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By NoneSuch (nonesuch@fsmail.net)  'Der Ritter' (the knight), from Hans Holbein's Danse Macabre, published 1538. If you've survived the first wave, the first question you have to ask yourself is how the actual plague spread and where it originated from. It being airbourne is a possibility, but if you're still alive chances are the air would not be infected now as you would be dead otherwise and the viral cells which did not find a host would have died. Another one of the possibilities would be that the virus could have spread through rain water if some contaminated water had been dried up by the sun and absorbed into the clouds. Remember, clouds travel hundreds of miles so then it could of came from anywhere and it only require a small amount of the actual virus to contaminate a vast amount of water. Again going back to the airbourne idea if it did travel through the air it most likely would of been from terrorist chemical warfare, a human designed infection. As clouds can spread miles across and can almost travel the entire world in length depending on wind direction, the number of countries which could become infected is disturbing. Another theory is that the virus could lay dormant in your body but at death it activates and reanimates you. The idea being that if you only contract a small amount of the virus it would not be capable of overcoming the immune system, so would lay dormant inside of you untill you die or when your immune system becomes vulnerable slightly, like malaria. If we are going to go by the rain theory then initially only around 20 percent of the population would become infected, but I'm confident the rainwater would infect the water supplies and spread much further. Also counting those physically infected by the undead it would soon take to around 50-70 percent of the population. If we go by the airbourne virus it would most likely spread a lot faster and cause an instant mass outbreak. If we take this as an highly contagious virus, something we could not find a cure, it would be near impossible to stop the spread. In other words the majority of the country could be killed and turned in a matter of a month maybe less, communication lines would be cut, the majority of the civilian populace killed. The electricity would quickly go, as there would be no one to maintain the generators, and performing a military operation to try to keep the virus under control would be near impossible. Speculation on how long the virus takes to kill someone completely then reanimate them is random. Some say hours, others say days. One possibility would be that the virus destroys your immune system leaving you open for other infections to kill you in a matter of days. Without an immune system, nearly all bacteria becomes lethal. Another possibility is that it shuts down the body functions one by one until the carrier dies, then reanimates the body. Which ever, it appears the victim needs to die before the infection can turn him. Whatever the reason for infection, the most important thing to you should be weaponry. You'll need something to keep them away and defend yourself. Remember, in no way should you ever attack them when it is unneeded. Chances are the infection can be spread through physical contact with the carriers, deep scratches, cuts, their blood, bites and saliva. Unlike in the movies, when you get bitten, they can't just chop off the limb. The virus spreads through your blood stream, it would be around your body in a matter of seconds, though chances are it would take a while to truly take effect. The type of tools you should use to defend yourself is an awkward one. If you can get your hands on a gun, that would be the best thing possible but don't go blasting heads just yet... I'll explain in a bit. Other than that, blunt weaponry would be good, things with a wide range as well Getting close would be suicide, as chances of injury are greatly increased, so no switchblades or kitchen knives. To put a bit of science behind the theory, the brain stem controls breathing, heart rate and digestion, and the primitive brain a.k.a the lizard brain gives you your basic animal responses that relate to survival, such as hunger, anger and fear responses, which are usually beyond conscious control. The idea is that undead only use these two brain parts and lack the cerebral cortex which modifies our behaviour, e.g how we plan for the future, feel hope, joy and remorse. But undead don't have that, the main reason why they don't sit down and cook dinner but rip into human flesh. Blasting the brain stem would be the best way to destroy them, shooting them at the mouth or hitting them in the back of the head with a blunt object should kill them outright. The most certain way to kill one would be to decapitate them, but this takes some time and most likely will leave you vulnerable to attack. Fire is not an effective weapon against them, it takes a while for the flame to get through skin and flesh to the muscle and actually stop the undead, so fire should only be used as either a distraction or to dispose of corpses. Unlike humans, majority of the undead's nerves would have either died or rotted away, so they would not feel pain. Only cause lethal injuries, pain will not stop them and losing a limb would only slow them down. Undead run on their basic instincts, so they would most likely have a herding instinct like most animals, not only that but they share the same very basic goals, so they would automatically be close and gather around the same targets. They would be attracted to warmth, noise and smell even though their senses would be extremely weak compared to humans. Small noises would not attract them. Being in a large group, even though reassuring, would most likely be the most dangerous at first, more people naturally make more noise and require more resources to keep alive, and the risk of infection spreading would be much higher. Small groups of 3-5 would be best for long drawn out survival. The idea is that zombies also perform basic activities that they did when they where alive, something they did so often it was almost programmed into their brains, just like how we can walk down to the shops without even thinking or looking at the pavement. Another example is how humans can touch type (I'm not suggesting zombies can touch type, don't worry, it's just an example), so hiding out in a supermarket may not be the best idea as zombies would naturally be attracted to that area.  