Scenario: May Day

NOGMaxpower

Date: Sat 1st of May 2010.
Where: Dublin, Killiney
Who: Max Power

The story...

For weeks now Dublin and the surrounding counties have been experiencing the fallout of the winter cold snap. Water supplies have been turned off in areas to try to source leaks in our mains. At first small towns were effected in the Wicklow mountains, moving down towards Glendalough, Baltinglass, Bray and into the surrounding suburbs of Dublin county. Local councils advised locals to reserve water and to buy bottled water when possible. This has been the norm since new years until the start of spring...... May Day.

Its a normal Saturday just like any other weekend, except this weekend is my birthday weekend and its a bank holiday Monday and I am looking forward to getting smashed. I have a nice lie in until 1pm, no tele no soccer am just me and mr memory foam mattress. After a few pre weekend cans its time to let the beast loose on the porcelan bowl. My urin is a funny yellow colour resembling luczade sport, as it seems like a never ending stream. "ahhhhhhhhh.... shower, to was the piss of my foot", I say out loud. The shower is piping hot, steam rises and my hungover body relaxes. Until the water starts to spit and sputter and change colour that closely resembles my lucozade sport only moment ago.
"crrrrunnnnnch" no water..... I bail out and flush the toliet... no water. "argh for f*ck sake, no water again!!!! Thankfully I have enough for a cup of coffee or else I'd kill someone". Quickly I get dressed, adorn my usual khaki combats, boots and army surplus t-shirt.

Coffee, toast, butter and couch... flick on the 46" early b'day present... nothing! Who is cursing me on this fine and wonderful day?? Feck it, I got cleaning to do for my session tonight.

While taking the bins out I notice its very quiet out, kinda still as if it was a snowy winter morn. Funny too no kids belting around my private esate, thank christ to my head wouldn't be able for screaming lil kids. While walking up the steps to my door I hear a horrible "shreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek" Ah someone just realised they have no water too eh i "lol'd" to myself.

Gaff is clean, beer is bought, keg is ready, munchies are in, fridge is packed full of party goodness. I slap on some tunes on my ipod, crack a can open and head to the living room to roll up a big fat b'day dooby. PS3 is on and i am about to get into some MW2 when I get a message from:

Finn McCool (aka Mickey Donelz), "eh you ok dude?"
me "naturally buddy its my b'day weekend"...
Finn "eh no dude i meant are you ok ok? Haven't you seen the news?"
me; "news? nah man I've been chilling getting ready to get krunked to night, digital is out for some reason?"........
Mickey: "you need to get your survival kit out mate and knock down your stairs asap cos Z day is in Dublin/Wicklow and sreading fast, boardsies are already on their way west... this is no JOKE".
me: "wtf man, you're taking the piss right? it can't be"
Mickey: "i wish i was mate, check ntl cable"
me: "ok"

Holy mother of god, RTE news is on a loop
"water supply in Wicklow and Dublin has been infected by thawing snow/ice filtering through a burial ground used for infected cattle during the foot and mouth outbreak. Causing a mutated fungis to infect our drinking water supply, it is estimated over 1.2 million people are infected in the Wicklow and Dublin area. The infection has remained dormant within our cracked water mains and has been slowly infecting residents over the last 24hrs. Symptoms include hysteria, hollucinations, rage and death. Some reports indcate the dead rising although confirmation of these outlandish claims is impossible due to the massive amound of infected residents falling ill to the fungal infection. Contamination is caused if drinking water is ingested or comes in contact with open wounds or sores. Under no circumstances should you drink any un bottled water. Please remain calm and in your homes until the Gardai and Army come to releave you."

End of story...

So the scenario is this, 1.2 million people infected by a fungal mutation filterd through foot and mouth carcases into our cracked water mains. Dublin and Wicklow are infected, you are Max (me) and you are in Killiney. You have been paranoid about this day for years. You have supplies, you have weapons, you have transport. The one thing you dont have is enough drinking water. Your buddies in boardsies are in the uninfected (for now) West. You have family friends within 2 miles radius, tescos is 1 mile away, M50/N11 are 5 mins away....

What do you do baring in mind you are now into the 36th hour of the infection......?

Discuss

PS: PLs excuse spellings I was on a free run of a concept.

