The Zombie Combat Manual (4 page)

The stench of a decaying body is one of the most disagreeable odors a person can experience. Now imagine that offensive scent creeping toward you, persistently following your every step, and you begin to understand the power the living dead possess simply in their physical presence. This particular strength is another element of a zombie’s defenses that is often underrated by the general public. A ghoul’s stench is nothing less than an all-out assault on the human olfactory system, and may cause nausea, light-headedness, vomiting, and epiphora (excessively watery eyes.) This effect is magnified substantially when encountering the living dead in greater numbers. On a scale of one to ten, one being the equivalent of a riot control device such as CS/ CN tear gas and ten being a Schedule 1 chemical nerve agent such as sarin, a ghoul’s malodor ranks at a five: nonlethal, but with severe incapacitating potential.

A deceased infected human typically begins its reanimation cycle anywhere from several minutes to three hours postmortem, during which time the decaying process is most severe. Analysis has shown that during this period between death and reanimation, decomposition seems to accelerate appreciably beyond the normal human decaying process. Although still scientifically unproven, this accelerated putrification seems to be a direct result of the transformation that turns a human being into a walking cadaver.

Upon reanimation, decomposition appears to slow dramatically, enabling the corpse to avoid complete cellular disintegration for years. Although the subject’s atrophy has decelerated, the affecting odor is still very powerful. The scent of decay is overwhelmingly unpleasant to many, especially in close quarters. The effect on the senses can be so severe as to be completely debilitating and can impede the ability to defend yourself or mount a successful counterattack.

The dramatic effect this emanating odor can have on a group of humans was described to the author in the following interview, the larger recorded account of which has come to be known as “Survival in the Spire”:

. . . did you know it takes forty-three seconds for the elevator to get from the bottom to the top of the Needle? That round trip, waiting for those doors to slide open again, was the longest eighty-six seconds of people’s lives. One of the defenders, this grizzled old Marine named Edgar, was helping shepherd the children into the elevators and guiding others toward the stairs. That’s when we started to smell it. Faint at passed gas. Then it got much worse.

As the last of us were trying to make our way up the stairs, Edgar and the others blocked off all the entrances except one and closed rank, hoping to thin the oncoming mass. Even before they came within twenty feet of our group, our eyes started tearing. Some passed out. As they started to engage the mob, the dry-heaving kicked in. Some started vomiting onto the attackers. I saw this one poor guy, he was in the middle of an uncontrollable heave when one of them took a chunk out of the back of his neck while he was bent over.

Edgar, a crowbar in each leathery fist, stepped out in front and started swinging wildly at the attacking mob. It looked like he was fighting through tears, as he kept wiping his eyes with his forearm sleeve in between swings. Between the tearing and the dry-heaves, he still managed to bring twenty of those things down. Finally, the group broke rank and Edgar pulled two of the men who fainted clear of the horde, making their way back for that final elevator ride to the top with the last of us.

It wasn’t until they were all cleaned up and settled in that I noticed the jagged scratch on Ed’s forearm. He didn’t say a word to anyone. He just smiled, handed me his crowbars, and walked out to the observation deck. I never saw him again.

—Joseph, Seattle, WA

Although we can classify odor as a general strength of the living dead, this trait can also be an undead liability. One of the first indications that a zombie is near, before even taking sight of your opponent or hearing its lamenting moan, is the unmistakable waft of death in the air. This is especially pronounced when you are away from a metropolitan area, where the concentrations of living dead may be high. On the open road with the wind in your favor, one of the best ways to monitor the proximity of an undead threat is through your sense of smell.

Ferocity

A common misjudgment committed when fighting the living dead is the underestimation of its combat abilities. Nowhere is this more evident than during a ghoul’s transition from pursuit to attack. As we will examine shortly in the section on weaknesses, a zombie maintains a relatively slow, regulated speed during its hunting phase. Many individuals mistakenly assume that this seemingly casual, laissez-faire attitude is sustained once a ghoul is within arm’s reach of prey. Those who have never seen an actual undead attack believe it is similar to a human being picking a sandwich up from his plate and taking a leisurely bite.

