Creatures and Entities of the Human Imagination: Zombies

The possibilities of the human imagination, fares beyond worlds and alternate dimensions. I bring to you Zombies! Survival Tales, and countless observations about the zombies makes them famous for being the hungry undead that attacks and eat the living.

I really enjoy the Zombie genre because, it is just straight out action, horror, survival, and it pushes the many survivors to make tough decisions. Some zombie movies are also comedic, but that does not mean the horror factor and survival factor dissipates.

The Father of Zombie Films.

It is thanks to the late George Andrew Romero or also known as the Father of the Zombie Films, that developed a popularized global culture towards the genre of zombies way before Zombies were a mainstream trending multi-million dollar movie projects. Similarly, Romero came up with the detailed ideas of how a Zombie often behaved and laid out the foundation of many zombie actions. For that, we now have famous TV series, video games, apps, comics, manga, animations, cartoons and movies about zombies around the world.

Zombies

The living dead, undead, Zombies.

Infection stage: Pandemic

Scenario

What you knew, in your societal bubble such as your workplace, friends, neighborhood, the daily route you take home along with the shop lots and the public services you passed by..its' all about to get real hard to make simple decisions, as most often, it would not lead to death.

On a global scale, production stops, flights around the world are cancelled, protests, riots and pillaging breaks out in quiet towns, major cities, and gradually on every nation, panic levels and infection spreads. Communications between countries halts, and domestic communications and order starts to break down as local law enforcement and national defense tries to figure out what is going on, is it a terrorist attack or an attack against the nation from another nation.

The Hive from Resident Evil, a Secret underground base, with at least 1,500 Feet beneath the city

As an ordinary civilian outside or living in the city, unaware of the spread of the infection or being pushed by a mad mob, the Government and private elites with informative sources fall back to military bases and secret hideouts while also stockpiling on food, water and firearms. It is a different world, for different people, with different values and ideals.

While on the roads, panic and anger soar, the roads are blocked off with cars, chaos, fire and people.
Checkpoints are set up and the choke points are occupied by heavy military presence and arsenal blocking the path.

Some soldiers clad in bio-suits scans and evacuate people in a line while segregating other people into a quarantine zone for observation. Those who were separated looked sweaty and seem to be sketchy.

Some people can be seen leaving the scene while others are creating small groups of like minded people and are planning to barge through the barricade forcefully.

The Umbrella Movement, photography by Nicole Tung, Hong Kong protest with police. For illustration

You are clueless, possibly drunk, or just as angry at the lack of explanation of what is going on.
Stranded without access to train, car or exit out of the city which usually connects to the highway , you think of returning to your bed.

Suddenly behind the crowd you hear screams. Unsure, you also observe that, in the front, some civilians fall unconscious and people start shaking their loved ones up in hopes to wake them
The crowd starts shifting forward towards the evacuation point and sides, some people start running away towards the scream and away from the barricade in order to separate themselves.

Yells and screams of pain and fear from being trampled or pushed is heard, yet you fear for your own safety...you begin to push and side step as hard as you can against the tide of people as if you were in a concert to find a way out of the crowd.
At the same time the group of individuals are taking matters to their own hands, you see they have raised their personal defense guns towards the barricade.

Scene from War for the Planet of the Ape.

Before your ears ring, you hear the army yelling "gun!" and "cover!" along the lines...then, it was a deafening ring of silence. The crowd reacts and everyone hits the ground prone and crouching looking around in fear and alertness. Live rifle rounds were shot above from the barricade into the crowd.

Some bodies lie on the floor, unsure if innocent or aggressive individuals were shot, people are sobbing, muttering that the situation and army is crazy.

An authoritative figure with a megaphone orders the crowd to disperse and leave the bodies and weapons alone. Soldiers armed as if for war, move forward to secure the perimeter and start dragging the dead bodies.

Everyone grudgingly listens or rather disperse before the army has a reason to open fire again. The crowd disperses cautiously to wherever it is and so do you.

However, being the closest to the barricade and at the sides, you see that there is a commotion going on within the quarantine zone, you hear people yelling to be let out, there are violent people and they are biting and clawing and vomiting blood.

You do not believe such nonsense, those kind of things only happen in movies or in serious cases of diseases that are very well contained or extinct.

Walking away, you glance back to the barricade, you see that one of the dead body twitch its' hand and head. However, it is not your business, you quickly walk away to the next place you think is safe.

