The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: Nothing’s ever easy

As the latest episode of The Walking Dead ended, Alpha gave Daryl an easy condition to avoid war, but, in a zombie apocalypse, NOTHING is easy.

Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead ended with Alpha telling Daryl that the communities could avoid conflict with The Whisperers so long as they stayed North of a makeshift border Alpha had created. Sounds easy, right?

Well, Daryl, Michonne, Yumiko, Carol, and Siddiq soon found Alpha’s border marker: A set of ten pikes with the heads of D.J., Alek, Ozzy, Frankie, Tammy Rose, Addy, Rodney, Enid, Tara, and Henry placed upon them.

Sure, complying with Alpha’s demands were simple, but, “Easy”? No.

The truth is…nothing is ever easy. Especially in a zombie apocalypse.

“Easy”, i.e. the idea that things are easy or will be easy, is, certainly in the zombie apocalypse, a fallacy, a falsehood.

“Easy” lulls you into a false sense of security, and opens you up to being attacked by hostiles or the dead. When you think something is/is going to be “Easy”, you let your guard down, because you erroneously believe you won’t need it, and, this is when bad things happen.

Don’t let yourself be fooled by “Easy”.

You see, things in a zombie apocalypse are almost always harder than you initially think they are. Something that might seem as ordinary as gathering supplies from a nearby store can prove extremely dangerous or life-threatening.

Why? Because, even in the time it takes to get to the store you plan to raid, things you aren’t even aware of can change in ways you didn’t predict.

For example: A shelf could have fallen, blocking what you thought was your escape route; Another group could have already raided the store, drawing more zombies there than when you first scouted the place, meaning you’re left dealing with way more zombies than you were prepared for; Or, a hostile group might be passing by at the same time as you’re raiding the store, drawing their attention (And everything that entails) when they might otherwise have passed you by.

The worst part about “Easy” is that, just when you think something is easy, is when you discover that it’s hard.

When you think something’s easy, it often means you’ve overlooked some snag or problem, or assumed it to have passed, only to realize that, no, it has not passed, and, is now right up in your face.

It forces you to scramble, maybe even panic, which only takes this already bad situation, and turns it into a disaster.

How do you fix this? Simple: Hope for the best, but, expect…the worst.

I’m not suggesting just being a mope, and thinking everything will be doom and gloom, but, what I am suggesting is that, whenever possible, be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

Prepare for your way out to be blocked, prepare for there to be more zombies than you expect, and prepare for your activities to draw the attention of some very unwanted newcomers, who will try to kill you for whatever supplies you have.

Prepare for all of these things, and more. Take a long way around, make sure you aren’t followed, set up diversions for the dead, make sure your scouts have people shadowing them in case they can’t signal there’s trouble; Do whatever it takes to be as ready as you can be for the worst situation you can reasonably imagine.

And, for the love of God, don’t think it’ll be “Easy”. “Easy” isn’t real. “Easy” does not exist.

This is why you follow…The Rules.

And that’s our Survival Rule Of The Week! Hopefully, you’ve gained a little insight into all the various things you’ll need to look out for. 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 also get it at Amazon here, on iTunes here!