A world in denial

Post by **Elusive Despot** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:01 pm

Today is not unlike any other day. You got up, eat breakfast, and go to work. The radio is on and tuned into a local music station, when the news comes on. You look at the clock. Just another hourly news broadcast. You go about your work, listening to the radio in the background, when something grabs your attention.

“…The civil disturbances have spread from the Madison Square Garden to the surrounding neighborhoods.” (a tip of my hat to DOTD 04). You are slightly disturbed by this report, but you go on with your usual routine. Minutes go by and you start to laugh and give off a sigh of relief. A half hour later, they break into the middle of a song with another report.

“The civil disturbances that some experts are calling racially motivated rioting have spread from JFK airport to Times Square. The mayor is urging people to stay in their homes and lock their doors. The Police are calling in all their officers to get this violence under control.”

Your heart sinks. The situation is not looking good. You ask your boss what he/she thinks about this and they said they are not worried. You ask if you can leave early and they say no. You turn up the radio and listen closely. You start hearing details of violence at Hospitals and Medical Centers. You also hear terms like cannibalism and extremely homicidal behavior to describe the rioters. With each new report coming in from all over the country, you realize the impossible zombie pandemic has become a reality. Reports have started coming in from Paris, London, and Moscow of similar disturbances. Over a space of 6 hours, it had somehow gotten around the globe. You know that in a short time, everything will start falling apart.

You grab the phone and call those who you planned to call if this happened. You tell them about what is happening and they do not take you seriously. You tell your coworkers about it and they just joke about your paranoia. No matter whom you tell, nobody will listen. Those who you counted on for just this event (family, friends, everyone) has just scoffed at the notion of undead running amok, leaving you on your own.

You start to hear sirens wailing from somewhere nearby.

What do you do?

Post by **MrRevenge** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:16 pm

I get the hell out of their and back to my house. Then gear up. And as seeing as noone would beleive me I could sit back and tell em I told em as they are getting eaten by a zombie. Not very polite but, oh well.

Post by **zXzGrifterzXz** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:45 pm

I would.........

Walk into my Boss' office and tell him I have just gotten a call and I must take a personal day to attend to a family emergency. My daily drive to work is 1.2 miles from Parking space to Parking space. I can be home and heading up my front steps in under 3 minutes. Once I am there I do what ever is necessary to ensure the safety and well being of me and mine.

Post by **DarkHydra** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:57 pm

When I was reading the scenario I kept thinking of the episodes of ethnic cleansing that take place regularly on the African continent. I wonder if that's how it starts...Think I'll try to find Hotel Rwanda DVD again...

artyboy · Post by **artyboy** » Mon May 22, 2006 3:18 pm

I'd go directly home and gear up. I have some liberties when it comes to going in and out of my office so noone would question me. I'd call my fiance and tell her (not ask her) to drop what she's doing and go directly home if it was feasible. It takes me about 15 minutes to drive home with normal traffic via the interstate. If that's not an option then I know several alternate routes to get there. If I thought I had time I'd probably stop at the nearby corner store and buy some last minute preps (fill up the gas tank and buy as much food and drinks as I can afford). Once home I'd pull into my garage and start loading some of my preps into my car. I'd be listening to the radio the whole time. If I was sure of what was going on I'd start boarding up the house and have everything that I planned on taking ready to go in the front room. I'd also fill up the bathtubs with water. Then I'd wait for my fiance to come home and prepare to bug in. From there I'd just hang out on my back porch and watch for signs of unrest in my neighborhood. I'd also make sure to communicate with the neighbors to see what they think of the situation. I'd do my best to talk them into barricading the end of the street. I wouldn't bug out for a few days until things start to calm down. If it looks like escape is my only option then I bug out.

Post by **Shmerlin** » Mon May 22, 2006 3:33 pm

They probably wouldn't let me leave work, so I could either fake being sick, or just leave. As I don't like the job anyways.. I might just go w/ option two, but then again my "sacrifical self" might rear its ugly head, and make me stay trying to help until the last min. BTW i'm a 911 dispatcher.

If I can leave all well and good, I might have a chance

If I stay, well I'll stay, I've got some food & water in the truck, and it is pretty hard to get into the secure areas of the police department, and we are on the third floor.

