The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: No one likes surprises

Between spies, lies and traps being sprung, The Walking Dead has shown that surprises are bad news. In a zombie apocalypse, NO ONE likes surprises.

There are times for surprises…Christmas, for example. However, something that is not the time for a surprise? A zombie apocalypse.

Frankly, the apocalypse itself is likely to be an extremely bad surprise. Who honestly expects to wake up one day and find out that the dead are walking around, eating the living?

Nobody, that’s who.

But, that is why surprises (Like discovering you’ve stumbled into a zombie apocalypse) are so bad in the first place: You’re not expecting them.

Even if you know that said surprise is a possibility, if it springs on out of nowhere, you’re left scrambling to react to it, immediately putting you on the back foot.

With this in mind, the best way to deal with a surprise, any kind of surprise, is to prepare for it. If it’s something you can reasonably imagine happening, it’s something you should prepare for. In the case of a zombie apocalypse, I have a whole book dedicated to the subject.

I think one of the first steps towards preparing for surprises in a zombie apocalypse is trying your best to prevent the surprise from happening in the first place, and, the best way to do that is through maintenance.

For example: If your car were to break down while trying to escape an army of zombies…that’d be pretty disastrous, so, right now, you should do whatever you can to make sure your car is in the best shape it can possibly be in. Take it to a good mechanic, have them check it over, if there’s a problem, and you can afford to fix it, it might be a good idea to do so. This is just one example.

Of course, if you’re in the apocalypse, and you get a nasty surprise, you may not have anyone around to fix whatever needs fixing for you. This can be prepared for, though, by learning to fix things yourself.

You may not be able to become an expert on fixing everything, but, there are definitely resources available to you to learn how to make repairs on all sorts of things we use, be they cars, electronics, or even our own homes, and it would be smart to use as many of these resources as you can get access to; The more you can do for yourself, the better prepared you are for surprises in the apocalypse.

In a zombie apocalypse, however, there is all likelihood that you will not be by yourself, at least, not the whole time, and, this can present problems, not least of which is the fact that the person or persons you’re with can stab you in the back. As surprises go, that’s one of the worst.

Like so many other surprises, though, this one you can, at least, try to prepare for or mitigate the damage of.

The first thing I’d suggest is to really study a new person you meet. Pay attention to how they talk, how they behave, how they react, etc., so that you can try to pick up how sincere they’re being. Sometimes, just in the sound of their voice, even if you can’t be sure, you can pick up hints that a person is lying, and maybe, be prepared should you discover they are.

Second, once you have taken in a new person, watch them. If they have a tendency to wander off out of sight of you or your group, then mysteriously return, they may be hiding something. I can’t tell you it’s an absolute sign they’re shady, but, it’s certainly something that would make me want to keep a closer eye on them.

Now, it’s entirely possible that, if you have a new person in your group who might be untrustworthy, they may be working with a group of hostiles, which is a nasty surprise unto itself.

When dealing with hostiles, never assume they’re stupid or incompetent — You shouldn’t assume them unbeatable, either — i.e. if you think you have the upper hand on them, always be prepared for the possibility that you don’t. Frankly, something as simple as making a noise as you approach their base can tip them off to your presence, and destroy whatever advantage you might have, so, if you have some kind of backup plan in the event your enemy is prepared, you won’t have the worst surprise of all: Walking into a trap.

Surprises are almost never fun in a zombie apocalypse — Hell, being in a zombie apocalypse is a terrible surprise to begin with — but, they can be all the worse if you don’t prepare for them. If the surprise is something you can reasonably imagine happening, then, it’s something you can prepare for. I can’t say that you can necessarily prevent the surprises from happening, but, if you’re prepared for them, should they come, you’ll find yourself…not quite so surprised.

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 and do. 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!