Kromdar

you have transport and weps.

your location suggests south dublin or wicklow area.

ultimately you have 2 choices: join the queues west, or head for the sea.
i'd take option 2. grab some camping gear, throw it in the transport. head south, avoiding the n11, although if wicklow is infected too then there might be no traffic, or military convoys. anyway the plan is to head to the coast, jack a boat and sit offshore for a bit. if the weather is rough, find a quiet cove or bay and float there a bit, keep an ear on the radio for information. head south towards wexford if ya can, or hug the coast, see if you can gather any supplies along the way. just looking at it there, wexford itself has a big bay, sheltered enough from the coast. you can boil water to drink, fish, or just use rations.

the best thing about this scenario is that it started in ireland, and has a known source. any of the boats headed for ireland, in particular to wexford, might take you onboard, or at least throw food at you. chances are nato or the un would send in a fleet or choppers or something. just get off the island, you'll be ok.

NOGMaxpower

Sounds a bit too easy to do... the entire area is infected. Fook knows what is going on out there?

Should I not hold up? Ride it out?

|TBH I dont like a couple of my neighbours I was thinking of checking in on them to see if they are ok (snigger)?

pandemonium

we have the same birthday weekend!
ah man, now my birthdays gonna suck too

ScumLord

pandemonium wrote: »

we have the same birthday weekend!
ah man, now my birthdays gonna suck too

SUCK ?!! That would be the best birthday present ever, "Thank you for turning everyone I know into zombies Jesus" is what I'd be saying and unlike everybody else I wouldn't mean it sarcastically.

Are you near any train tracks? They may provide a safe route out of the city bar the stations which could be hot spots. Over all you'd have to completely avoid all forms of public transport.

Mahatma coat

Did you gargle in the Shower?
Get any in your eyes?
How much water did you use in your Coffee?

your Walkin dead Max, the only thng your any use for is a good indication of Incubation times..

sorry matey thems the breaks, dont be tryin to sail your infected ass to Wexford

Agent J

Thats a pretty interesting senario.

Ok.

First of all i hope you boiled the kettle fully first or else you have a chance of being infected with that cup of coffee .

Its 36 hours into it? Which means that the general public are on the move and any public routes such as Trains/m50 will be next to impassable.

You need data so id contact anyone i would north,south,east to get what the road conditions and general state is there. If all possible check the net for traffic cameras and reports. If unable to get any data then work blind.

If you know anyone with any sort of boat then making a run for the sea might be an idea but at this rate there is a good chance any boat has already been stolen or taken. However since you are right on the coast it might be possible to check first.
.

Going North means you go into Dublin City centre and a more densely populated area. Not a chance in hell.

West? Certainly once you cleared Dublin your survival chances would definately improve but actually getting there in the current havoc would be a different story. Given the fact its afternoon and people will be moving already. If it was dawn you might have a better chance.

South? Actually this may not be as crazy as you'd think. The population density would be much less then north or west however it is infected and you have to travel much further to clear the area. Also it would have to be done on foot since the roads would definatly be choked up. I still wouldnt though.

Killney would be probably the worst place to be in for this situation. Unless you got really lucky and had a seabourne escape then you have the worst routes N/S/W to get out of the affected areas.

I would check in with family in the immediate area and see what their situation is. Assertain who has the best defencable location and who has what supplies.Immediate family only and only if people can be at your door within 1 hour.

Within that hour id take the standard stock the upstairs with everything possible and then destroy the stairs and try to wait it out for a few days.

If the situation developed which an escape was nesscary then i would head west avoiding roads as much as possible and stay south of all the housing estates populated areas. If at all possible i would aim to leave at dawn if i had a choice about it.

Ginja Ninja

first off and I always say this in zombie games set in dublin: I haven't a good enough knowlledge of you/your area to really do you justice in this.

If micky text you then contact is still viable,use up any zombie related contacts you have.If not done so post it here on boards and check what info we have before the web goes down[may not,but it might go in the next hour or so]

I don't know where killiney is with regards UCD/stillorgan[my best area] but if at all possible,head to micky's[or other zombie survivor who is up there]I'll be long gone.

as for escape,I'd head west,yes your going with the crowd,but that may be of your advantage,you can slip through where most people would avoid[via country roads and fields] while they distract the zeds with choked up roads.Ideally find a safe place to hole up[assuming you don't change en route,if you do begin to deteriorate text your progress to micky/post it on here so at least your (un)death will have given us a tool agains the enemy.

if you are near the coast/have a large enough family close by,head for the boats and see if you can get any sort of a sail boat[preferably motor] it's not simple,it's not assured but you can sail the irish channel as an amatuer in under a day and if it originated in ireland,britain migh be taking precautions to stem the spread[it may have a foothold over there already] depending on incubation time for the fungus[once again,even if you die this is crucial info to have early on]

if you do bite the bucket and pass on the info,we'll remember you as a hero who died so we coud have one more weapon in the fight.