Undead mobility is also another question that comes to mind. Would they stumble? Would they run? One would think that due to them working on basic instinct, they would move much like animals, running and jumping, but one has to remember they are dead. It would depend completely on how much they have rotted, how long it took for them to be reanimated and how long they had been undead for. Some would most likely run, others would stumble, depending on the amount of rot to the body and brain. A fairly new zombie in good condition would most likely be capable of running, though an older one in bad condition would most likely only be capable of stumbling slowly. Could undead adapt, learn and get smarter? Its a possibility, what we have to remember they are still human even if they are dead and humans can learn/adapt very fast. If their brain is still in good enough condition, it could be possible for an undead to learn and adapt to the situation though they could never reach the intelligence of a human, but with proper training and guidance only time could tell how smart they could become. Undead do have a heart beat, without one they could not move, as no nutrients would be getting to the muscles. For those nutrients to travel around the blood the undead would need oxygen, so they must be breathing. However, the majority of the undead body's system would not be used, and the immune system would not be working... or near to it. The virus most likely stops the undead from decomposing. One could argue the virus is the only thing which keeps the undead up and running, but that still would not explain how they could continue to move, unless it was an act of god... and if we consider that, anything is possible. So after you have found your weapon and grouped up with a few survivors, you'll need supplies. Bottled water and canned food would be best in this situation, you'll need the bottled water because water supplies could be contaminated. It's not worth the risk of infection, even though the infection in the water should have died down without being able to find a host to support, it but you can't be to sure. You could then do either a few things, these choices could mean the difference between life and death - you'll have to make the decision of either making a home base, somewhere you can hold out from the plague or moving from place to place, trying to outmaneuver the undead. Holding out in a single place, maybe a supermarket, a gun store or just a shop would have the benefit of safety. You could block the entrances and hold out for some time, especially if there was a constant food supply. Problem is, you could get surrounded by the living dead, sieged in. You'd run out of supplies and as more and more undead gather due to all the activity, it will become nearly impossible to break out and get any more. The other option would be moving to area to area, it would be unsafe but if you did it without too much hassle, the undead should not get attracted. You'd have the real ability to group up in mass this way, you'd have the ability to get a supplies and meet up with other survivors. The risk of course being that you'd have to expose yourself to the chance of infection. Other than that, to give yourself the best chance of survival you should attempt to cover up as much skin as possible. Remember, even though undead are willing to rip through nearly everything to get to your flesh, the more cover the better. So boots, gloves and something to cover your face is advisable and definatly a jumper or coat. If anyone in your group gets bitten, be quick to kill them. It might sound brutal, but the faster the better. They are carriers and will turn, do not risk the chance of them turning and killing you and the rest of the survivors. If you get bitten yourself, either kill yourself or instruct a member of your party to do it for you. Again, one bite will infect you, do not hide it or cover it up thinking you'll be all right if you do that... you are putting the lives of everyone near you in danger. Also it be best to dispose of corpses of fallen friends, even if they were not killed by undead the virus could of been laying dormant and as their immune system dies with them the virus may be able to reanimate the body. (On a side note, do not breathe in any of the smoke, it could contain small traces of the virus.) The idea of them 'starving' to death could also be wrong. Undead need extremely little energy to survive. They use very little of their body functions compared to humans. Even though they would require some nourishment, it's a lot less compared to humans. Humans will always survive, and after a certain amount of time, small groups will eventually form up into larger ones and those larger ones will group up with other larger ones. Eventually, a new society would form and we would begin again. 
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