You wake up to find the zombie apocalypse has begin. What do you do?

r/

It’s 3AM and your phone starts blasting emergency alerts, you hear sirens, gunshots in the distance, etc. The message on your phone and the news tells everyone that the zombie apocalypse has begun. They encourage you to stay in your home and don’t open the door for anyone. The military is taking action, but many of them and the police have been turned into zombies as well! Everywhere you turn tells you that this is not a joke or a drill, it’s real.

All while this is going on, someone starts knocking on your door.

Tell me…what do you do?

Comments

  1. AutoModerator Avatar

    Copy of the original post in case of edits: It’s 3AM and your phone starts blasting emergency alerts, you hear sirens, gunshots in the distance, etc. The message on your phone and the news tells everyone that the zombie apocalypse has begun. They encourage you to stay in your home and don’t open the door for anyone. The military is taking action, but many of them and the police have been turned into zombies as well! Everywhere you turn tells you that this is not a joke or a drill, it’s real.

    All while this is going on, someone starts knocking on your door.

    Tell me…what do you do?

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  2. nerdystoner25 Avatar

    Go to the Wincester, grab a pint, and wait for the whole thing to blow over.

  3. thejohnfist Avatar

    Finally. I can get some rest.

  4. Fresh-Cockroach5563 Avatar

    I’m very close to the ocean. I would probably steal a boat and do my best to get some supplies for it. There are some very safe harbors near me and I’m sure I could chill until things settle down.

  5. FromAMobile Avatar

    Depends are these fast zombies or slow zombies? Also, can animals get it. If a fast zombie squirrel is outside my door, I’m offing myself

  6. abstractengineer2000 Avatar

    Collect weapons, prepare barricades for the doors. Hunker down. check from the peep hole if they are zombie or some other person.

  7. Isekai_litrpg Avatar

    Switch to headphones and lock myself up in the room best suited for sheltering in. Lock up and barricade the windows and doors first. Probably grab my bug out bag and enough preserved food and water to last me a week. Get something sharp and thin to break the speaker on my phone so it doesn’t make noise from emergency messages.

  8. rsxxboxfanatic Avatar

    Are they zombies like in the move #Alive? Or more like Train to Busan? All of us are dead? The walking dead?
    Edit: Answer: depends on my answer lol

  9. Obsession5496 Avatar

    It’s just broken out, and people will be in a huge panic. So, I’d listen to the news, do not leave, do not let anyone in. If someone does break in, I’m hostile, assuming that they’re infected. I’ll wait a few days, see how things pan out I have enough groceries to last at least a week, for 2 people. Longer if we ration everything, though I’ve no doubt that I’ll hear some complaints. After 3/4 days of hunkering down, and assessing the situation (is there news, electricity, etc), it’s time to look for supplies. Medium term I’d like to grab some kind of farm, and help protect it with some folks who have more of a green thumb. Longer term, I’d like to be in a place that’s better fortified. I’m in the UK so there are few guns, and so we won’t get the range advantage of farmland. Thankfully, there is at least two (somewhat) functional forts/castles near me (an all day walk), with a working drawbridge & moat. I’d have to be careful, though. While it is better for protection, it could quite easily turn into a coffin, with it being worse for growing fresh food. Not to mention how easy disease would spread in such a confined space. Supply lines would need to be mature, before that will happen.

  10. Umdron Avatar

    Well, first, I find it who is at my door.

    I live in a rural area. I’ll be pretty safe for a little while. We have enough food stored in my house to last my family a while. I have a rifle and a nice spot on my roof to shoot from. Hopefully, we’ll be able to weather through it without too many issues.

    If/when food starts running low, there is a river not far from my house where I can catch fish. I could try to hunt/trap, but there will be too many crazy, desperate people in the woods trying to do this. My neighbor might discover one of their cows disappeared. If a supply run becomes necessary, there is a city 30 minutes away with an army surplus store, sporting goods store, plenty of grocery stores, etc. . But I’ll avoid the cities as much as possible.

  11. FreshDelivery787 Avatar

    Well I live on an island with plenty of guns, ammo, and reloading components to last a lifetime of venison and defense. There are tons of deer where I live. Neighbors are not close and I have suppressors for my guns so IF any zombies wandered on my property I could take them out without having to worry about drawing more to my home. Id like to think I would be much more prepared for this situation than the average guy.

  12. Longjumping_Pack8822 Avatar

    First I thank God it happened now and not in 20 years from now! 2nd I grab a weapon and answer the door! Pretty sure zombies don’t knock.

