So, I live in a place where it takes 17 minutes to drive to a large town, Pop. 330,000 approx., and about 8 minutes to a smaller town, Pop. 3000, give or take.

In an area such as this, houses are relatively close. One across the street, one adjacent to us, and one across a highway. Behind us is 8 acres of cornfield. The highway is a straight shot to the smaller town, Hamel. It is relatively well supplied, a grocery store, a gas station, water tower, etc. The problem? Large subdivision protruding from the smaller part of town like a tumor. Practically a breeding ground for zombies.

However, just outside of both towns is St. Louis. It's across the river, but nonetheless, 30 miles away. The larger town, Edwardsville, is heavily supplied. Massive subdivisions, 25 restaurants, Walmart, Schnucks, Dierbergs, Army Surplus Store, Lowes, etc. The subdivisions, (at least a good percentage of them) are fortified with fences, wood or chain link. A durable barracade on the entrances would make for a decent fortress, but weak, considering the size of the subdivisions. The schools are similar, large, fenced in, but glass doors. The High School has multiple levels, but the stairs are hard to destroy. Long hallways however, mean better range for sniping.

The plan, from Outbreak 1. This plan requires large amount of preplanning. Everyone has to be ready to do their job at the wink of an eye.

Supply the house with more food and ammunition from the suppermarket in Hamel, day by day, week by week, building up supplies. Keep in constant communication with my friend, who lives in Edwardsville, who plans to move into the Store, a small convenience store located just outside his house, and conveniently situated next to an RP Lumber (access to powertools, lumber, stone, etc.) I set up stone barricades in front of the doors and windows, leaving slats for sniping. I make an easy escape route through the office/shop connected to the house, which houses a Chevrolet Suburban(heavy duty, perfect for carrying supplies). When Hamel is fortified, or overrun, (in other words silent), we move in and siphon as much gasoline as we can from the two gas stations; one is abandoned, one is still flowing, but the abandoned one still has reserves underground. We need about 40 gallons to stay safe for the time that we'll be in the house. 10 as a last resort, 10 for the Suburban's trip to Edwardsville, 20 for the generator.

The generator would not be used to supply everything in the house, only the heat, the fridge, and a light or two.

Just across the street is a farm, which houses beef cows. As long as we supply shelter and protection to the owner, he will oblige to supplying us with preserved meat. (When deprived of the basic neccessities, life is bearable when provided with the simplest luxuries.)

To the Suburban, I attatch the snow plow on the front, and test drive to insure its stability. Supply the truck with First aid, a portion of ammunition, 4 quarts of water, for two days of driving, if necessary. We plan to ditch the house at a point, whether under seige, or lack of supplies. The truck must be kept in good condition, because if we need to ditch, and it doesn't start, we're dead on spot.

By Outbreak Class 2, Edwardsville is 80% infected, and zombies are practically flowing through subdivisions. Survivors are the ones who killed the competition for the necessary supplies. It will be difficult to enter the city with little conspicuous activity. The road into the city is short, but winding.

We hold off our home for as long as we can, constantly training and practicing with our weapons. Staying in shape is key priority. Lifting weights once a day for 15 minutes, while two people keep watch. Sleeping would be kept on a similar basis to the military. We sleep in shifts, two on guard duty, the rest asleep. Meanwhile, two way radios are useful for keeping in contact with my friend and his party. We keep minimum parties to maintain supply levels. He keeps no more than three with him, and i keep no more than four. All of us are well trained with weaponry of basic kinds. Carbines, pistols, shotguns, automatics, etc.

We stay silent at all times. No sound whatsoever, save for the generator, at specified times. The generator must be protected, so we keep it close to the house, with the exhaust port hooked up to a hose that leasds to the field to reduce the risk, of carbon monoxide poisoning. Should a zombie pass by, we leave it be. No sense in leading more ghouls to us. Once we face our first horde, everyone is on firing squad duty. Each wall of the house has slats for defending ourselves. Every window is fortified with brick or metal. Should we be overrun, we escape via the office, pack two people in back, one in the middle, two in front, one driver, one defender. The rear snipers strap themselves in to reduce the risk of falling out when the truck plows through the undead.

Although it may seem logical to drive fast, ghouls can not run faster than humans can. At best, they can only shuffle. A maximum speed limit of 30 should be observed, to keep the sound of the engine suppressed, still be able to ram zombies, conserve gasoline, and to keep a steady mount for the snipers. Setting up a metal barricade on the back of the truck, or even just punching out the windows, is a very good idea. No one wants to fall out when going up a hill, and no one wants any supplies to fall out. (remember to tie everything down!!!)

Once we get through the few zombies that have attacked us, we head for the Store in Edwardsville. From the store, we can go to the roof to snipe zombies if necessary, but the entire store is fortified with lumber, metal, gates, etc. The place is secure enough to stop a group of armed bandits, so we should be safe in the building. The store is supplied with months of water, (there is a water tower just next door), food, snacks, energy drinks, weapon cleaning kits, ammunition, and those are just the things supplied daily to the store. Our combined supplies will hopefully last us until the majority of zombies begins to decompose.

Should the store be overrun, we have moving trucks to supply and mobilize. Where we go from there is to be decided. If worse comes to worst, I take my family to Carlyle Lake to comandeer and supply a sailboat or houseboat to survive for the remainder of the infection.