Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #1

Survival of the Fittest

A/N: This chapter kind of got away from me so it's damn near 2,000 words.

What do you do when the dead come back to life and start eating people? Well, the most obvious answer would be to run. But there's more to it than that isn't there? You need to avoid anyone with a bite mark or scratches. You should never turn back to help someone who is surrounded by the dead because they're fate is already decided. If you're in the city, get out! Get out of anywhere that's over populated. Lock yourself in the house, in a room with no windows and horad food and water that will last you for at least a couple weeks. Just until the initial panic settles down then get the hell out of there. Only take what's important like: water, non-perishable foods, comfortable shoes, a change of clothes. Make sure you have some kind of weapon. A gun with extra ammo might be good but make sure you have something for hand to hand combat, like a knife or a hatchet. Remember people will want what you have and will kill you if they have to. Be smart and think about yourself, not the guy begging for help only for him to screw you over.

Don't go to some refugee camp the military has set up. Why? Because there will be sick people there. People who have been bitten and they will turn. The military is going to fall fast believe it or not. It did here in Georgia. Everyone was told to head to Atlanta to the refugee camps but that didn't turn out so well. They ended up having to bomb the whole city after the dead overran it. I was there to see it from afar anyway. I was with my sister-in-law, nephew, and brother's best friend heading towards the city. Of course, I protested against it.

My brother, Rick, had been shot during a shootout we had with a couple bank robbers. We were told there were only two suspects but they didn't see the third guy in the back. When everything hit he was in the hospital in a coma. Me and Shane, his best friend, went back to the hospital but we couldn't get him out. The place was in total chaos. The military was lining people up along the walls and shooting them. Then the hospital was bombed and the machines stopped working. Shane checked for a pulse but couldn't get one. He had to drag me out of there so we could get Carl and Lori to safety. The only guns we had between me and Shane were our Glock 17 and Shane had his mossberg 590.

I remember when this all started. While out on their rounds, Leon Bassett, me, and Shane, each encountered mysterious bites. We started bringing in people who were sick, bit, or had shot someone in self defense. After shooting a crazed inmate and saving Leon from getting bit, I called Lori and told her to stay at home until me and Shane arrived. We both believed that the situation was going to get even worse.

As our law and order started to break down and infrastructure collapsed, Shane and I went to visit Rick in the hospital where we witnessed the military shooting the infected and non-infected staff members and civilians alike. We evaded capture by the soldiers and left Rick in his room. We ended up blocking the door with one of the roll-away beds. Then we headed to Lori and Rick's place and got Lori and Carl. Shane packed up Lori's car with Lori and Carl riding with him and I packed my stuff and anything else I could in my jeep.

We had met a few people on the highway, Carol, her daughter Sophia, and her husband Ed. I didn't like how Ed treated his wife and daughter but I knew there wasn't much I could do. I kept an eye on them though just in case it got out of hand. We met Dale next, he was on a road trip in his RV and had saved Andrea and her sister Amy. We had met Glenn, Jim, Jacqui T-Dog, the Morales family, and others.

We headed to an old quarry a few miles out of the city. It was perfect. We had water and all we needed to do was boil it to be safe, it was secluded and the dead didn't come up that way but we still set up alarms just in case. We had a watch shift. A few days later the Dixon brother showed up. Shane wasn't too keen on them staying but I talked him into it. They knew how to hunt and how to clean the meat afterwards. They were valuable to the group. Glenn was fast on his feet and knew his way in and out of the city so he went for supplies when we needed them. He didn't like taking anyone and always went by himself but this time he took a group. Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui, Morales, and Merle, the oldest Dixon brother.