Outbreak on Holiday

ScumLord

I've picked Barcelona as the destination, it's on the continent, a lot of Irish people do go to Spain for holiday and in many cases it's that coast they go to.

So your on the last day holiday your on your way home, you arrive at the airport to find the airport busy with a lot of cancelled/delayed flights. There's been talk of a new illness but you've been on holiday and not following the news there's also talk of long delays at airports and of some sort of strike at other airports,. Your flight is delayed, you notice a lot of security staff and police.

Your flight is eventually cancelled after 2 hours of waiting. There's no staff from the company you bought the ticket from, people have tried the desk but most are closed or understaffed.

You decide to get out, you had overbooked the hotel and thought, why not just stay another night? You hate airports anyway. As your leaving more people are building up in the airport.

You do manage to get back to your hotel but there's chaos at check in, you luckily get to tell them you'll be using the room and can see sky news is reporting on airports in the bar and head in for a look as there's a crowd pulling suitcases gathered watching it.

It's reporting major airports being closed, some completely shut down with people not allowed to enter or leave at all. Airports in Asia have military personal on site, and what seems like demonstrations or riots.

The news is trying to figure out if it's some sort of major terrorist attack using a chemical agent and are assuming all the other airports are being shut down to prevent more attacks.

Sky news is doing no more than repeat this information over and over again so you dump your stuff in your room and get some dinner. You get a call from home and they say this seems to have been building over the last day. That in Asia hospitals are closed down and they're beginning to be over run in major European and American cities.

You decide to eat at the bar, as you walk in the TV seems like it's the size of the room taking up the whole wall, it has your complete undivided attention because on it are Zombies. It's out side a hospital in France, there are scenes of Zombies walking the street in other cities. The Police and army are still trying to round them up and detain them but you've seen enough. You know what's happening.

The Virus is causing a worsening, uncoordinated delirium and aggression in most for the first 12 hours, after 10 hours they become weak, at roughly 12 hours they die and reanimate as slow moving walking dead.

The Zombies are located mainly at Airports which are quickly becoming sealed by Military personnel and hospitals which are quickly being surrounded by police. The last report you see on the news is of people running out of Gare du Nord train station in Paris and police rushing in, there's still no sign of anyone shooting or attacking the Zombies and they're being pulled away by police.

You get another phone call from home, there doesn't seem to be any great panic there yet, there was some cases in the Hospital and the airport has been completely closed off, but everyone seems to be staying mostly indoors, it's raining. You tell them that you'll do you best to get home.

How do you get home?

Ginja Ninja

If it's a definite zombie attack[you've acknowledged widespread police clear tactics]
(just to clarify,I'd never be in barcelona.I can't speak spanish)
I'd call a taxi company and get a definite answer on whether the trains were running or not and see how safe it it to head north that way[aiming for Le Harve,boats are safer]

or alternatively[depending on how fast this is occuring,if it's withing 2 days of the first attack]I'd check the schedule for the harbour and see if any boats[preferably freight] were heading this way,or at least to the UK and stow away,if I couldn't bribe my way aboard.(standard procedure is to dock at the nearest port en-route if your found which is heading my way and that's either malaga or porto) or france,in which case I'm laughing.

Also,Google earth the sh*t out of the route and memorise the weather forecast.

Or if this is slow burning bus it or ditch a taxi as far north as I can

CiDeRmAn

Head for the coast, nuke your credit card to buy a small motor boat, tell the family to meet up with as many cans of fuel they can get in the car down around cork, then use the GPS on the Phone to head for somewhere there, secluded.
Once there, buy as many supplies as possible and head for the Blaskets, somewhere empty, but with fresh water, let civilisation die around you.

Micky Dolenz

That there is my worst nightmare. Being in unfamiliar settings when Zed day comes. I don't think I would try and drive a boat home as I have very little experence of being on the open sea, the risk of any technical faults would put me off.

I would except I would not see home for quite a while and head north out of Barcelona and head toward the Pyrenees,The less people the better. I would try and pick up supplies along the way and plan to hold out for a while somewhere quiet.

Valmont

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

That there is my worst nightmare. Being in unfamiliar settings when Zed day comes. I don't think I would try and drive a boat home as I have very little experence of being on the open sea, the risk of any technical faults would put me off.

I agree. Unless someone knows how to operate a boat over that distance, even if they are sticking close to the shore, I would definitely avoid going out on the sea.

