Just Sayin!

 

Vets?

I've always wondered this too.

Doesn't look like this worked.

During the "Great Panic" many techniques were tried to ward off the hordes.
This is a good example of a "Laager".
I don't think it worked since it is still there years later.

Photo by Joshua Dudley Greer

I think this one is really dead... Part I

In the bathroom Brigid O’Shaughnessy found words. She put her hands up flat on Spade’s chest and her face up close to his and whispered: “I did not take that bill, Sam.”

“I don’t think you did,” he said, “but I’ve got to know. Take your clothes off.”

“You won’t take my word for it?”

“No. Take your clothes off.”

“I won’t.”

“All right. We’ll go back to the other room and I’ll have them taken off.”

She stepped back with a hand to her mouth. Her eyes were round and horrified. “You would?” she asked through her fingers.

“I will,” he said. “I’ve got to know what happened to that bill and I’m not going to be held up by anybody’s maidenly modesty.”

“Oh, it isn’t that.” She came close to him and put her hands on his chest again. “I’m not ashamed to be naked before you, but–can’t you see?–not like this. Can’t you see that if you make me you’ll–you’ll be killing something?”

He did not raise his voice. “I don’t know anything about that. I’ve got to know what happened to the bill. Take them off...”

"Hey Spade, wake the fuck up! It's your watch."

I opened my eyes and looked up at a very ugly mug, owned by one Sergeant Lewis.

"Christ Sarge, you always wake me up at the good bits! She was just..."

"Stow it! I don't want to know about yer 'good bits'. Frank's back and being checked out so you're on deck, get a move on."

I swung my legs off the bunk and sat for a second, trying to clear my head, watching the broad back of the Sergeant as he limped down the corridor, his roughly patched uniform a sickly green in the harsh fluorescent light.

It was quiet in the station, very quiet. The only sound was of water dripping from the leaking pipes. A tinny sound like nails dropping into a bucket. Better than that god awful howling Zack makes. I could still hear it in my head a demented screeching like a hurricane blowing through a smashed pipe organ.

I headed to the mess and grabbed my Go Bag, didn't bother to look in it. Was always the same, a water bottle, some old MREs left over from the Gulf War, a shriveled apple, and maybe if I was lucky a chunk of home made candy or, wonder of wonders, a bit of chocolate.

Opening my locker I took out my Shaolin, a combination axe and shovel, and an ordinary claw hammer which I slipped into my belt holster. I grabbed my coat and hat. I was proud of that hat. I'd found it in a ruined consignment store, an honest to God fedora, not one of those pansy ass trilbies, but a hat worthy of Bogey himself. It was getting a little battered but so far it had brought me enough luck that I still had a head to wear it on. Every little bit helps on patrol.

Frank was standing in the tank, naked as the day he popped out swearing from between his mother's thighs. Doc was giving him the once over. Making sure he hadn't been bitten and was hiding it. Standard protocol now, too many stations and whole enclaves had been destroyed by some bastard  figuring he would be the one in a million who didn't turn after being Zack bit.

Frank sees me and grins. "Enjoying the view Spade?"

"Naw, you ain't my type, how'd it go?"

"Damn quiet, nothing from here to the docks. If Zack's about he ain't moving. Enjoy your stroll. If you see any dames bring 'em back to the party."

"What and share them with you guys not a chance!"

Always the same banter, if I was in the tank getting checked I'd say the same thing and get the same response. Odd how rituals like that make walking out into the night, when you might never walk back in, somehow feel like a normal work day.

The gate closed behind me with a thud and clunk. Not a clang, just a thud, a dull lifeless sound. I always figured it should sound more like a movie prison gate, a loud rattling clang, more fitting given that the station is as much a prison as it is an army base.

Behind the station block is the Wall, a pile of shipping containers five high, stretching off into the misty night on either side. Slicing through the buildings and warehouses clustered at the edge of the docks. Behind the wall is what's left of the city, couple of thousand people holed up, like an anthill that's been dumped in a bucket. Nice digs in the world the way it is now, but nothing like what was here before Zack shambled up out of the sea.

