Fear The Walking Dead, Survival Rule of The Week: Guns
By Liam O'Leary
This past Sunday on Fear The Walking Dead, The Group provided us with another serious lesson on how to survive the zombie apocalypse, and the people in it.
Yesterday, while watching this past Sunday’s Fear The Walking Dead, I watched (Well, we all did, but, just bear with me…) as The Group got themselves overrun by pirates and desperately wanted to see them fight them off, of course, they really weren’t able to, and the reason why reminded of one of my personal favorite rules…
Rule #3: Have guns, bullets, and know how to use them.
Now, first things first, just a reminder: This is a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE we’re talking about, so, I don’t want anyone to think I’m saying anything truly crazy here, okay? Alright, now, on to business…
The premise of this rule is so simple, it needs no elaboration, but, the failure to adhere to it, which we saw a lot of this episodes, does, because it shows you why this rule is so vital to surviving the zombie apocalypse, which I will demonstrate.
First things first, let’s get started with the first part, the guns. Why were Reed and his pirates able to take The Abigail? They had guns. That’s why. And what was the first thing they did when they took over? They took Chris and Daniel’s guns. And why couldn’t The Group mount a mutiny to reclaim The Abigail? Because Reed and Connor’s entourage had…guns.
See a pattern here? Well, if not, allow me to spell it out: When dealing with hostiles, you’ll find yourself in an infinitely better position if you have firearms at your disposal, because, chances are, if they are hostiles, they will already be armed long before you ever have the displeasure of meeting them, and you don’t want to encounter armed hostiles with nothing but your bare hands.
Of course, having a gun is not enough. As my favorite student, Strand, made plainly evident when he went to find his machine gun, only to find it missing his clip (As you can see to your right), having a gun is completely and utterly useless if you don’t have any bullets to use it with!
It is the one crucial weakness of guns, and, if you attempt to fight anything, whether it’s living or dead, with a gun that has no bullets, you might as well be using a club, because that is precisely what your gun will become, a club. And, frankly, there are better things out there for that purpose.
…Like actual clubs.
Lastly, perhaps more so than anything else involving guns, is the need to know what you’re doing with them. Even in what might appear the most advantageous of situations, a person who knows nothing about using guns is about as useful and effective (If not even less) as a person trying to use a gun with no bullets.
I suppose the best way to demonstrate this is comparing Chris to Luis. Chris is not that adept with guns, and his constantly asking Travis if he should shoot (And diverting his attention from Reed in the process) screamed that.
Meanwhile, Luis, while in a moving boat, was able to snipe two people, including one with her own sniper rifle. No hesitation, no diverting from target, no problem. Why? Because he is very skilled with guns.
When you compare him to Chris, one of those people is professional shooter, the other…is not. One eliminated the threat to The Group, the other…did not. One, in his present state, makes for an effective survivor, the other…does not.
See a pattern here?
A zombie apocalypse is, at least from our end, about survival; Surviving encounters with both the dead and the living, and, whether we may like that or not, sometimes, ensuring that survival requires the use of guns. The fact is, the most ideal situations involving fighting threats to you or your group involve fighting those threats from a distance, and, since at least the 18th century, the best means of doing that has been with…a gun.
In the zombie apocalypse, guns become a tool, like a hammer or a screwdriver, used for the purpose of defending yourself and your group against zombies or any of the myriad peoples who would seek to bring you harm; A tool for keeping you and those you care about alive. Having at least one, bullets to go with it, and the knowledge of how to properly use one can mean the difference between living…and being a zombie’s lunch.
Be armed with knowledge. Follow…THE RULES!!
And that is our lesson for today. If you like this and want to find out more rules to survive the zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!