Being taken seriously?

So it's May 21st and if you are reading this then you were not taken in the rapture. I'm sorry. Time to move on to more pressing matters. Like preparation.

That is what the Centre for Disease Control wants us all to do at least. The first thing to do is create a list of supplies in case of emergencies. The list provided by the CDC is a great one put together by professionals. But it could use improvement. There are a few things to add to it for survival in the most dire of cases, a zombie outbreak.

• Pre-cut boards for windows and doorways. The quicker barricades can be up and running the more time can be spend on other areas.
• Rifles and side-arms for each person.
• Ammo (500 rounds minimum per firearm)
• Hand-to-hand weapons for each person.
• Tools for boarding up windows. Hammers, power drills, screws and nails.
• Quick-cement. Can be used on weakened walls, barricades and to fill in windows on the first floor.

Creating the emergency plans mentioned are also very important. Having your family all know who to contact and where to go in any situation is vitally important. Children should know where to go and have a list of people to try to contact should their parents be turned or separated. The family should also have a meeting place should they have to abandon a safe house. A separation from physical possessions should be established and every thing categorized into weather it would be needed or not once the home is compromised.

The most important part of surviving is the first few days. In those first few days roughly 80% of the population will be lost and the only thing that will make a difference between being among those and the initial survivors will be preparation. The true survivors will need more to continue and things will get harder but in the beginning it will just be simple emergency prep. Many people approach me and say I will be the one they call on when after the fall. While this does make me feel good it also shows the unpreparedness of these people. Another survivor recently told me that he tells these people if they do come to his house they will meet the business end of a rifle. While this might be a little extreme imagine if all my "friends" who have said this at one point show up at my door. I am prepared to take care of my family and a few more people, not a hundred. As time progresses that could change but in the first few days it will just be about protecting my family. And it is each person's responsibility to do that for himself, that is the power of being prepared and the realness of it. If you have to rely on going to someone else "if" an emergency happens then you are not prepared and probably count yourself among that 80%.

Stay prepared, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

If I had a million dollars

Well survivors some made it before I did, an almost perfect safe house. Of course the house, designed by KWK Promes has it's issues but in general it is an amazing start: and frankly, would you rather be in your current house or this when the end comes? Details on the house are easy to find so I won't go on about it too much here. Rather let us look at the house from a practical point of view and see what improvements must be made.

Solar panels and fenced in farm land make the house quite self sufficient. There is even room for a small vegetable garden on the roof should the fences be breached. Added improvements in this area though should include an indoor well and water filtration system, and a back-up generator. Because the biggest problem with this house is that if the power goes out it is nothing but glass between you and the zeds or worse you may be trapped inside the house with no way out.

The one side of the building with is a metal sheet instead of concrete could use reinforcement of some kind, perhaps bars on the inside of the wall while it is closed. And while the walls are closed there should be some back-up way out. Roof access with a rope ladder would even be enough. Ramparts on the roof would also had to defensibility. Raiders and gangs will want this place for their own and so zombies may be the least of the owner's threats. Being able to fight back from the roof will give the defenders some way to hold the raiders off instead of waiting for them to blow a hole in one of the doors. Or if they use any thought at all, bring a ladder and scale the walls; all while the owners are tucked inside unaware. To this end though, in addition to ramparts, the roof entrance and basement entrance (which I'll get to) should be booby-trapped.

While the house does have a panic room it does not have a basement. Many people argue for or against basements, and not just for zombie defence. I am in favor of basements. Basements are by no means the ideal place to make a stand but it is always good for the smart survivor to have another option. If you are being slowly driven back at least you know there is nothing in the basement to attack you from behind, where as making it outside (while preferable) may mean exposing yourself to more dangers then taking a last stand (snipers, attacks from multiple directions, losing the safe house and supplies, exposure to zombies, etc.) A basement is also the ideal place to store things like canned food, extra water, a generator, a well. Things that do not need to be used multiple times a day but only need to be accessed when they are actually needed. Extra ammo, weapons and tools can also be located here.  Not too mention in the event of a natural disaster the safest place to be, even in a safe house, is the basement. So my biggest complaint about this safe house is the lack of a basement, in favor of a swimming pool?

