posted on Mar, 10 2010 @ 04:22 PM
Primary Objective: To escape the "large midwestern town" with "your life, and the lives of your [six] groupmates".
Secondary Objective: To escape the "large midwestern town" with "your life".
Total Materials:
01 First Aid Kit
02 Shotguns
180 Shotgun Shells
06 Gallons of Water
03 Small Packages of Power Bars
01 Surgical Kit (from the Nurse)
02 9mm Handgun
06 16-round 9mm Clips
03 8" Commando Knives
01 Portable Acetylene Torch with Fuel
01 Samurai Sword (a Katana, presumably)
01 Engineer's Tool Kit
01 Scoped Hunting Rifle
30 Rounds for Scoped Hunting Rifle
02 Pounds of Trail Mix
01 Aluminum Baseball Bat
01 Electrician's Kit
05 Cans of Food
05 Packages of Vegetable Seeds
02 Pounds of Beef Jerky
04 Pounds of Potatoes
01 Camp Shovel
Total Skills:
Street Smarts
Weapon Capabilities
Leadership
Registered Nurse
Field Medicine
Structural Engineering
Welding
Metalworking
Metallurgy
Tae Kwan Do - Black Belt
Sprinting
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Wiring
Farming
Hunting
Survival
Veterinary First Aid
Zombie Detection (via Scout)
Scavenging
Scenario:
Two of the group are in poor shape. The zombies are advancing in large numbers that cannot be defeated with current combat resources, but are slow and
reasonably stupid--though driven by instinct for food. The roads are blocked with wrecked cars, so the only reasonable escape route is through the
corn fields that surround the town.
Action:
If they are willing, Joshua and Steven would trade responsibilities for looking after the injured/exasperated members of the group and carrying them
if necessary. If Joshua and Steven are not willing, the only recourse those remaining members have is to keep up or fall behind.
Since even a portable acetylene torch isn't a light item, it would be left in the cornfield. The scoped rifle and one round would then be used at
maximum range to puncture the tank and spark an explosion, catching the cornfield on fire. Zombies are presumably stupid enough to walk through a
burning field in order to obtain food, and therefore they would be slowed down by the (hopefully increasing) pile of scorched zombies.
The beef jerky would spoil sooner than any of the vegetables, so it's probably best to leave those behind. Depending on the specific type of zombies,
it may even slow them down as they fight over the meat. That's a reach, though, and the main purpose would be getting rid of the weight--which is why
the four pounds of potatoes would also be dropped, as well as the five cans of fruits and vegetables, since they're heavier than it's worth.
The average human walks a mile in about 15 minutes or so, but given the condition of the group, for everyone to keep up, a mile would take probably 25
minutes or so. A zombie presumably walks at about two feet per second, and thus would cover a mile in about 45 minutes. However, to be safe, it should
be assumed that the zombies can keep up with our "injured pace".
If I have despotic rights over the entire group and can command what they will and will not do, no one will go back for someone who falls behind.
However, human nature being what it is, anyone who chooses to stay behind gets left behind, and--provided I could get a weapon from one of them--I
wouldn't hesitate to shoot anyone who got themselves chewed up.
Really the only plan would be to spark the acetylene tank at maximum range, then keep pace ahead of the zombies and do our best to outrun them,
assuming they're coming from one to three directions.