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I would except I would not see home for quite a while and head north out of Barcelona and head toward the Pyrenees,The less people the better. I would try and pick up supplies along the way and plan to hold out for a while somewhere quiet.

Considering Paris seems to be worse than the isles, I would worry about my own welfare before that of my family. I would nuke my credit card on survival supplies, assuming that the stores haven't been ravaged already. I'm talking a tent, lots of high carb camping food, an axe, wind up radio, whatever I can get my hands on. Then I would head into the bush and up north to the Pyrenees like you said. I always take my U.S Army survival book with me wherever I travel to so I would use this as a rough guide to plan my survival. I would also google edible plants etc for this region if I still had the time, that is. Hopefully I could survive for a month or so and then head back to have a look at civilisation and, well, that's a whole other scenario.

So to answer the original question, I don't think it would be wise heading back home!

ScumLord

Ginja Ninja wrote: »

If it's a definite zombie attack[you've acknowledged widespread police clear tactics]

Of course it's Zombies.

But Police and army are treating the infected like your average citizen and arresting them, which in turn means they're first to be infected and Zombie numbers aren't being reduced they're just being bundled into the same place creating a large horde. 12 hours after the outbreak police and military will be mostly Zombies, and Zombies in hospitals and airports will be lose.

Any infected that made it through the airports will be turning at that 12 hour mark too. They will have in turn infected people on public transport and family.

Within 24 hours Police and medical services will be spread to thin to be effective, and the second wave of infected will emerge.

I've wondered about the boat idea, I wouldn't have to much of a clue how to navigate at sea, would hope I could figure out the sat nav (I'm assuming most boats would have them these days) and move up along the coast to the shortest crossing. The place where Ferrys cross between France and England is quite narrow, but it's still a long cruise unless you find a boat on the atlantic side but even then, it's a long cruse.

I would say ports will be very dangerous by that time, There may be Navy there making sure boats don't cross between countries. It's hard to know how long they'd stay if they lost contact with headquarters though.

degrassinoel

was tempted to say boat too, but as scumlord suggested, by the time you realise that the zompocalypse has arrived the military and police will mostly have had their arses handed to them and retreated to regroup, the navy would definetly be blockading ports to contain/quarantine it,(dependent on where and how large the spanish military fleet is..and timing)
could possibly be plenty of civilian casualties resulted by military sinking civilian vessels which were trying to break the quarantine.

High ground for me, less populated, less chance of being murdered by police and or military, possibility of food and shelter, though nowere near as much as the sea would provide.

Deise Musashi

Find a cue ball or other small hard object, put it in a spare sock.

Find a zombie soldier/armed police and kill it with rock-inna-sock*

Now armed, "procure" a vehicle and supplies.

Drive home or near as you can get, rinse and repeat until firmly in the fortress being held by boardsie Zed haters!





*an ex British Army Col. told me that this was the most lethal weapon he'd ever had to use. Tank Commander, fought in Africa and Korea, Queen's Messenger. He'd seen a lot and never really talked about it.

Kess73

Getting home would not be an option. Getting out of the city and into a more isolated or rural area would be my first priority.There would be maps in the hotel for tourists, so one of those maps is coming with me along with anything else useful that I can get quickly and with no fuss at the hotel. Getting/Taking/Stealing as much in the way of supplies plus a weapon enroute to the rural area.


Then evaluating the area once I get there to try and get a feel for the area, plus making sure I know what direction all the heavily populated towns or cities are in.

Might even try to find somewhere with a river or lake where I can nick a boat to sleep on and use the waterways to get around.

ScumLord

It's hard to know how you'll get on just heading for high ground. In Spain you may be an easy target for locals. Spanish don't like tourists much any more, so with the law service probably intermittent at best (although in rural areas they're may be more police services intact) and even where there is police the Spanish police service isn't known for it's niceness.

The Swiss have an abundance of underground bunkers, although I don't see them letting you in.

I think the cities will be over run by Zombies however the countryside will be saved somewhat by the distances between community's. I think you can be certain that the more time that passes the less welcoming they'll be.

Whatever you do you have to act fast.

The mission is to get home though.

Ginja Ninja

Well yeah,my plan is and always will be to get home as fast as possible.

Irish geography is what I know best,as it plant/animal life and the weather.