I don't know if the swimming pool was instead of other things but it is not top of the list for things needed. However it may be more useful then at first glance. A pool can help with fitness and fighting boredom to a great extent, definitely enough to make it worth while. If the water isn't salted or chlorine based it can also be used for additional water in emergencies. However I would pick many other things before inserting the pool, including any of the improvements I mention in this post.

Of course for a bigger group more space would be needed, perhaps a third floor or another section but for the most part I think this building is large enough to keep one or two families very safe after the fall. The interior is wide and mostly open, which means if anything manages to get in before the doors can close it will instantly be in a killing ground if the owners are positioned on the second floor to shoot down at cross angles. The bedrooms and panic room can also provide defensible positions if the number of enemies is large enough to swarm the main open areas. And that is basically my summary of the zombie safe house by KWK Promes.

UPDATE: Here's a little info for you would be "safe house" builders. I got in touch with KWK and the Safe House costs 3 million Euro. That's over 4.120 million Canadian or about 4.216 million American. So my title is obviously a little off.

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

In the crosshairs

The question presented: how do I tell if a person trying to enter my safe house is a looter, a raider or another survivor?

I will address this question in a number of points. I'll try to keep everything in some sort of order because I have a lot to say on the matter. This is a vital point which will effect many survivors as they face a situation they may not have prepared for properly. An entire protocol should be discussed with the group very shortly after a safe house is secured.

One clear indicator if a group approaching a safe house is friendly can be children, anyone with children at least gets a chance to explain themselves in my books. That being said children can also be used as a lure. All children can be deceiving and children raised in the wrong way can be more brutal than grown men (child soldiers are an example in real life and Carl in The Walking Dead is an example in zombie fiction.)

Also looking scared and generally running for their lives. Of course some people are amazing actors so this just gives the advantage of not looking like an enemy from the start. Also it is worth noting at this point that anyone in a dangerous enough situation will appear frightened and chaotic.

In general it's all about body language, something most men actually have a lot of issues with and thus it is important to have either a man who understands body language (an actor, a police officer, etc.) or a woman who is hardened enough to pull the trigger. Hate to stereotype but it's just the reality, women know people better but empathize more quickly. This may seem like a rather non-scientific way to determine something with as serious a nature as this but regardless it will be the defenders best indicator. It is thus imperative to develop a good sense of understanding body language; this skill will be useful from the moment of meeting your first other survivor until the end.

Thinking about this first question leads to a burst of potential situations. These situations come from the idea of asking a couple of questions: "Who wouldn't I shoot on sight?" "What would I do to make myself look less threatening?" "How do I see through the disguise?"

Who wouldn't I shoot on sight?
Well anyone who didn't look like a threat or I hadn't already had negative dealings with. And this even includes groups of men: I would hate to mow down some men or start a gunfight when it turns out they were just the men from a group near by who left their children and elderly to search for supplies. So for instance a group calmly walking in the middle of the street they could be a band of raiders OR they could be just a surviving party. Most people aren't expecting to have a sniper's cross hairs on them after the fall. Again that comes down to body language. Figure out who the leader is and what he looks/acts like, first impressions are a hard things to go off of but 9 times out of 10 they are right on the money for anyone with some skill in reading people. And the people who do look like threats are going to realize this really quickly and start trying to not look like a threat. Which makes our jobs as survivors a lot harder and leads to the second question.