In actuality, the assault is more like that of a crazed animal—snarling, vicious, and unrelenting. Whether this is a result of the close proximity of human flesh or some instinctive attack response mechanism remains unclear. What has been observed is that once within grabbing distance of its victim, a zombie can attack with a brutality that belies its previously dawdling pursuit. This is why grappling with a ghoul has a high incidence of infection and death and should be avoided if at all possible.

WEAKNESSES

Just as the undead possess certain strengths in battle, they possess comparably important weaknesses that we will analyze and exploit in order to develop the most effective combat countermeasures.

Intellect

A zombie’s greatest weakness is by far its lack of intelligence. Nearly every living species possesses the most primitive level of intuition in order to survive its environment. The walking dead, on the other hand, do not exhibit even the slightest instinct for self-preservation. They will walk straight into the path of an oncoming train without pause or directly into the metal teeth of a whirling buzz saw while in pursuit of a victim. This disadvantage also has major ramifications on the field of combat. A zombie is unable to strategize, outwit, or outthink its opponent. It will fall into every trap that is set for it, as will every other ghoul that follows in its identical path. As explained in the opening chapter on misconceptions, a zombie’s aptitude does not increase, develop, or evolve as it continues its existence as a member of the living dead. Evidence has shown that it is not a train-able entity, nor does it learn from its mistakes.

Coordination

Besides basic ambulatory functions, reaching and grasping, and pushing or pulling of objects, the zombie is an uncoordinated creature. It cannot use primitive offensive weapons such as stones or clubs or defensive equipment such as helmets or shields. Nor is a ghoul able to position its limbs to protect against an oncoming attack, such as by blocking strikes or disarming opponents of their weapons. Should a zombie manage to grab hold of a weapon and pull it away from its bearer, it is doing so not to disarm, but to gain proximity to its target.

A zombie will not kick or punch its victim, and its attack is limited to a predictable sequence: grabbing the target, pulling it in close, and finishing with a bite to the flesh nearest to its mouth. Although most humans can outmaneuver one or several undead attackers with no special training, this weakness should never be taken lightly. We will address strategies for taking advantage of a zombie’s limited coordination later in the chapter on combat strategies and techniques.

Skeletal Structure

A zombie’s physical composition, like our own bodies, is a fragile assembly of organs, muscle, and bone. You only need to look at your own anatomy to discern the key areas of weakness on an undead creature. The brain, however, is the single most important target on a zombie. This fact should be common knowledge, but it merits repeating:
The only proven method of stopping an advancing undead attacker is to sufficiently destroy its brain.
Sufficient destruction of the brain can be defined as any attack that results in deep structural damage to the organ itself. Although the fine degree of damage has not been extensively tested (will a pinprick to the brain halt a zombie?), it is safe to say that any penetration into the skull, past the dura mater, through the gray matter, and into the white matter will stop a walking corpse.

Speed

The steady cadence of a living corpse is one of its greatest weaknesses, second only to its lack of intelligence and reasoning ability. In extensive research studies that timed the movements of a large sampling of undead specimens, experts calculated that the average zombie moves at a relatively consistent forward pace of twenty-three minutes per mile. Its stride does seem to increase slightly during its active hunting phase, but research has shown that this pace will never exceed twenty minutes per mile. To date, the undead contagion has not mutated to a stage at which the living dead can maintain a slow jog, much less a sprinting run. Pay close attention to the rates of speed in the following chart, which has been developed based on actual timed distance evaluations. These figures may assist you in judging approximate time to targets if you are being pursued by the undead:

VULNERABILITIES/ REGIONS OF ATTACK

Having reviewed a zombie’s various strengths and weaknesses, we can now detail the specific vulnerable targets on an undead specimen to exploit in combat, in order to develop tactics that tilt the odds in your favor during any engagement with a walking corpse.

The Zombie Skull

Although the majority of the populace is aware that destruction of the brain is the only known method to terminate an undead attacker, most are confused as how to actually accomplish this task. Many people mistakenly believe that it is “just like cracking an egg.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The protective case known as the skull is one of the hardiest structures on the human body and can withstand a significant amount of abuse. The hair, muscles, and scalp covering the skull all provide additional insulation for the brain, which is itself covered by a fibrous, protective layer known as the dura mater. Many victims have engaged in undead combat believing that destroying the brain would require only a slight rap on the head, only to have the attacking ghoul finish the battle.