Zombies (12 page)

An AA-12 automatic shotgun.

Unlike many other soldiers in the field, zombie hunters always carry a pistol. Zombie fights often occur at close quarters where pistols are easier to use. Also large zombie hordes can often overrun a position, leaving no time to reload a primary weapon. Again, every man is free to choose his own backup weapon, but they generally fall into one of two categories. Some hunters prefer a light pistol with low recoil and a big magazine, which is good for calmly making head shots against atomic and viral zombies. Others, generally older hunters, like something with more punch, like the Colt M1911. These are good for blasting apart necromantic zombies and are less likely to glance off thick zombie skulls. Either can be an effective tool in the hands of a trained professional.

Most zombie hunters carry a knife, but this is only a tool and not really a weapon. In point of fact, there are no hand weapons that can be said to be very effective against most types of zombie. When desperate, hunters look for a heavy-hitting, balanced weapon that is unlikely to get stuck in a zombie. Baseball bats and machetes make good choices, but neither is likely to survive for more than a couple of kills before breaking or bending. While it is true that broadswords and
katanas
are probably the best anti-zombie hand weapons, neither is in common manufacture and nor are they easy to carry.

The military learned early on in the zombie wars not to rely on explosive weapons against the undead. Immune to shock, concussion, shrapnel, and even losing limbs, only a direct hit from explosive devices is likely to take out most zombies. Instead,
the best heavy weapon to use against zombies remains the good old-fashioned machine gun. While it is virtually impossible to make an aimed head shot with a Browning .50, it hardly matters when the heavy slugs literally tear the target zombie to pieces. Other members of the team can pick off the ones that are still crawling after the hail of bullets. The most devastating anti-zombie weapon is probably the minigun (a vehicle-mounted machine gun with rotating barrels), which is often carried by the helicopter support for containment teams.

Having abandoned most sorts of grenade except signal smoke, most government hunter teams carry some form of directional anti-personnel scatterfire mine such as a claymore. These weapons work much like giant shotguns or canister shot in Napoleonic cannons, firing hundreds of ball-bearings in one direction. Any time a hunter team decides to hold a fixed position, one of their first tasks is to set up claymores. Triggering a couple of claymores against a close-packed horde can have devastating effects.

The rising zombie threat forced military authorities to completely rethink personal body armor. Bulletproof vests and flak jackets were both unnecessarily bulky and provided little protection to areas mostly like to receive zombie wounds. Today, zombie hunters wear loose-fitting body suits made of a variety of extremely strong fabrics. They are virtually impossible to tear with bare hands, and most zombies will have to chew for a while to get to the human underneath. While providing excellent protection, they hardly render someone immune to zombie attacks. It is not necessary to get through the clothes to mangle the human inside, and zombies are nothing if not determined when it comes to killing, eating, or infecting.

Black Hawk helicopters have proved very effective in the military's fight against zombies.

Along with the suit, hunters generally wear a selection of commercially available sporting protection. Hockey helmets remain popular, as do elbow and knee pads. It is easy to shatter your own elbow smashing it into a zombie skull.

Some of the first NATO containment teams went into action wearing full Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) suits, but this was quickly deemed unnecessary in most situations. These days, full suits are generally only worn by the clean-up crews that come in after the frontline containment teams to finish off any stragglers and dispose of infected bodies.

Standard soldiers do carry some defense against these elements. All hunters carry Geiger counters, both to warn them of a dangerous environment, but also to detect the possibility of rad zombies. Also, no zombie hunter is sent into combat without a couple of syringes full of anti-viral solution strapped into a high-impact container. Finally, zombie hunters are always equipped with a gas mask. This piece of equipment remains vital when dealing with viral zombies. It is easy to become infected even without getting wounded when fighting at close quarters. Any blood or tissue splattered into the mouth or even eyes can lead to infection. Most hunters will not go into combat wearing a mask, but will keep it close at hand for the minute that a situation turns dicey.

Vehicles remain a double-edged sword in the war against zombies. Without them, it would be impossible to mount the quick response necessary to contain outbreaks. They are also valuable as mobile gun platforms, means of evacuation, and offensive strike weapons. On the other hand, the noise generated by even the quietest vehicles makes them zombie magnets, and driving into an outbreak area will quickly generate a horde.

Probably the most important vehicle in the zombie wars is the helicopter. Almost all containment teams are airborne trained, and helicopter deployment remains their number-one means of reaching a target zone. Helicopters can also remain on station to provide fire support and aerial reconnaissance. Unfortunately, unlike ground vehicles, it is never possible to turn off the engine and sit quietly if necessary.

Larger military vehicles such as tanks and armored personnel carriers are rarely employed against the undead. While their sheer bulk makes them capable zombie squashers, most governments have found them inefficient and difficult to transport. Most containment teams use modified versions of their military's main utility vehicle, such as the Humvee, sporting extra armor over the windshield and windows, and often employing a ram or cowcatcher on the front.

“An outbreak of zombies infecting humans is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead.”

When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection
by Philip Munz, Ioan Hudea, Joe Imad, and Robert J. Smith

Any discussion of tactics is fraught with peril. Rarely does any military operation, zombie or conventional, run strictly by the book. Every situation is unique and to try to impose a rigid adherence to one set of practices can only lead to disaster. While this chapter presents a brief overview of how most zombie hunter organizations attempt to run a modern containment operation, it is doubtful if any operation has ever run as smoothly as the idea presented here. Also, this presentation only applies to countries that have specialized containment teams on call.

In the event of a reported outbreak, a single zombie hunter element (usually one squad or fire team) is airlifted via helicopter to the area. If the outbreak is in a town or city, the helicopter touches down just outside the urban area, and the hunters deploy. After the helicopter again lifts off, it circles around the target area to run reconnaissance. Meanwhile the hunters advance on foot. Nine times out of ten, the incident turns out to be a false alarm and the whole maneuver is written off as a drill. However, if either the team or the helicopter spots evidence of zombie infestation, they will immediately radio back to base to prepare for a full-scale containment.

The original hunter team remains on site to gather further information, most importantly determining the variety of zombie threat. In the case of a revenant, the team will immediately go on the offensive, trying to keep the revenant occupied until reinforcements arrive. If the zombies appear to be necromantic, including voodoo, the hunters attempt to remain concealed while searching for the necromancer behind the disturbance. If the outbreak proves to be either atomic or viral, the team will launch limited offensive operations. It is always easiest to stop a viral or atomic outbreak just as it is beginning, and if the team can take out any zombies early, they may save countless
lives and prevent untold numbers of zombies being created later. Of course, when human lives are at stake, zombie hunters often get caught up in events on the ground and the theories are left behind by the practicalities of survival.

Once alerted to an actual threat, a full containment team will be launched. In the United States, this would mean the entire 34th Specialist Regiment. A full mobilization usually takes one to two days, depending on the remoteness of the outbreak area. During this time, the target area is surrounded by the containment team. Usually, a dozen separate bases or checkpoints are established along the major roads or at access points to the area. From these positions, constant patrols are sent in all directions to ensure no zombies are slipping through the net to infect other areas. The men on the ground are supported by helicopters and, in some cases, unmanned drones.