  13. Ancient-Meal-5465 Avatar

    Panic buy toilet paper 

  14. lovepeacefakepiano Avatar

    Very solid door. Very solid walls. So what I do about that knock depends entirely on what I see through the spy.

  15. Far-Owl1892 Avatar

    Board up the windows, draw the blinds, and lay low for as long as possible.

  16. ConsistentCoyote3786 Avatar
    1. Try not to seem excited. 2) gather my axe, Gun, and other weapons. 3) Probably die by something embarrassing like falling off the roof.
  17. scprepper Avatar

    Seeing as I’m already in my cabin on many acres with my bunker. I’ll just grab my preparations and go down there.

  18. arentol Avatar

    I live in an area that, while not properly rural, is still pretty sparsely populated and not a place where zombies will be common or coming to in large numbers or quickly. So I have a bit of time to do things, while also having resources close by since it’s only a few minutes drive to the city. I also have enough food to last my family a year, a well, and solar power with battery backup. So I am good for awhile.

    Plan in order:

    Deal with the person at the door depending on who/what they are.

    Transfer supplies from my shop to my house.

    Board up all the windows on the bottom floor of the house (from the outside first, then from the inside).

    Check on neighbors and put together survival and warning plans for the neighborhood. Will likely bring a few people in to my house to both protect them and help protect my home since they won’t be properly prepared, and I could use more people watching for zombies and raiders.

    Wait a week for things to settle more.

    Work with neighbors who made it this long to centralize supplies and living plans, and get going on long-term plan for community.

  19. eggs_erroneous Avatar

    find a way to die as quickly and painlessly as possible. I straight up do not have what it takes to survive a zombie apocalypse. My putting-up-with-crazy-bullshit tank is full to the tippy top.

    I wonder if the fucking idiots would have a hard time with quarantine procedures during a zombie outbreak. Just kidding. I know the answer is yes.

  20. Suspicious-turnip-77 Avatar

    How does a zombie apocalypse just happen? Would there be signs in the lead up which would lead to massive hysteria and a run on grocery shops for toilet paper? Where does it start? America? Europe? Do us Aussies have more time to prepare because we live on an island? Do we ground all planes and stop ships?

    Is there a cure, or is this just your life now.

  21. gaurddog Avatar
    • Block windows and light from reaching the outside.
    • Shut off the water indeed on my water heater (This is a survival trick I recommend everyone learn. It preserves 40+ Gallons of drinkable water in a safe storage tank.)
    • Try to ascertain what causes the turn and what kind of zombies we’re dealing with.
    • Plan a move from my house to my family’s emergency rendezvous in the country on the family farm if it’s anything short of runners.
    • If it’s runners send a message to my family telling them I’m making for the coast and to reach me by ham radio if they make it out. Get to the nearest body of water and get on a boat. Move for costal waters.
    • If it’s Sprinters/Specials: Make tender love to my girlfriend, cook the ribeyes in the freezer, Toast the end with the bottle of Dom and Pappy I saved for special occasions, and then take ourselves out.
  22. Personal_Conflict_49 Avatar

    We are definitely gathering all our “supplies” and driving to the massive prepper house that’s about a mile from us. Oh…I’m not answering the door unless it’s immediate family.

  23. DJTRANSACTION1 Avatar

    seal the house secure. i live in nyc apartment, very bad for zombie. but i do have dehydrated military rations that has a 15 year expiration date. 12 month food supply in the form of a solid brick powder. fill the tub with water and all buckets. i also have 6 months weed supply in my freezer. so lock in and smoke weed for 6 months while the people and zombies destory eachother outside, lowering the numbers. then i will head towards the bay area where there are boats and try to get one.

  24. unicornsprinkl3 Avatar

    Barricade the house, wait then when most people are gone or zombies go somewhere that doesn’t get to 115° F in the summer. I’m going to assume electricity won’t last very long.

  25. helpaguyout911 Avatar

    World War Z zombies or The Walking Dead?

  26. EloquentMrE Avatar

    Confirm that shit has really and truly hit the fan then splatter my memories on the wall

  27. ixsparkyx Avatar

    The issue is I turned off ALL emergency alerts on my phone because I hated getting notified when something was happening. So I think I’d just turn into a zombie after one bites me in my sleep🤷🏼‍♀️

  28. Wandering_Lights Avatar

    What kind of zombies? The slow stupid ones or the fast intelligent ones?