Meanwhile..else where, you are also at the TV, enjoying your evening or morning show.
You would not know what was to come. You could be sleeping in bed comfortably, or drinking at a bar, maybe taking a stroll in the park or reading a book in a mall, or possibly be at work on your PC or with your colleagues watching TV.
The news would start off as small cases, of violent attacks and people chasing each other and biting each other.
A Civil Emergency broadcast over the air is announced.
Even turned off, the TV and radio blares to life.
A pre-recorded message is read.

---

"This is not a drill."
In capitals on screen.
This is an EMERGENCY
"Please remain calm and keep indoors at all times"
"There is an infectious disease is everywhere, refrain from human contact."
"Secure all doors and windows and remain indoors for further inst....."

---

Everything around you turns silent, if not, darker with the lack of light and speech at this news. You hear gunshots and sirens in the distance, commotion is brewing outside and around you, you feel the hair of your hand and back of your neck stand.

Scene from Zombieland opening

People are chasing and running from each other..although painted in red and screaming or yelling for help and for others to run.

You are sure it is a movie that is being directed and a camera crew is nearby. You see other people at the street or homes, taking their phones out to record it and post it online. Some even come out and to get a better view.

You decide to investigate what on earth is going and why you were not told of this change...well until a car crashed, stunned you struggle to see, that with so much blood smeared from the inside of the car, something is terribly wrong.
You decide its' time to pack and grab what you can or have, and find your loved ones and have a meeting with your family members.

Description
They are mindless, hungry and merciless undead. They only crave to tear the flesh off the living and turn anyone you know into the undead horde against you. They react to sound and light, so be sure to tread carefully on the surface you are on and be mindful of any noise you make. Similarly, control your light source at night as it is a beacon of food for them and a painful death for you. Another note is smell, if you don't smell like rot, death or smelly, some zombies are also capable to follow scent of the soap, perfume, and what not that is out of the ordinary.

Don't worry its a bite sticker on a hand, no one would be so calm to let you take a photo like that

Method of Infection from the infected
With just one bite, scratch or having infected blood or fluids come into contact with your wound or eyes, it violently transform the victim either painfully through death or on the spot into another raging and eternally hungry undead.

Time before infected:
The transformation may take days to just hours or even within mere minutes or seconds depending on the individual immune system, amount of bites and the will power of the individual.

Weakness: Destruction of the head or destruction of brains, or decapitation.

*Causes of Zombie Pandemic

The outbreak stems often from a virus pathogen or by parasites through scientific means such as a research center studying bio-chemicals and weapons on subjects. Often, the victim will turn when they die in the end and it is not the bite, or virus that turns them into the undead. Without any real antidote or vaccine for immunity to fight the virus, victims will go through a process of symptoms which are fever, inability to think, sweating, vomit of blood. difficulty breathing and even loss of control over the body basic functions.

In the end, Zombies do not spare the young or the old. With that said, the movie industry, video game industry and even comic books and manga industry around the world adopt zombies as the antagonist to the living. Paired with survival, moral choices and situations that needs focus and intense stealth approach to get to important medicines, food, water and ammunition.

Just by being surrounded by the undead of flesh eating humanoids from your own species brings about a different perspective and pressure for your primal basic instincts to kick in or to remain in check as sound, panic and any slight mistake leads to death, or the death of your party.

Walking Zombies
From the Walking Dead TV series.

Dancing Zombies

Micheal Jackson-Thriller

Mutant Zombies

From the Resident Evil Series, mutations of the T-Virus

Special Zombies from Left 4 Dead 1-2

From left, Charger, Hunter, Spitter, Jockey
From Right Smoker, Boomer, Witch, Tank

Fungal Zombies

PS4/PS3 Game : Last of Us

Movie - ZombieLand by Sony in 2009. with a budget of 23.6$ million USD and 102.4$ million USD in Box office.

28 Days later with 5$ million GBP budget and a 84.7$ million USD box office followed by 28 weeks later

There are so many types of zombies, features, abilities, TV series, you just gotta play and watch them all to enjoy the horror and destruction they do to the survivors or to the zombies.
To you I say, happy hunting, good luck camping, get far running and sleep quietly safely. A slip of mind might get you eternally mindless and hungry for brains.
In case of emergency, follow these steps to kill a zombie.

Image from Centurio Design.

Do let me know if you would like additional posts about further elaboration and story telling on other horror creatures, scenarios and survival settings.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures above, the information provided is meant for entertainment and discussion about Zombies. If you see someone who is bitten, hurt or in dire need of medical care, do not attack or finish the person off...call for medical help and see to them in any way and that they are comfortable, it is unlikely they are a zombie, but for your own safety as well, speak and ask the person if he or she needs assistance.