NOGMaxpower

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Did you gargle in the Shower?
Get any in your eyes?
How much water did you use in your Coffee?

your Walkin dead Max, the only thng your any use for is a good indication of Incubation times..

sorry matey thems the breaks, dont be tryin to sail your infected ass to Wexford

Did you gargle in the Shower?
No Max Power never gargles

Get any in your eyes?
No of course not

How much water did you use in your Coffee?
Kettle had water in it 2 days prior.

I had already thought about those things mate The thing to note is that drinking water is out. Hot water came from the tank (steaming).

Alls good I am a paranoid so and so.

NOGMaxpower

Udate on the area:

There's a main train line 10 mins walk from my house.
There's a harbour with boats only 10 mins drive away.
My property is private and gated, so if the Z's are crawlers/slow moving they wont get in its pretty secure.
Dublin/Wicklow mountains are 10 mins drive away. There is two main routes out of my area... head towards Bray or get onto the N11 and head south onto the M11 towards Wicklow Wexford area. There are many exits off the motorway that would lead through smaller towns "enniskerry, glendalough etc"

I was sat up last night thinking about chapter 2 of this scenario...

Upon realising whats going on I would immediately start moving stuff up stairs of my house. once done there, I would need to work out what neighbours have bit the bucket and need their heads caved in.

I live in a duplex top two floors, i would check my neighbour directly next door. He had already been infected but lying on the floor in a heap (i could see him through the kitchen window. Sledge hammer the door down and crush his head (1 down, 14 more houses to go). Systematically i would break down everyones door and kill them all (no survivors). I'd then raid their houses for supplies/weapons etc and hopefully find some drinking water.

One the neighbours has a Land Rover discovery, I'd be taking that from her for sure! Another is a builder and has a transit van full of goodies. Using an angle grinder that he has (petrol one) I would start cutting the steel from the back of his van. I would then weld (he has everytihng inthere lol) or bolt the steel sheets onto the 4x4 covering the windows leaving slots that I could see out of of course! Next would be fuel, sicne the 4x4 is diesel i would then start to syphin out as much fuel as i could from all the cars around. also storing petrol too. Neighbour blow is a mechanic so he shoudl a few cans lying about for storeage. That would be my transport sorted.

Since the mobile network is down I would try to phone my family/friends on the landline. Try to suss out who's still alive since the infection started. if any are still alive I would make my way to them (plety of room in the discovery). Unfortunately i know my folks would be fooked cos they both drink lots of water. however gettin to them is key as my ol lad has a small arsenal of rifles/pistols. 3 hunting rifles, 1 shotty, 1 magnum .44 and a 9mm p226. he also has a flak jacket too, hunter gear tents, sleeping bags etc etc.

As soon as i'd be finished gathering supplies i'd head straight back to my gaff and start working on a master plan to head west. Since the radio reports that British Navy have created a sea barrier and are destroying all vessels leaving the Irish coast. Heading by sea is a bit of a no no....

To assist with my escape plans I have GPS, I have maps, the internet is still up and running so I was thinking I could check the motorway cameras for traffic/congestion.
Discuss....

Micky Dolenz

Good work Max, good work indeed.

Travel by water would be, for me a non starter. Why? because I can't sail. I live in a medium sized rural town, i would either head to the mountains or stay at home, probably at home becasue I could turn it into a mini fortress in a few hours. I also have a large work shop out the back full of tools and a petrol "building site" gennie.

I would use my time stocking up on petrol and other supplies. I would clean out my accounts and max credit cards doing so, looting for now probably isn't an option.

I would assume we all agree that drinking water from a tap, any tap on the island is a no go area. My rain water harvester would come into it's own. i would destroy my stairs and wait out the first wave of public panic. I would stay as informed as I could until the power/services went down.

I would wait atleast a month after that, everyday I would listen on my CB and wind up radio for any or all info, BBC world would be a great source of info esp if Ireland was only affected.

Agent J

Hmm.

Im even more in the "Stay and wait out first wave" camp now. If at all possible destroy the stairs at the bottom of the duplex as well the ones in your house creating a secondary fall back position.