My actual home here in the west is like the back of my hand and fairly ideal for holding out in:Well,sheltered nearby forests to forage in, a populated lake 10 minutes cycle away and all the gear and plans I've come up with are here.

I know it's a cliché but there's no place like home,'cos home is pretty kick ass for this situation

ScumLord

Ginja Ninja wrote: »

Well yeah,my plan is and always will be to get home as fast as possible.

I'm in the same boat, on the continent is guaranteed death as far as I'm concerned. As long as it's raining in Ireland your pretty safe, there's little chance of of the virus spreading under them conditions.

But how do we get home. Having a car isn't going to be any big guarantee of safety, I'd like to see a stage by stage actual evacuation of of mainland Europe to the island of Ireland. How the hell do we get home during a Zombie breakout?

I've thought long and hard about it and realistically I don't see a way to get home.

Mahatma coat

Barcelona is on the Med, so Boat Theivery Liberation seems like a sound plan, many people will have the same plan, most of them will want the larger more expensive motor boats that have state rooms and the like, however these things require LOTS of Fuel, expect to see a lot of rather expensive Yachts driftin around the Med in about 3 weeks.

if you can operate a sail then its just a matter of headin for Gibralter and then hookin it in a NNE Direction for the Coast of Wexford, rescue any remainin family grab some livestock and provisions, Happy Days, anyone wishin to find me later can simply check out the Saltees Islands.

degrassinoel

easy if ye know how to sail lol, could be disasterous if ye didnt know how to sail or navigate.
Also, how much fresh water would you need and how long would it take to sail to ireland?

Kess73

ScumLord wrote: »

It's hard to know how you'll get on just heading for high ground. In Spain you may be an easy target for locals. Spanish don't like tourists much any more, so with the law service probably intermittent at best (although in rural areas they're may be more police services intact) and even where there is police the Spanish police service isn't known for it's niceness.

The Swiss have an abundance of underground bunkers, although I don't see them letting you in.

I think the cities will be over run by Zombies however the countryside will be saved somewhat by the distances between community's. I think you can be certain that the more time that passes the less welcoming they'll be.

Whatever you do you have to act fast.

The mission is to get home though.

If the airports and ports are closed by the military/police, then leaving mainland Europe is not the priority, survival is the priority if things are already that bad.

Getting to Switzerland or anything like that would be an impossible attack in the early days and weeks of an outbreak, and if France is as bad as suggested, then travelling north out of Spain is a no go as well.

I still think getting to areas with little or no population wins out, and then try to ride out the opening weeks that way, whilst gathering what you can along the way and working a potential plan of getting out of the counrty at that point, rather than rushing into it and trying to leave the country at the same time as millions of people are in a state of panic.

Bucklesman

In a major zombie outbreak a hotel in Barca is a pretty terrible place to be. For starters, you're slap bang in the middle of the sixth most populous areas in the EU, with 4.2 million living in Greater Barcelona.

This urban zone will not stay safe for long. The airport and seaport are right beside each other near the centre of the city. If the authorities have allowed me return to my hotel after being at the airport, the infected have been let through too. It's only a matter of time. Fleeing to the countryside in the event of a Europe-wide plague only prolongs the inevitable. If you can walk or drive somewhere, the ravenous hordes will follow.

ScumLord wrote: »

I've thought long and hard about it and realistically I don't see a way to get home.

Getting home to Ireland offers the best chance of long-term safety although it involves risk in the short term. I think it is possible to get off the continent, even with a group of people in tow. Here's how...

Step One: Don't Panic. I still have breathing room to plan and organise. For now the zombies are centralised, if not contained, in the airport and the freshly infected will not succumb for several hours.

Step Two. Ditch most of the luggage in the hotel room and prepare a single backpack with the bare necessities, including a towel. If the worst comes to the worst I can outrun a mob of zeds on foot. Withdraw as much cash as I can from the Hotel ATM and raid the minibar in case bribes are needed. Half an hour tops.

Step Three: Seek consular assistance. As an Irish citizen abroad this is the ace up my sleeve. Ireland probably has a consulate in Barcelona city centre, and failing that I believe the Department of Foreign Affairs have an arrangement with the UK to provide assistance to Irish citizens abroad.

There might be an evacuation plan in case of natural disasters, and if there's a chopper out of here soon I want on. There is the risk that other Irish tourists trying to escape the same way might be infected though. 10-15mins if I can get through by phone, up to an hour if I have to go there myself.

