ON THE ATTACK : GENERAL RULES

1. COLLECTIVE RESPONSE: As with any other type of combat,
undead warfare should never be a solo mission. As stated before,
in Western-particularly American--culture, there is the myth of
the individual superbeing. One man or woman, well-armed and
highly skilled, with nerves of steel, can conquer the world. In tmth,
anyone believing this should simply strip naked, holler for the
undead, then lay down on a silver platter. Not only will going it
alone get you killed-it may also create one more zombie.
Working together, always together, has shown to be the only successful
strategy for annihilating an undead army.

2. KEEP DISCIPLINE: If you take nothing else from this chapter,
if correct armament, equipment, communication, and tactics seem
a silly waste of time, if only one tool goes with you into battle
against the living dead, let it be strict, unwavering, unquestionable
discipline. A self-controlled group, regardless of numbers, can
inflict infinitely more damage on an undead enemy than any wellarmed
mob. Since this book is written for civilians, not military
personnel, discipline of this caliber is difficult to come by. When
selecting your team, make sure that the men and women under
your command understand your instructions. Use clear, concise
language. Do not resort to militiuy or other coded jargon unless
your team are all familiar with its meaning. Make sure there is one
leader, acknowledged and respected by the entire group. Make
sure there are no personal differences or, at the very least, that they
are left far behind. If these demands mean thinning your ranks, so
be it. Your team should and must function as one. If not, a plethora
of nightmarish possibilities awaits. Large, well-equipped groups
have been utterly destroyed when their members have panicked,
scattered, or turned on each other. Forget what you've seen in
movies about loose bands of locals, beer and shotguns in hand,
protecting humanity from the zombie menace. In real life, such a
gaggle would be little more than a gun-toting buffet.

3. BE ALERT: Maybe you're elated from a successful fight; maybe
you're tired from days without sleep; maybe hours upon hours of
fruitless searching have left you mind-numbingly bored. For whatever
reason, never let your guard down. The undead could be anywhere,
their sounds muffled, their signs ignored. No matter how
safe the area seems, be alert, be alert, be alert!

4. USE GUIDES: Not every battle will occur on home turf. Before
entering an area unfamiliar to you or your group, recruit someone
with local knowledge. He or she can point out all the hiding places,
all the obstacles, all the escape routes, and so on. Groups without
guides have been known to accidentally trigger disasters by failing
to know that a gas main was within their f ~ uligne or that toxic
chemicals were stored in the building they had set ablaze. Successful
armies throughout history have always employed locals
from the territory they sought to conquer. Armies that have entered
blind have usually met with defeat.

5. HAVE A BASE, HAVE SUPPORT: A team should never go into
battle without having established a safe zone. This area should be
well outside the target area. It should be manned by a support
group with all the necessary facilities to keep you fighting. It
should be easily defensible should the tide of battle turn. Fortress,
hospital, supply dump, combat information center-all of these
should spring to mind when you order your group to "retnm to
base."

6. USE DAYLIGHT: It is no accident that most horror films take
place at night. Darkness has always inspired horror for one simple
reason: Homo sapiens are not designed for nocturnal activity. Our
lack of night vision and poor hearing and sense of smell make us
creatures of the day. Although zombies are no more skilled at night
fighting than we are, it has been proven that the margin of safety
always drops when confronting them after dark. Daylight not only
allows greater visibility but also bestows a psychological lift upon
your people.

7. PLAN YOUR ESCAPE: How many zombies are you going up
against? Unless you have an a c t figure, make sure an escape
route is always chosen, scouted, and under guard. Too often, overconfident
hunters have sauntered into infested areas only to be
overwhelmed by numbers they never considered. Make sure your
escape path is clear, close by, and above all, clear of any obstacles.
If numbers permit, leave several members of your group to keep
this escape passage open. Retreating groups have sometimes been
trapped when their escape route was blocked by a mass of walking
dead.