The lure of your parents supplies is very tempting but i'm not sure it is worth the risk to travel there and back . Espeically in the mid afternoon of a full blown panic?

Do they live on a housing estate or seperate?I realise like most boardsie Zombie survivors that killing infected family would be automatic to do but id rather keep that in theory rather then make it a reality.

I also wouldnt nesscarily go for other family members. Contact them if possible and get them to mine but only if they can get there within the hour.

I see too much risk in going out and getting people. Primarily from a risk point of view but also from the bring back company. Once one knows you are there then you are in trouble. No sense in having a weapon a lots of ammo if you attract a horde of Zs back to your place.

And if they arent the slow Romero Class zombies then even more of an arguement to hole up and stay put.

Are there any Z's at the gates at the moment or visible apart from your neighbours?

NOGMaxpower

I agree on the no sailing bit I can't sail and im not a very strong swimmer. Re getting to my parents its a 5 min drive normally, so couple that with a landrover at speed should only take 2 mins. Feck anything that gets in my way, I need guns. the 4x4 would be well able for it, there are fieds infront of my folks and it would be easy taking back roads through some estates and into he field that links to my parents. If they are dead, I would like to think that it would be me who'd cave their heads in and nto some randomer. If alive my ol lad is an amazing resource, weapons expert, martial arts, explosives expert, builder/planner... kinda like a 60 year old Jack Bauer So i'd be doing my best to get them outa there and ot the safety of my mini fort back home.

The stairs leading to my duplex is solid concrete so destroying that would take a JCB. There are some works locally who knows my ol fella can probably drive/hotwire one. That would be an excellent idea and would make me pretty much untouchable from any invading Z's. A risk well worth taking if there's a JCB on the return route to the house.

I think it would be fair to say that there wouldn't be too many people at the 36th hour that would be out on the streets. Most seem to have taken ill during the night and are in doors for now. Only time would tell and time runs out fast on "May Day".

For now I think fortifying my house/surrounding area is my prime objective. Thank god for my Ps3, that should give me a few weeks of enjoyment while i wait it out. Also thank god for my dealer and the ounce of green i'd have for my b'day weekend, should last a good month or two

Any flaws in these plans?

Ginja Ninja

i'd take it easy on the green,it'll have to last quite a while and if you're baked when a zed comes in,it'd scare the crap out of you.

Water would be your main worry long term,the sooner you can get as much rain collected the better,I'd head to a shop and grab as much bottled water as possible,I know it's a bad idea,but the majority of people would be infected in their houses you just can't survive without water for any length of time.

apart from that you got a pretty good thing going,stock up,stay put and wait it out.It's isolated in ireland so you can hold out until it's clear

Mahatma coat

I wouldnt bother platin over the windows of the landy, your just makin things more difficult fore yerself for no good reason, have you evr drivin something and onyl had a smapp slot to see out of, yer better off if its a security issue to use some form of mesh/grate.


anyway if yer parents live in a House surrounded by fields surely that would be the more sensible option for your fortress, your da sounds like the sort of fella that would have everything in the shed 'just because'.

I'd try and grab as much stuff as possible from the neghbours, stuff it inta the van and then head off ta yer parents


and seriously You'd get an Ounce to last a month?????

NOGMaxpower

Green makes me more paranoid and if im not paranoid they'll get me so its a good thing. I never smoke enough to get too wrecked that i wouldn't see Z's coming.

Yeh me ol lad is old though and well my parents gaff is still in a built up area. My place has high walls/fencing, big heavy gates on the front all about 9-10 foot high.

Im definately liking the make a fortress out of the duplex idea best and getting rid of the steps completely out front. Although effort and time would be an issue. Having said that im sure the ol lad could work up a pipe bomb or something to speed up the process. If nto its off to my anarchists hand book for some tips and tricks. Also the "SAS handbook of survival" is a book i've since i was 10 well worth a read. The traps chapter is uber cool...

I hear ya though about putting steel ont he windows, perhaps only on the rear side and rear window leaving the front pretty clear. Maybe when im on da move west it'll do a Zombie Land 4x4 buzz on it.

Micky Dolenz

it's called dope for a reason :P

My biggest risk would be heading out to shut them damn Zeds up after half a bottle of Jamesom, I'll learn em, I will :pac::pac:

Agent J

NOGMaxpower wrote: »

.

I think it would be fair to say that there wouldn't be too many people at the 36th hour that would be out on the streets. Most seem to have taken ill during the night and are in doors for now. Only time would tell and time runs out fast on "May Day".