I stood and let my eyes adjust to the darkness, there were still a few streetlights glowing dimly but their pools of watery sodium light were spread pretty far apart, the darkness between them seemed impenetrable until my eyes got adjusted.

Doesn't pay to walk into dark spaces, if Zack's there he can get a grip on you before you can see him. Zack doesn't need to see, he seems to be able to hunt as well in the dark as the light. Bastard things.

My patrol route followed the street ahead down to the docks, maybe a half mile of old warehouses and empty lots where all those shipping containers used to be piled up.

I took out one of my hoarded cigarettes and lit it. The tobacco is grown in town and it has a rank, dead fish kind of smell, but it does have nicotine. Pulling my fedora down and my jacket collar up I trudged off down the street, being careful to pass from misty light pool to misty light pool. You have to pause before passing any open doorways. You stop and you listen. You listen for the scrapping shuffle Zack makes. Zack sometimes stands in clumps and groups slowly shifting around, hardly moving at all so you have to listen carefully. They're dangerous cause they'll all start to follow you if they sense you going by. They'll let out that horrible howl to call more while they're at it.

Stuff of nightmares that is.

I'd walked this same patrol for months, so I knew where all the bad black spaces were which let me move pretty quickly in the open. The street ends on the docks proper. There are a few more lights here stretched along the buildings, glowing a sickly orange in the mist that always hangs about the docks at night.

There's a spot I liked especially here, maybe a hundred yards further along the waterfront. An old fashioned streetlight, an original from the fifties probably, and a rusty wrought iron bench with a little patch of weedy grass around its feet. They're in front of a long cinder block wall with no gates or anything, covered in faded graffiti. I figured somebody put them there to break up the grey monotony. I leaned against the streetlight and lit another cigarette. Imagining myself as "Sam" Spade, private detective, waiting for a beautiful dame, or a shifty contact, gangster, or corrupt businessman. "There are eight million stories in the naked city." as the old TV narrator used to say. Yeah, the mean streets of those old days were bloody paradise compared to the mess the dead have made of them.

Zombie Evolution

You've come a long way Zack!

https://youtu.be/4SdACMZwaaw

Soon!

Keep your eyes open!

It's that time of year again...

May is Zombie Awareness Month!
Wear the grey with pride and spread the word.
KJ

It's finally happening...

A Zompocalypse Is on its Way! First Ever Global Zombie Walk Happening in May!

From Dread Central!
This May an event is being planned that the world may never recover from. The living dead will be turning out in droves all over the planet, and we've got all the info you need to get off the menu and into the trenches.
There’s a Global Zombie Apocalypse coming to a city near you! Dress like a zombie and join the biggest pub crawl in the known universe. Crawl, stagger, walk, or run to the party. There’s never been anything like it in the living world – or the world of the dead – before.

Pub crawl participants don zombie attire, pour on the fake blood, and devour drinks and snacks shuffling bar to bar. They walk like the living dead and party like there’s no tomorrow. One of the first zombie pub crawls began in the US, but the contagion of fun is about to spread worldwide. The world’s largest pub crawl is bound to break the world record for the largest of zombie gatherings.
Zombies can create their own costumes or stagger on into a costume store. Must haves: blood and gore, ripped or tattered clothes, and a strong desire to turn the night of the living dead into a rocking, fun night of the living dead.

Saturday, May 4th, 2013, join the massive hordes of the undead. Be part of the swarm of zombies to descend on local bars – and party through the night at the biggest gathering of the undead ever seen.

Yeah baby I'm stoked!
KJ

The Undeading!

Heh.
Good advice keep it in mind!
KJ

Scenes from the Apocalypse

Last weekend saw 1200+ people join the Zombie Walk here in Calgary.
Check out this video of the fun!

More KJ

Soon...