If its gets confirmed walking dead well I'm prob fuged either way!

and people wonder why I want to move.

Post by **luctus** » Mon May 22, 2006 3:57 pm

Since I'm between jobs right now, I'll assume this was my last job, i.e. stereotypical office. I'll substitute BBC online news stories instead of radio, mainly because as a customer service rep I couldn't listen to anything that would interfer with taking calls. Situation is still the same, though.

Since no one seems credulous at this point, and given the fact that I quit this job anyway, I would just leave. Might lose me my job, but that might be the best part of an increasingly eerie-ass and soon to be cataclysmic day.

I'd head back home, pack up all my stuff into my car, and give it one last chance with the calling of friends and family. I'd inform them all of what was happening, what I was doing, and where I was going. I'd tell them that when they finally believed what was going on, they were welcome to actually stick with the plan. As much as I love them, and thus want to force them to go with me, I know I couldn't do it. Not just morally, but logistically. Two families with children and a few scattered adults? Not gonna happen.

Only exception I might make is for both my parents and one friend. My Dad is damned useful (former Army, mechanic, used to live on a farm, hunter, all-around resourceful guy), and my Mom is...well, she's my Mom. The friend is intelligent and in his second year of dental school, so he'd make a good medic/dentist/chemist. Still, I'd set a time limit with the convincing and after it expired, I'd get out of town.

So I'd head to my BOL, stopping at a store (if possible...then again, if I'm hearing sirens nearby, it may be too late...oh well, that's what my BOB is for) along the way and using all the money in my checking and savings accounts as fast as I was able. If people panicked while I was there, I would drop whatever I had and get out.

My BOL is my brother's house in small town Kentucky. He's hours away from the closest major cities, his house is massive, it sits on a few hundred acres of land, nearest neighbors are more than a mile away, he has firearms, etc. It's a good BOL.

Everything from there is pretty standard. The hardest part of this scenario is the lack of belief and adherence to the plan shown by my close friends and family. I suppose it's good to think about though, as people can lose it when bad shit actually starts to go down. Way to get me thinking, Elusive Despot.

--luctus

Post by **Shmerlin** » Mon May 22, 2006 4:01 pm

I change my mind I'm going w/ luctus!!

The Ghoul · Post by **The Ghoul** » Mon May 22, 2006 5:31 pm

Well, since I work with kids...I don't know.

Part of me wants to just head home, gear up, and get out.

The other part of me wants to take the kids with me, call parents, and then do ^^^

Edit---I would notify loved ones either way...

I would take my family, gather our guns and ammo, drive by Gunny's place, head to Shmerlin's, and then go to Bears. After that it is time to start building that moon base...

Post by **Bald Chihuahua** » Mon May 22, 2006 6:05 pm

Shmerlin wrote:I change my mind I'm going w/ luctus!!

Nuh-uh you don't get to change your mind!

Post by **Vindex** » Mon May 22, 2006 6:16 pm

From work to BOL is 50 min. on foot, add a 15 minute detour to swing past my kid's school. If the people I'm calling with the cell phone aren't believing me, and I don't expect them to, I'd tell them the location of my BOL if they change their mind. I'd likely abandon any attempt to retrieve the main BOB at home and just rely on the pouch BOB I always carry.

Post by **undeaddeadguy** » Mon May 22, 2006 7:02 pm

Zombies taking over the world and I'm stuck at work... thankfully work is close to my house, so I would just tell my boss I'm going home and to dock my pay if he really wants to. Then I grab my BOB and my family (which also lives close by) and anything else we can carry, and try and get to the boonies without using the main roads.

Post by **luctus** » Mon May 22, 2006 7:54 pm

Something else I just thought of. As I said before, I'm unemployed at present. To aid me in my job search, I made a database of all libraries/bookstores in Louisville using Google Earth. Thus, when I'm calling and trying to see who's hiring, I'll work in an expanding search radius. Hopefully this works out and I'll find a job that's less than half an hour away from home, unlike the previous office hellhole.

There's a library that is literally a less than five minute walk from the apartment...cross your fingers for me and hope they're hiring. Not only would it be close, the work experience would look good when/if I go after my Masters of Library Science degree.