    Depending on the type of zombie I’m just going to take myself out.

  29. g1Razor15 Avatar

    Grab my rifle and wait, if I survive long enough then I’ll figure something else out.

  30. knowsnothing316 Avatar

    Putting on some thick clothes, arming myself with various knives and duct taping little pocket knives to my hands ala Wolverine.

  31. Non-Current_Events Avatar

    Grab all the food, weapons, and medical supplies I have in the house and go to our local high school’s field house. It’s all cinderblock walls with no windows, and all of the doors are those heavy metal kind that open outward, so a decent chain on the inside anchored to the door and then the inside wall would make it nearly impenetrable. In a pinch the roof can be accessed to escape if need be. Ride it out there until the food runs out and hope that things have settled down enough so that I can go into town to search for supplies. There are three grocery stores and multiple gas stations and dollar generals within a mile of the building. The football field, baseball field, and practice fields for each are all close by and can be converted for agriculture. The water tables are high in my area so that can be accessed for clean drinking water. Once things are settled, there are multiple large scale lumber operations within 5-10 miles so me and whoever else is with me can start gathering that to build barriers.

    That should get me started. The long term strategy may necessitate movement, if nuclear reactors start to melt down for example, but this would give us time to sort out that strategy.

  32. michaelincognito Avatar

    I’m not a stupid fuckin’ idiot. I know it was just a zombie. But for 50 seconds, it felt really real. And when you think you’re gonna get eaten and your first thought is, “Great, I don’t have to go to work tomorrow,” you’re relieved you don’t have to go to work ‘cause you thought you were gonna get eaten? What the fuck is this world? What have they done to us? What did they do to us?!

  33. IAmMellyBitch Avatar

    Not gonna open that door. I may look at the peephole. Oh shoot my dogs will bark nonstop… will my furbabies be protected from zombies??? That’s what I want to know…

  34. othello28 Avatar

    Make sure the doors are locked and the guns are loaded and take a nap on the chair in the living room.

  35. flyingpiggos Avatar

    I have a zombie apocalypse survival bag in my closet I’m set

  36. Emilyann234 Avatar

    I’m pretty confident I’d panic and die.

  37. ZestyPyramidScheme Avatar

    Realistically…? Probably die of dysentery, an infection, or malnutrition around month 8-12.

    Zombies wouldn’t be much of a problem in my opinion. You can wear thick clothes, stab them, get high up assuming they aren’t WWZ zombies, etc…You have to worry about other people. If you don’t own a gun, you’re just gonna be taken advantage of unless you have a skill set needed by the other guy with a gun. Like if you’re a doctor (MD), that’s useful. You can probably group up with someone if you have a skillset that will help them live. And if you do have a gun, well now you’re a bigger threat and more likely to get shot by someone else with a gun. Now you’re in a zombie apocalypse with a gunshot wound. Real life isn’t like the movies, unless the bullet grazes you and you have something to clean it with, any gunshot wound to your torso or limbs will probably kill you. And if by chance you live, you’re probably gonna be crippled from it.

  38. SeaMollusker Avatar

    I sure as hell am not opening the door. I’d grab important documents, some clothes, bedding, food, stuff like cups and bowls and whatnot, a kitchen knife, and electronics and then barricade myself in my bathroom and wait.

  39. Ok_Law219 Avatar

    slather myself in bbq sauce.

    If the guy at the door is coherent-ish I’d risk it.

  40. Kelden_Games Avatar

    First, ignore the door. Second, figure out what kind of zombies: the last of us? Walking dead? Left for dead? Depending on the zombies, I’ll figure out what to do next

  41. LawfulnessMajor3517 Avatar

    I’ve thought about this before. I’m going to go over to Bass Pro Shop and board myself in or hopefully get in with the people that had this idea as well and were closer. Idk after that, but I feel like there’s so much useful stuff there. We’d have to make a run for drugs at some point probably.

  42. arthurwolf Avatar

    Short term

    • Close and barricade doors and windows of the house.
    • Take accounting of food and ration food
    • Same for medicine and anything else that might be useful
    • While electricity lasts: Charge anything that can be charged (phones, drill, laptop, usb batteries, and especially the electric bike and electric scooter batteries)
    • While running water lasts: Fill with clean water: bathtub, plastic boxes, bottles, condoms, etc.
    • Set up rain collection from the roof (it rains often here) and a way to boil water.
    • While internet lasts: update my data hoarding setup to the latest setup, in particular download most recent large language models, copy of wikipedia, etc. Make one or two copies of the more essential components of the data hoarde.
    • Work on trapping birds, mice and rats to feed my cat.
    • Make no noise, emmit no light at night, keep the bottom of the house hermetically closed for human odors.
    • Not opening for anyone.

