is what I posted in another thread: saves me from typing so much:

Originally posted by LDragonFire
The trick to surviving a Zombie out break is to separate yourselves from them. Walls, any type of war mart or mall with a gun shop, Castles or walled mansion estates, houses on a big hill, if you have time to built any walls. Anyplace where you can renew your water supply and renew your food supply.

Sooner or later your food source is going to diminish, so in effect your survival becomes a type of prison. Idle minds are the devil's workshop.

Lets say you with your family arrive at a Wal-Mart, to find this outbreak in full swing, You are the last group of people to make it in the doors before they are locked. There are 50-100 people in the store, people are crying and screaming, there is blood everywhere, what do you do?

You step up, Get the attention of as many people you can because you must act quickly. Your first two priority's are to secure all entrance's and quarantine any bite victims and post guards over them. Ask for two store employees to to show any volunteers where all entrances are tell them to goto each entrance and post a guard.

Groups need to be formed, try to keep everyone busy or you could have massive panic on your hands. Keep asking for volunteers, drafting some one if you have two. One small group does a inventory of what is in the store. Two groups as guards, with radio's at each entrance one group on duty at all times, if a problem arises the whole second group will be the first reinforcements. A group to reinforce all entrances, use what ever you need to barricade the entrance.

Once you feel secure you need to turn your energies to water and food needs. The Food part would be easy in a wal-mart most have a big garden department, and you could grow food on the roof and indoors, as long as you have a power supply. You would have a endless supply of buckets for catching rainwater and you could convert fish aquariums to use as filters for the rain water.

But this sucks. Who wants to live in a wal-mart?

What you need to do is to buy a really big hill, and build a Castle on it with a well and walls around the base of the hill. Once you have the castle built, make sure you have some towers around your wall for snipers. Build gardens, stables and other animal dwellings. Keep a well stocked armory, AR-15s or any assualt rifle, Shotguns, Sniper rifles, and make sure you have a reloading room with a huge stock pile of supplies.

Buy your self a solar, wind and fuel cell power supplies to install after a Zombie Outbreak. Open it to the public, as a bed and breakfast, or a fancy hotel, this insures a healthy gene pull when the rest of the world dies, then decides to get back up. Hire me as your Chef, after you make me a cherry offer, then everyone can liver happily ever after.

If you can't reach your family and friends within the first few hours, don't even bother, you will not like what you find. This would spread really fast, but if it starts around 9 or 10 pm, you should have more time to react.

Reacting to this and making the right decision will save your life.

I'm ready for the zombie apocalypse are you??

What kind of zombies are we talking about here? Classical or 28 days later style. If it's classical I wouldn't be too worried for myself, they're basically the equivalent of a retarded 5 year old and about as fast. My plan, if something like that happens, is to go to the mountains and hide out there until the zombies are gone. The only hard part will be getting fresh water, since I would try and find a spring where I know it hasn't been contaminated upstream. If it's 28 days later style, I'd probably do basically the same thing, except try and find mountains that are relatively clear so you get good fields of fire and they can't sneak up on you.

yea, if there was a zombie outbreak i wouldnt go for anyone that is over 15 minutes away....time is very precious in a situation like this so get whoever is closest that u can trust and get the heck outa there!

also i dont think its been brought up yet but where would u stay during a Zombie outbreak?

my best bet is probably wal-mart . i belive this because--->
1. wal-mart has guns, food, clothing,supplies and only one latter to the roof.
2. wal-mart has plenty of secruity devices lik cameras and renforced doors.
3.wal-mart has a sercuity room in a section that is about 12-15 off the ground that is only accessable from stairs that can be easily blocked off or destroyed.

any other ideas on good places to stay???

In a second floor room with the police perimeter outside, you are just about in the worst place you could be. But if you are patient and smart about it, you can get out of the situation.

Step 1:
Mobilize the remaining people on your floor into a group and secure the floor. If someone wants to run for it, let them. Just don't allow anyone to compromise the area.
Step 2:
Wait. The police are trained to shoot center of mass. They will shoot anyone who tries to leave. Once they start pouring semi-automatic fire into a few zombies with little or no effect, they will panic and start shooting anything that moves. Then they will run out of ammo and either run or be over run and turned.
Step 3:
Wait some more. Daylight is your only friend. While you are waiting use the telephone to contact your family and friends to see if they are still alive and to give them instructions. This should be in step 2 as well. Communications and information are key to survival. If you cannot contact someone, don't go see why not or you are likely to get an answer you don't like.
Step 4:
While waiting, plan to leave the building. Improvise both armour and weapons from what is at hand. Anything that you can't bite through is effective armour, and a good club doesn't need to be reloaded. Make sure to cover ankles and legs as well as hands and arms with armour. Protective eye wear and a surgical mask will protect you from spatter when you smash a zombie in the head.
Step 5:
You have a plan, now use it. Get to what ever transportation you have and leave the area. If the police were over run and have left their SWAT vans behind, these make a good transport for several people. They are also parked at the edge of the perimeter, so you don't have to bash your way through the barricades.
Step 6:
Get to the people you have contacted over the phone. If they followed instructions, you will have food and water ready to be picked up as well as clothing and weapons. Get people together and move as a unit. The herd principle is best at this stage. The more people between you and the zombies, the less chance of you getting bit. Besides, the more people on the guns, the better the chances of clearing the way.
Step 7:
Move out. The farther you are from a population center, the safer you are. You can return for things once you are over the initial shock and can start thinking again. Find a position that can be easily defended. If you know one of those people that have a compound, head over there and join the cause.
Step 8:
Build armour that is 100% zombie proof. Leather with metal plates is the best. Then build or acquire weapons to both defend and attack with. You need both long range and hand to fang weapons. A rifle is good, but won't help you if a zombie is climbing up your leg.
Step 9:
Reinforce a large vehicle so that it can ram and move derelict cars out of the way. This vehicle is your base of operations while you are foraging in the city for food and supplies. Make sure that it is 100% zombie proof and can force its way through a zombie swarm. Roof hatches with interior ladders are a good design idea.
Step 10:
Go out and survey the world. See what is left of human kind. Rescue those you can and try to co-operate with other survivor groups. The last thing that you want is a war between groups while the zombies are running around loose.