Step Four: If the consulate doesn't look promising, it's time to find safety in numbers. There will be other Irish people around who want to get home as much as I do. Some of them might be friends or family. There will be people with specialist skills who could be handy for getting home and staying alive.

Either way, I stand a better chance of surviving and getting home with a group of people I can talk to and relate with than I do as a gringo with a load of Spaniards or on my own. Could take as long as two hours, depending on how long it takes to explain zombies to the average Irish punter. If there are any infected among the people there they should be easy enough to spot and exclude.

Step Five: Leg it! Since the airports are closed we need to get to the West coast to escape by sea. If we can get transport legally then good, but if all the rental places are overrun by other foreigners it's rob a bus time! Most likely someone in my entourage can drive one, and somebody else can probably hotwire one. If there's no bus handy a convoy of cars will have to do.

Stock the bus with food from the hotel kitchen and bedding from the rooms. Many hands make light work so this shouldn't take more than half an hour. Everyone who can wield an improvised weapon should find something, be it a frying pan or a fire axe. Before leaving Barcelona, let the Irish Consulate know what you're doing and stay in contact with the Department of Foreign affairs. This will be important later.

Step Six: Hit the road, avoiding the motorways and staying on secondary routes via sparsely populated areas where possible. Monitor the media. It will take around seven hours to get from coast to coast and the situation will change rapidly. It might be best to head for Santander and get the ferry to Plymouth, or cross the border into the south of France.

Step Seven:
If France is a no-go or the Ferries aren't running, I would head to a fishing village and charter a trawler or yacht to head straight for home. Anyone on the Continent with access to as much as a dinghy will want to set sail for Ireland or Britain.

However, in the couple of days it would take to cross the Celtic Sea in a trawler the ports could well be closed to non-Irish nationals. A Spanish skipper with a hold full of ex-pats would be allowed in without a problem and he can hardly argue with making some money while he escapes the zombie hordes. If he needs convincing, I'd get him to call the DFA, who we've kept in touch with all the while, on his satellite phone and work out a deal. The bedding and food from the hotel will allow us to make the crossing in relative comfort.

By the time the secondary wave of infectees are beginning to reanimate in urban areas, I intend to be on a boat in the Bay of Biscay headed for Wexford! :cool:

ScumLord

Bucklesman wrote: »

Step Three: Seek consular assistance. As an Irish citizen abroad this is the ace up my sleeve. Ireland probably has a consulate in Barcelona city centre, and failing that I believe the Department of Foreign Affairs have an arrangement with the UK to provide assistance to Irish citizens abroad.

Would the consulate not be in Madrid?

There might be an evacuation plan in case of natural disasters, and if there's a chopper out of here soon I want on. There is the risk that other Irish tourists trying to escape the same way might be infected though. 10-15mins if I can get through by phone, up to an hour if I have to go there myself.

I wouldn't be depending on an evacuation by Irish authority's, there simply wouldn't be the time or resources. With airports closed there's no way for them to move people.

Step Four: If the consulate doesn't look promising, it's time to find safety in numbers. There will be other Irish people around who want to get home as much as I do. Some of them might be friends or family. There will be people with specialist skills who could be handy for getting home and staying alive.

Would be a good idea to find other Irish, even if your stuck there for the foreseeable future it would be a big help to have others that would see you as part of their group.

Stock the bus with food from the hotel kitchen and bedding from the rooms. Many hands make light work so this shouldn't take more than half an hour.

I think this could be an opportunity for dangerous conflict more tan anything. The hotel staff won't just stand there and let you take their food. It'll cause a scene at the very least warning the rest of the hotel to your plan which will cause panic, they might try to either steal the food for themselves or side with the hotel and try and stop you from stealing what they see as their food.

I think it would looting will be very dangerous in the first few hours, people will still be clinging to the law system and with no cops around those being looted will be more dangerous as they'll be protecting their stuff knowing the police won't be around to help them.

By the time the secondary wave of infectees are beginning to reanimate in urban areas, I intend to be on a boat in the Bay of Biscay headed for Wexford! :cool:

By car it'll take you at least one day more than likely 2 or 3 days to get from one side of Spain to the other so the 2nd and 3rd waves will have happened, people will have seen their capitols fall and god knows how they'll react, especially to raiders which is what you've become.

daz801

put my head between my knees and kiss my ass goodbye