New Season of Walking Dead starts in one week.
Yeah baby!
KJ

Something is happening "out there"

Odd
Spent a few hours wandering in Google Search land over the last few days after the Florida Zombie case popped up.
Seems there are a lot of cases of weird and violent behaviour involving elements of biting and pain resistance. The original pinning of this on the use of Bath Salts has since been shown to not be the case, as no trace of that drug has been found in the attacker!
Now I know that what constitutes "news" can be shifted by one big sensational story, so maybe that is what's happening. However, isn't this exactly how the reporting at the start of a Zombie outbreak would look?
It starts small, an odd disappearance here, a violent crazy take down there...
At least so far there is no reports of any secondary infection and subsequent violent or odd behaviour in the victims.
Keep your eyes open folks and remember:
When the going gets weird the weird turn pro!
KJ 

Keep your eyes open!

KJ

Went to cut the grass and... Yikes!

Possible Zombie Outbreak in Miami

Wow!
Naked man seen eating the face off another person is shot six times and wouldn't stop.
First sign of an outbreak?
KJ

Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim

BY DANIELA GUZMAN AND JULIE K. BROWN

It was a scene as creepy as a Hannibal Lecter movie.

One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked, and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp Saturday, police said.

The horror began about 2 p.m. when a series of gunshots were heard on the ramp, which is along NE 13th Street, just south of The Miami Herald building.

According to police sources, a road ranger saw a naked man chewing on another man’s face and shouted on his loud speaker for him to back away.Meanwhile, a woman also saw the incident and flagged down a police officer who was in the area.

The officer, who has not been identified, approached and, seeing what was happening, also ordered the naked man to back away. When he continued the assault, the officer shot him, police sources said. The attacker failed to stop after being shot, forcing the officer to continue firing. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen shots.

Miami police were on the scene, which was just south of The Miami Herald building on Biscayne Boulevard. The naked man who was killed lay face down on the pedestrian walkway just below the newspaper’s two-story parking garage. Police have requested The Herald’s video surveillance tapes.
The other man was transported to the hospital with critical injuries, according to police. Their identities were not released.

The incident, which came as crowds descended upon South Beach for the annual Urban Beach Week hip-hop festival, snarled traffic on the causeway for several hours.
In a text message, Javier Ortiz, spokesman for Miami police’s Fraternal Order of Police, said the officer who fired the fatal shots was “a hero.”

“Based on the information provided, our Miami police officer is a hero and saved a life,’’ he said.
Sergeant Altarr Williams, supervisor of Miami police’s Homicide Unit, said a man doesn’t have to be armed to be dangerous.

“There are other ways to injure people,’’ Williams said. “Some people know martial arts, others are very strong and can kill you with their hands.’’

Investigators believe the victim may have been homeless and laying down when the crazed man pounced.

Police theorize the attacker might have been suffering from "cocaine psychosis," a drug-induced craze that bakes the body internally and often leads the affected to strip naked to try and cool off.

Miami Herald writers Alexandra Leon and Curtis Morgan contributed to this report.

-----------------------

UPDATE: Questions remain about why naked man on Miami causeway tried to rip flesh off another man’s face

City Investigation Report #2124

By Kevin Jepson

Grid Reference: 102:233 North 4
Target Pre-outbreak name: South Alexander St and Lloyds Ave
Scout Name: Samuel R. Everson
Weather: Partly cloudy, calm and cool, maybe rain later.
Report Follows:

Hey Frankie, I got another one for you.

Gotta say it made me think.

 I wanted to check out this intersection mostly because I'd hung out there back in the old days.  Call it a personal trip if you like, I just wanted to see what became of it is all.  I lived there briefly for a few months when I worked contract for the railway. Must have been six or seven years pre-outbreak.  It was one of the great "social combat zones" of the old world, the place where the rich guys and gals from the North side of Alexander rubbed shoulders with the working stiffs from the South side.  The battlefield weapon of choice was coffee.  On the North side there was a trendy looking upscale Starbucks, on the South side an older and very well used Tim Hortons.  Lots of snide remarks passed between the two sets of patrons I can tell you. Both businesses did very well in their day, since they didn't seem to compete for the same customers.