    Middle term

    • First place to raid is the local pharmacy, for my partner’s medication.
    • Move to a house that’s more easily defended, there are some “rich people” houses nearby that are fully barricaded with a high/sturdy fence no zombie could get through.
    • Fabricate a hand-powered power generator with a regulator to charge 5V/usb devices (phone, torches, etc).
    • Fabricate a bike powered power generator for “mains” devices.
    • Use the sewing machine to make two bite-proof suits for scavenging runs (or hand sew).
    • Turn a digital camera into a night vision device (remove IR filter, add IR lamp)
    • Learn morse code so we can communicate silently with the walkie talkies.
    • Fabricate timed “sound makers” and use them to distract zombies away from my area.
    • Go on scavenging runs at night with the night vision device, especially when the moon isn’t shining, should be essentially invisible to zombies.
    • One specific neighbor I’m nearly certain has a hunting riffle (this is Europe), try to get that if he’s not using it.
    • Keep in shape, in particular improve our running speeds.
    • When scavenging, always use a noise maker to keep zombies away: Set it up in a place the zombies can’t reach that is close to where you want to scavenge, with a timer that makes it start making noise a few minutes later, and lets it make noise for like an hour or so until the battery is dead. Keep note of where depleted noise makers are located and grab them later. Wait until the zombies are all gone chasing the noise maker then scavenge in peace (again, always at night)

    Long term

    • Fabricate a FM (and maybe AM) emmiter and try to reach others over both FM and walkie talkies. Probably automate a repeating recording.
    • Check soil, rain and food for radiation, we are far from any nuclear power plant, but there could be global issues. If the radiation levels become problematic, grow all food under a greenhouse. If you don’t already have a geiger counter, find one fast. Photosensitive paper can also be used in a pinch.
    • Create a network of timed/networked solar powered (gardens around here have a ton of solar powered “lights”, probably can gather thousands. also a few houses have large panels) noise makers (motors hitting glass, ipods, arduinos etc), use the noise makers to automatically guide zombies away from my home.
    • Lock down my garden (it’s mostly enclosed already) and grow food in it (I know a few non-shop places that must have seeds, neighbors that grow their own food).
    • Set up a freezer and store any food-related seed I can find, especially the stuff from the local seed shop if it’s not been looted before I get there.
    • I happen to live 100 meters from one of France’s “strategic fuel reserves” depots, and they also happen to be right next to the “rich people” home I mentionned that has the big barricade. I can literally set up a tube from one of the big containers with thousands of tons of fuel in it, to my home, to run a generator 24/7… I realize not everybody happens to be this lucky in their location… But in general, figure out what’s a boon about where you are, and exploit that.
    • I live near a set of houses owned by the army in which active military personel lives rent free. Pretty sure if I were to scavenge there I would find firearms. Learn to use firearms.
    • Build a greenhouse for the winter.
    • Grow opium from poppy seeds (I always have a bag of organic ones of the somniferum variety for cooking but also in case shit hits the fan).
    • Locate all nearby fruit trees, maintain and cultivate them, use fruits that go bad to make alcool (I just bought a still, cool coincidence. It’s super fun to use/play with, definitely recommend)
    • Same for hazelnut/wallnut trees.
    • Set up a trap system where zombies get automatically funneled from noise maker to noise maker into a killing trap (a 13 meter fall, there’s a perfect location nearby).
    • Use the large language models I have stored on my PC to learn new skills, like how to make pennicilin, basic first aid, dentistry, etc. I recommend anyone interested in doomsday survival learns how to download and run a large language model on their laptop, those things are incredibly helpful, and don’t require a powerful GPU, they can run on normal PCs with RAM, just slower
    • Learn to drive a car and check up on my family (~200km away)
    • If/once we are a large enough group of survivors, try to capture a few zombies to study them and learn their weaknesses (break their teeth and put a gag in their mouth to be safer around the lab). Also try to administer random medicine (antifungals, antibiotics) and see if anything cures them, you never know. Also try raising their temperature, lowering it, lots of stuff to try that might just happen to work by luck, probably worth the effort and risk to trying it, if you find an easy cure, the problem changes completely.
    • Try to find other survivors, organize, build barricades, have babies, restart society.
    • Die of tetanus as I’m working on fixing up the barricades around my home, that’ll teach me not to keep up with my shots.