8. LET THEM COME TO YOU: More than any other, this tactic
allows the living to fully exploit their advantage of intelligence. A
human army, knowing an attack is coming, will wait patiently, and
safely, on the defense. This is why in conventional human warfare,
an attacker always needs at least a three-to-one numerical advantage
to ensure success. Not so with the undead. Because zombies
are driven simply by instinct, they will attack no matter what the
situation. This gives yon the advantage of simply waiting near an
infested area and letting them come to you. Make as much noise
as you can, light bonfires, even send one or two fast scouts in to
lure them out. When the dead come, you will be in a position of
"aggressive defense," ready to kill the majority before going in to
mop up. Because this tactic has been proven the most effective,
different examples of its execution will be discussed later in this
chapter.

9. KNOCK!: Before entering a room, locked or otherwise, always
listen for activity inside. A zombie could be on the other side of
the door-docile, quiet, ready to move at the first sign of prey.
How is this possible? Maybe bitten humans succumbed behind
their locked doors. Maybe they were put there by other, uninformed
humans who believed they were protecting their loved
ones. For whatever reasons, the chances of this scenario are at least
one in seven. If at first you hear nothing, make some noise. This
will either galvanize any silent ghouls or confirm that the room is
empty. No matter what, be on your guard.

10. BE THOROUGH: In the early stages of an outbreak, people tend
to capture, not kill, zombies they have known in mortal life. When
the captors have either fled or been devoured, restrained zombies
may remain for years, able to repeat the cycle if released. After an
area has been swept for ghouls, sweep it again. Then, sweep it
again. Zombies could be anywhere-in sewers, attics, basements,
cars, air ducts, crawl spaces, even inside walls or under mounds of
debris. Pay particular attention to bodies of water. Zombies wandering
at the bottom of lakes, rivers, even reservoirs have been
known to surface well after an area has been declared safe.

11. MAINTAIN COMMUNICATION: Remaining linked to every
member of your group is one of the most vital factors in a snccessful
mission. Without proper communication, hunters can become
separated, overrun, or accidentally shot by their own people (as in
conventional warfare, this happens more than is generally acknowledged).
Small, two-way radios-even the inexpensive brands marketed
in electronics stores-are the best way to remain in contact.
Walkie-talkies are also preferable to cell phones in that their signals
do not depend on satellites, relays, or any other external aids.

12. KILL AND LISTEN: After a skirmish, always he wary of secondary
zombie groups. The moment a ghoul is put down, cease all
activity and listen to the world around you. Chances are that if any
zombies are within earshot, they have overheard the battle and are
moving in on your position.

13. DISPOSE OF ALL BODIES: Once the area is truly secure, bum
both the bodies of the undead and those in your party who have
fallen. First, this erases the chance of infected human corpses reanimating
as zombies. Second, it prevents the health risk associated
with any type of rotting flesh. Freshly slain humans provide an
attractive meal for birds, scavenging animals, and, of course, other
zombies.

14. INCENDIARY CONTROL: When using fire, make sure you
keep in mind the larger implications. Can you control the blaze? If
not, the fire will endanger your group. Is the zombie threat serious
enough to warrant destroying great amounts of personal property?
The answer may seem obvious, but why bum down half a town to
kill three zombies that could be destroyed by rifle fire? As stated
previously, fire can be as powerful an enemy as it is an ally. Use it
only when necessary. Make sure your team can easily escape a
wild blaze. Make sure you know where all explosive and poison130
ous chemicals are stored and if their destruction could endanger
your team. Make sure you practice with your incendiary tools
(blowtorch, Molotov, flare, etc.) before entering a combat zone so
you know what they are capable of. Be aware of flammable fumes
such as a leaking gas main. Even without resorting to fire as a
weapon, the danger of these fumes, spilled chemicals, leaking fuel
tanks on automobiles, and a host of other hazards are enough to
prohibit smoking during any search-and-destroy mission.

15. NEVER GO OFF ALONE!: There may be times when it seems
wasteful to send an entire team to do one person's job. Wouldn't
five individuals cover more ground than a group all bunched
together? In terms of time and efficiency, yes. For safety, the priority
of any zombie sweep, staying together is mandatory. A separated
individual could easily be surrounded and consumed. Even
worse, hunters have come up against walking dead who only hours
before were members of their own party!