 I entered the city via the usual route around dawn.  Was pretty chilly, so I hoped Zack would be moving slowly.  The air scout guys had told me there weren't any horde-sized mobs between the entrance and my target area.  So I figured I could get in, check it out, and get back without attracting too much attention.

Approached South Alexander and Lloyds Ave from the East around 7:50am.

 Road was surprisingly empty of dead vehicles, some parked along the south side, doors open, windows intact.

 Many of the buildings along the street still have intact doors, which are closed.  Will need to be checked carefully for lurkers.  No sign of Zack on the street.

 Got close to the intersection and saw that the Starbucks looked surprisingly intact.  Door was open, windows unbroken.  Could've been open for business actually, if it wasn't for the leaves drifted into the doorway.  Still no Zack in sight.

 Approached the Starbucks to check out the inside.  Looked fine as it was still in pretty good shape, tables and chairs mostly upright, but lots of leaves on the floor and dust on everything.  Tossed a rock into the room and waited, which is S.O.P. of course.  Got signs of Zack from behind the counter, scrapes and dragging, but no howl.  Couldn't see it, so it must have been stuck on the floor somehow.  Didn't bother to check any further inside.

Across the street, on the opposite corner, is the Tim Horton's.

Man, what a contrast!

 The windows smashed and the facade of the building trashed.  The remains of barricades all around the walls. A police car was right up on the sidewalk in front of the door.   The car's windows were broken but the doors were closed.

 Back in the old days a cop car parked next to a Tim Horton's would have brought on a lot of knowing looks and giggles, eh?

 On the ground around the cop car were dead ghouls.  Since Zack doesn't really rot, even after years they still looked "fresh". Several were missing their heads, shotgun blasts I suspect.  Others, missing the back of their heads, were shot close range in the face, with a service revolver most likely.  Looks like the cops set their car up to block the door and used it like a pillbox.  Checked inside the car, nothing but empty shell casings and shotgun shells.  The doors were still locked, they must have been pulled out through the windows, poor sods.

Chances are...

Microbes can control your mind...

This is pretty creepy, a common parasite in cats, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii or Toxo for short), forces changes in the way mammals behave.  In mice and rats it makes it more likely that they will be eaten by a cat   by making the smell of cat urine attractive rather than repulsive as well as reducing the fear of open spaces.

It now appears that in humans a T. gondii infection also changes our behaviours, making males more aggressive and less aware of their surroundings. Human females become more social and trusting. The following article from the Atlantic discusses this in more detail:

How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy

Rabies is the classic "rage" like infection, in it's later stages the infection ramps up the aggression of the victim while migrating to the victims saliva glands and gums!

Near the end of the article the author discusses other parasites and viruses that have behavioural effects on humans including influenza. Influenza causes an increase in the desire of humans to be close together thus increasing the likelihood of transmission.  What is interesting is the complexity of the effect, it only occurs before the infected shows any symptoms but while they are infectious!  This same behaviour change is seen in people who get influenza vaccines even though they are not capable of transmitting the virus.

Is this the precursor of a Solanum type infection? 

Staying in shape is a good idea...

Train for the zombie apocalypse with this 5K run

By Nicole Bremer Nash

TechRepublic 

August 30, 2011, 6:54 AM PDT

Takeaway: Want to get geeks to fitness train? Attack them with zombies and watch them hightail it through an obstacle course in a forest.

Geeks and fitness aren’t often associated with each other. Sure, there are plenty of us who trek to the gym a couple of times a week and probably some who occasionally walk (or perhaps even run) a charity 5K, but let’s face it: people need motivation to get in shape. One event has found the perfect motivation to encourage geeks to not only run a 5K race, but to work hard to train for it. The “Run For Your Lives” zombie run is designed with one purpose: train well or be eaten.