    Note: I’m an engineer, I have a bunch of tools, electronics, a mill, lathe etc. But most of this can be done without them, it’s just more work. Writing the list I sort of realize I have collected over the years a ton of random junk that would actually be massively helpful in this scenario…

  43. MMcCoughan3961 Avatar

    3 am!!!! I’m going back to bed!!!

  44. CarlJustCarl Avatar

    Funnel them to my exes house

  45. TransmogriFi Avatar

    Grab a pistol, have my husband standing by with the shotgun, open the inner door, but leave the locked storm door closed to see who’s knocking. (20 years, and he still hasn’t gotten around to installing the peephole).

  46. Repulsive_Tie_7941 Avatar

    I get up for work at 1:30 am and live on a dead end road in the woods. I hunker down. I’m not a “Prepper”, but my pantry is well stocked. Same goes for guns. .22s, hunting rifles, and a shotgun. I’ll answer the door, but my 12 gauge is staying within arms reach.

  47. ofTHEbattle Avatar

    Well….I have 3 handguns, 2 ARs, an AK, 4 shotguns, and 2 bolt action rifles, multiple mags and a surplus of ammo for everything, enough food and MREs to last a few weeks….so first thing I would do is fill up as many bottles/jugs I could with water, text my close friends and family a secret knock code before cell service drops, then barricading the door and waiting for things to calm down a little.

  48. Objective-District39 Avatar

    I open the door, that’s obviously my friend and his fiancee bringing more weapons and moonshine.

  49. Livin_Kawasaki Avatar

    depends. what kind of zombies we talkin about

  50. QuitYuckingMyYum Avatar

    Open Ring app and see who it is. Depends if I know them or not. If I do and I like them sure open the door, if it’s Darell then no fuck Darell he can stay out there and die! After that I’m heading to Costco and breaking in, then fortifying Costco so no one else breaks in. The. Make a Costco dog supreme pizza!

  51. Azaroth1991 Avatar

    So in my “perfect” scenario, I started rallying people, handing out wooden “bats” I harvested years ago, they are nothing more than long solid oak pieces, cut below the branching so that part acts like a mace head, and prevent the early panic response that cause zombie situations to go apocalyptical. If I can save and secure even just a single neighborhood in the beginning, that will be something to build from.

  52. OgreMk5 Avatar

    I have a multi-week plan of the steps to take, things that must be acquired and no one is knocking on my door. Not without calling first.

  53. Far_Independence_918 Avatar

    I don’t answer my door now. 😂

    But we’re good for a bit. My kids moved back home, so I don’t have to go get them. My freezer and pantry are stocked. We have water and other stock up items.

  54. Acrobatic_Ear6773 Avatar

    Probably start eating some brains.

  55. Majestic_Field409 Avatar

    Do I answer the door? Hmmm I have ring doorbell but I can also see out my door and window. It would have to be someone I know: other than that nope I won’t answer the door.

  56. YYC-Fiend Avatar

    Drain all the gas out of the cars and throw all the sledgehammers into the river.

  57. SlytherinAndProud Avatar

    3am? Weekend or weekday? Weekdays I’m a noc shift caregiver to a guy with many guns and ammo… and not to toot my own horn but Im a pretty decent shot. I feel like I could successfully make it home, get my kid and husband, and make it to my former in-laws where there’s more guns and we can fortify.

  58. Eloise_esaped Avatar

    I’m just going to die and hope I can be elected zombie queen at the first official election once they take over the world

  59. LegDayLass Avatar

    As this is the beginning outside society would be in complete mayhem so not going to play the lottery of trying to go out and gather initial supplies.

    I’m grabbing all of my guns/ammunition, and as much food/water, and gas I can and placing it in my boat (I live on a lake). I then depart land and survive out there as long as I can (during days I would likely travel into the marshy areas where there is tree cover to protect from the sun. The only danger is if the zombies can swim and they will be slower at it, have trouble climbing on the boat, and will be in far lower numbers than if I was on land.

    I would not have enough food/water on hand to survive a few days without any looting trips. Those would be done on the shoreline where I can easily return to my boat if needed.

    If these are “realistic” zombie’s they will rot within a few weeks to a point they can’t move, at which point the threat would be gone and it’s time to go on a journey to find and join the survivors.

  60. BigbabyjesuzDirtdawg Avatar