This assumption.

At hour 36 you have a combination of the people lucky enough to have survived the initial wave but dumb enough to run around with no idea what they are doing. Even if there arent that many people out there they will still attract Zs outside.

Id say you are likely to run into a horder panicked civilians or a horde of zeds.
Either way its going to be a pain.

NOGMaxpower

Agent J wrote: »

This assumption.

At hour 36 you have a combination of the people lucky enough to have survived the initial wave but dumb enough to run around with no idea what they are doing. Even if there arent that many people out there they will still attract Zs outside.

Id say you are likely to run into a horder panicked civilians or a horde of zeds.
Either way its going to be a pain.

Hmm

Well since my entire estate (small) is gated and secure I am not worried about any impending horde or swarm of Z's. More so I'd be doing a house by house check for Z's and survivors. WHile also taking supplies as and when i find them.

Mahatma coat

The supplies issue is a very interesting one

We're in Flood here in Queensland right now, The Speed at which Services failed was spectacular, Road closes and within 24 hours theres not a Loaf of Bread or carton of milk to be got, Power outages, Water turns off, Panic mass evacuations.

and thats a Flood in Queensland
In Fairness Everyone in QLD is Aware of these events, there is a flood Somewhere in QLD each year, so in a well prepared population with ample warning Services still fail very quickly, Change the scenario where the people coming down the street arent being helpful but want to Eat you Wouldnt take long for the whole mess to descend into madness

adser53

Sure there was near feckin hysteria here in Portlaoise, and the rest of the country, over the Christmas cos there was simply no water!

Mahatma coat

Above all else WATER is the issue thats the makeor break point, when the survival instinct kicks in.

Does your Safe House have it own unfoulabel well?????

Micky Dolenz

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Above all else WATER is the issue thats the makeor break point, when the survival instinct kicks in.

Does your Safe House have it own unfoulabel well?????

Well will be useless once the power gets cut, no power, no pump.

Easy solution, if in a hurry. Reroute gutter down pipe through bathroom window into bath. Lucky water in Ireland won't be a major issue. Even a barrel at the end of a gutter down pipe would harvest a lot of water.

Mahatma coat

Ah here Lad, We had Wells long before we had Electricity, I have a house picked out as a Stronghold that has an oldschool Pump in the kitchen.

Ginja Ninja

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Above all else WATER is the issue thats the makeor break point, when the survival instinct kicks in.

Does your Safe House have it own unfoulabel well?????

Yes and a pump that can be ran by;the power grid; a generator[of which we have 2] or the PTO of a tractor [we've a pump set up for the old dairy] that can run from a tractor or probably a bicycle if it was geared right

I know people assume their home is better than others,but my gaff is going to be the new govt. buildings one day just wait and see

Micky Dolenz

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Ah here Lad, We had Wells long before we had Electricity, I have a house picked out as a Stronghold that has an oldschool Pump in the kitchen.

True, but no modern home has them now. Many survivors will need how to adapt to a certain situation as they won't have planned.

Sticky_Fingers

I'd sit and wait it out for the time being. While the the initial infection is waterborne and localised within a relatively small geographic area chances are that it has already spread throughout the whole country since people would be heading home or going on holidays over the long weekend. Trying to leave with the panicked masses would be foolish since you would more than likely be smack bang in the middle of a Z-horde waiting to happen.

Get things organized now while you still have time, bottled water and a water gathering setup being a priority. You also need to think about doing some last minute scouting around the area, now's the time to find possible sources of food and other essentials and plan exactly how you will break into each place so that you don't have to spend too time improvising once the balloon goes up. Needless to say if shops are open buy now but you may need to break in later. You should also think about sorting out an area to cook your food since both gas and electricity will be gone in a few days/weeks (assuming you don't have an upstairs fireplace) as well as getting the required fuel now.

Lastly be a good son and head over to the parents house and make them come back with you to your gaff. They are probably infected (as will everyone in your area) so they will need to be quarantined/secured but I'd rather take the risk and have the opportunity to put them out of their misery if/when they turn than know that they are stumbling around out there.

Once you have done all this and fortified your house against possible Z-attack you might as well sit back, spark up and watch the first moments of the fall of human civilization (assuming Dublin airport is on the same water supply this is going to be a global pandemic) on your nice TV. Don't mind the disaproving looks your parents will give you, you'll be putting them down soon.