This is a fairly simple and rational plan. If you avoid the temptation to hole up in town, you should survive. And use your imagination when it comes to defences. If you can get shipping containers and move them into a large square, you have both a defensive wall and storage / living quarters. A four foot chain link fence won't stop zombies, but the same fence on the edge of a ten foot deep ditch will. Plywood walls with 2 x 4 supports will do the job as well. You could build a fortress out of 2x4, 2x6 and plywood that will keep them at bay and allow safe shooting platforms, as long as you don't fall into the trap of shooting close. Let them pound on the wall and only shoot the ones out a ways. If you kill the ones at the base of the wall, they will fall and become a convenient ramp for the rest of them. Shoot paniced and you can bring them in as surely as if you opened the gate for them.

My first and foremost consideration would be morale - the police are outside the building the zombies are downstairs.

In most combat situations, this would come under the heading 'pinned down', and as such it would have a rather devastating psychological effect on civilians, even if they are medically trained ones at that.

So, we have one rule that even our boys in blue outside acknowledge - Do not attempt to Exit through ground floor.

In otherwords, i'd position myself at the fire-exit with a large metal object, and urge anyone attempting to leave to reconsider their actions for the time being.


Judging from such films as Dawn of the dead (the original) the zombies will only be aware of your location if one of those at your location becomes a zombie, and leads others to you - this is why it is so vital not to let anyone be zombified downstairs.

I would be extremily worried about the elevators, as it is more or less guarenteed that they will be filled with zombies wanting to get at your flesh - HOWEVER, the elevators may be imperitive to my survival, as the various electronic hardware locations will most likely be located beneath the ground floor.

There will be doors in the hospital which will not open unless the proper electronic security code is activated, and as such taking the power off-line would halt most of the zombie activity on the lower levels - thereby making it a helluva lot easier for the police to secure the building (if they don't just decide to demolish it).

But this will also mean that it will be next to impossible to return to the safer locations in the hospital.

As for the civilians whom are there to be treated for injury, ailments and disease, then i'm afraid it is very likely that many of those whom have been ill for lengthy periods of time stand a good chance of dying or entering comas due to the enormity of their situation - even with medical care given by the few members of staff still present, the stress of the situation will probably get to them, and eventually they'll realise that because of their medical condition they have no choice but to rely on the aforesaid medical staff to stop the zombie infection from getting to the other floors of the building.

If possible, i would offer those patients still able to fight the choice of fighting for their lives as part of a group, as opposed to individually.

By rush hour, if the police have still not cleared out the hospital, i would be strongly considering alternative methods of exiting the building other than the main entrance or A&E department - perhaps the parking lot would suffice, as the elevator may go down to that level.

My biggest fear will be that elevator, however - i cannot deal with a sudden wall of zombies in an enclosed space, and even if they come up to greet us on the upper levels it is extremily likely that we would be unable to safely deal with a number of zombies more than 2.

It would be helpful to have an electrician, as he would be able to stop the elevators from stopping on the ground floor (although sadly it probably won't be the case).

It's a tricky one, do we put the elevators out of action due to the hazard of zombies accidently stumbling upon the upper levels, or do we use the elevator to lock down the various security checkpoints inside the building by turning off the power, thereby providing the means to safely clear the building out of zombies?



EDIT: For phase 2; i'm more than likely to end up lone-wolfing it.

Let someone else rebuild society - if they do a #ty job of it i'll make an appearance with a sniper rifle.


[edit on 28-11-2007 by Throbber]

well since all the medical training i have consists of nothing more than being able to use a first aid kit, i would probably be a janitor in the boiler room. on the basement level. there i would lock myself in, use my crescent wrench to stir their brains around until they quit twitching, wait until the zombies have infected the police, then hacksaw, my way out of the barred up basement window, escape super mario bros. style out of the courtyard, over the fence and back on home to my sword collection. if zombies arrived to a hospital then it's more than likely they might be at home. luckily i still have my 2 lb. cross-peen hammer with me because i left my crescent wrench in that nurses skull back in the basement. (that'll teach her to be a zombie) at home my wife will be exercising her right to bear arms. one thing i like about my town is that it has a hardware store connected to a sporting goods store with more than enough guns and ammunition for every non infected person, plus gardening supplies, snack foods, tents, they even have this 22 that looks kind of like a smaller m-16. you would have to see it it's really awesome because of the fact that it has an m-16 style firing system. that and i would take a 12 guage shotgun, mini-14, any milsurp rifles, pistols, and anything with a scope, 20 round clip or full choke. then i would rack up as many kills as i can.


phase2

roam the wilderness as a barbarian

[edit on 17-7-2010 by rockoperawriter]