--luctus

Post by **Heart of the Moon** » Mon May 22, 2006 8:06 pm

Without a doubt I'd leave work. Chances are if there was chaos erupting all over the place my day would be done pretty soon anyway. Then I'd have to plan my route home, avoiding all major cities which would be the major riot hotspots. I'm usually an average of 400 miles away from home when I'm working so that could take some doing. Then once I got my family gathered and what not I'd head for a sparsly populated place. Like North Central, KS or Grafton, IL. It would depend on if the grandmas were with my party or not.

Post by **Clown Hunter D** » Mon May 22, 2006 9:47 pm

The Ghoul wrote:After that it is time to start building that moon base...

I think you might want to go ahead and get a head start on that.

Don't forget the damn treehouse.

AEnemia · Post by **AEnemia** » Mon May 22, 2006 9:51 pm

I'm pretty used to folks not taking me seriously (which is why I ussually don't bother to give them the heads up anymore

). I'll just say "fuck them" and head out on my own until they're ready to start crawling to me for help...

I do have a couple freinds I think I can count on though, so I'll just make a point of heading for their places, and THEN look to hook up with other ZS members a.s.a.p.

The Ghoul · Post by **The Ghoul** » Mon May 22, 2006 11:11 pm

Clown Hunter D wrote:
The Ghoul wrote:After that it is time to start building that moon base...
I think you might want to go ahead and get a head start on that.

Don't forget the damn treehouse.

I already have started the moon base. So far I have 1 refrigator box that I snagged from a Home Depot near by, and I have 4 water bottles in a backpack.

I won't forget your "damn" treehouse. It WILL be built...and probably before the moon base is finished, so I might need a place to stay for a short while....

Post by **Da Law** » Mon May 22, 2006 11:37 pm

Hmmm.........go home and get more ammo.

Then get back to work.

Post by **Elusive Despot** » Tue May 23, 2006 6:40 am

I am glad I got you guys thinking with this one

Heres what I would do. I would tell my boss I was leaving for an emergency. Then I would call my family and tell them, not ask them, to do as I instructed them too already in the event something happened. Odds are some of them still wouldn't listen, but there is nothing I can do about it at this point so I would still follow the plan. I would also be thankful that I have a BOB in my vehicle.

I work 30 minutes from my home in the next town over. My home is situated right on a main road, that on a normal day, is busy as all get out. It could take me up to 3 minutes just to get out onto the street from my driveway. If zombies or any kind of civil unrest were taking place, driving home would be out of the question.

I would drive to my family's house, all the while trying to get more info on the situation. Their place is out of town a ways, so it would be a good place to go if this happens.

I would also be contemplating how to get to my place to get all the supplies I have stored so far, but that would only be in the distant future when and if the threat moved to another area in search of more "food".

Post by **luctus** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:37 am

I don't have an all-out BOB in my car, just a box of bottled water from Wal-Mart (24 .5Ls, I think), two first aid kits, warm clothes, and a sleeping bag. If I add my BOB from home (right under my bed) I gain more clothing, equipment, and the all important food. Thus I *could* risk a trip somewhere on just the car, but it'd be just that - a risk. With no food, if I got stranded on the way, things could go south real quick, and I ain't talking about Florida.

--luctus

artyboy · Post by **artyboy** » Tue May 23, 2006 11:00 am

If it was a situation where I couldn't make it home then I have a limited BOB to fall back on in the car. I keep a change of clothes, food for 3 or 4 days, some everyday stuff like flashlights, knives, bungie cords, a gun with an extra box of ammo, a first aid kit and some other stuff in there as well. My biggest worry would be not having any water in the car. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that because the space in my car is already too limited. I still need to work out a good BOL, too.

Post by **Oracle** » Tue May 23, 2006 11:24 am

Start the phone tree and head home to get the family and go to the BOL.

Post by ¿ » Tue May 23, 2006 1:44 pm

screw everyone, if they dont accept that zombies are real they cant survive in the PAW. so ill just bug out on my own and hope i survive.

The Ghoul · Post by **The Ghoul** » Tue May 23, 2006 1:51 pm

¿ wrote:screw everyone, if they dont accept that zombies are real they cant survive in the PAW. so ill just bug out on my own and hope i survive.

[sarcasm]Wow. You ooze compassion.[/sarcasm]