What would I do to make myself look less threatening?
The answer is simple: anything and everything. There are some situations where it is a benefit to appear more threatening and to intimidate an enemy, group or even individual but for most situation if approaching a safe house the easiest way to be let in peacefully is to appear to be of no threat. And I for one would hate to be honestly looking for no trouble, but maybe just  meal and a place to sleep and be shot because I looked like a threat. Well having children helps as already mentioned. Keeping them safe is of course a great concern but letting them be seen shows that I have something to lose and to protect so I am not looking to be rash and violent. Leaving all weapons holstered also lowers the threat level by a great amount, this is an option not to be taken lightly. A way to make yourself appear less threatening while still being able to defend yourself instantly is to keep a sidearm in hand but not at the ready, keeping the arm outstretched and barrel pointed safely toward the ground is a clear indicator of no harm intended and while this may mean not getting the first shot off it will allow to react to any shots fired instantly.
Another option is to learn the art of the diving quick draw. This is an act which should be practised for hours until it can be completed in any area, on any terrain, with any pressures, to absolute perfection. If that is done this move can be a life safer. The act is simple in design but hard to complete. Throw your body in one direction, to one side or the other normally offers the best mix of changing position and arm movement. Diving forward is the lease expected motion but the least change of position which makes it easiest for the enemy to adjust their shots. It also requires the most arm movements to draw your weapon and bring it all the way up your torso and over your head to fire. Throwing your body back offer the least arm movement and thus the quickest firing position, simply draw, point and fire. Again going backward does not make the enemy have to do much to adjust their aim. Second, as the body moves the arms must be moving to quick draw your sidearm. If you have ammo to spare a shot can be fired as soon as the weapon is out of the holster, this will do two things: surprise the enemy who will already be surprised by the bold and strange maneuver, and use recoil to move your arm up to firing position even quicker. This first shot would be while you are still in the air and has almost no chance of doing damage, the real firing will be done once you hit the ground. Firing position and aiming should be done during the final part of the dive so the second shot and more if needed can be taken upon contact with the ground. Note that being on the ground does not cause as many issues in a gunfight as many people seem to believe. Not only does the target become unfamiliar and smaller but also allows the most stable firing position and allows for easy movement while maintaining that stable position i.e. rolling. While this does throw off aim it is the quickest way to move from stable position to stable position while covering some ground. And especially in an area with no cover making yourself a small and foreign target will be your greatest asset.
That may seem to have little to do with being less threatening but being confidant in your ability to defend yourself even with your weapon holstered will present you as calm and poised showing that you have nothing to hide. Some one who is uncomfortable and insecure will appear as such and could be taken as being dishonest or looking for an opening to attack. Remember that a confident warrior does not actively look for openings, he simply notices them or he creates them the moment they are needed.
Clothing can also be a simple of threat. A person in leather straps, spikes, and punk hair simply looks more of a threat then a person in jeans, a sweater and uncombed short hair looks. This is again stereotyping but when it comes to survival in a world which has lost it's current society every little thing will be a matter of survival. Even more so a group of people dressed in a pattern or a common "uniform" will appear much more threatening then a group who are all dressed differently. While dressing the way you want is every person's right it is fair to note that to the true survivor dressing in a manner which will give a better chance of not being taken as a threat by other survivors is almost as important as dressing to protect from bites.

And of course the final question being how do I see through the disguise?
Not an easy question to answer but it is the true rout of the first question. I have not discovered a formula to do this. I have no set 100% way to determine. Rest assured I am searching for one. But for now I would say the best way is through feeling. Feeling is a weird thing to go off of but it is often all we will have as survivors. Often the path will split and with no time for to work out a decision one must trust their feelings and make a choice. Seeing through a disguise is much the same. Sometimes it will be obvious, a person with shifty eyes, the followers being uncomfortable while the leader is comfortable or the opposite, hands held near weapons at all times, distrust and lies weaved in their words. But other times it will be harder to determine such as if the leader is too smooth. What is too smooth? If he has all the answers without actually giving any answers. When the followers look to him in fear. If he makes statements about all the things you can do for each other. Key words and phrases might be "imagine" "together" "peace of mind" "chance to succeed" "common sense" "security." Now note just because someone uses these phrases does not mean they are automatically too smooth, the leader is possibly just well spoken and thought out but these words can be flags to start looking for others. Another flag will be speaking down to the followers and inspiring them, or speaking to your group and trying to turn them to his side. Another flag might be if the leader already has a well worded list of things he can offer you and how you would both benefit from giving him help. Of course too smooth is partly a feeling and partly an understanding of what true leadership versus blind/terrified followers is. Feeling is something we do everyday when we meet new people, we just have to start tuning into those senses and realize when something is off about a person. This is not a 100% science but it is can be the best a survivor has to go off of after the fall. Gut feelings tend to be right, and following them may safe you from the feeling of a knife in the gut.

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.