Zombie CSU (48 page)

Author Tim Waggoner takes a different stance. “I think that—assuming the zombie contagion spread fast enough to create multitudes of zombies—that there would be a lot of chaos and a temporary breakdown in society, but the apocalypse wouldn’t occur. Humans would adapt to their new circumstances quickly, learning how to prevent the spread of contagion, disposing of dead bodies quickly and efficiently, and learning how to protect themselves from zombies through barriers and shelter. Plus, humans would go out hunting zombies. How many animal species have humans hunted to extinction without even trying? We’d wipe the zombies out in time and, even if the zombie contagion still existed, we’d learn to prevent any mass outbreaks. I wrote a story called ‘Provider’ in the zombie anthology
The Book of Final Flesh
⁷
which deals with some of these ideas.”

Horror movie actress Nicole Blessing (
Doomed to Consume
) sees things as dim but hopeful. “There are so many instabilities in the world at play already. Power politics suggests that many nations would attempt to use a zombie uprising to leverage their status in the world. Society as we know it would fall, but all empires are destined to fall given time. We wouldn’t be completely obliterated. Humanity is very resilient, and once we managed to adapt to the threat, what’s left of humanity would survive.”

“Certainly some cultures would be more successful at dealing with a zombie holocaust than others,” suggests Bram Stoker Award-winning author and screenwriter Lisa Morton, “but we’ve become so globally interdependent that no country would withstand it completely. Here in the U.S., I think we’d separate into small barricaded city-states, each with its own food production and resource gathering.”

T
HE
F
INAL
V
ERDICT
: T
HE
L
AW OF THE
D
EAD

If zombies rose, the laws would change. Laws that permit self-defense would be reevaluated and probably strengthened. Laws limiting the ownership of guns would certainly take a hit. Curfews would be imposed, and martial law would almost certainly go into effect until well after the crisis was over. In heavily infected areas, it’s not unreasonable to assume that martial law might, to one degree or another, be kept in place indefinitely.

Once the crisis had passed and things had either gotten back to normal or settled into what would be the new version of “normal”, the lawsuits would start. Lots and lots and lots of lawsuits. If there was even a smidgeon of evidence to suggest that the plague had started in a laboratory somewhere, then anyone adversely affected by the disaster would file major class action suits against the companies, personnel, and stockholders involved. If the government had been in any way involved, as in the scenario of a military bioweapons program gone awry, administrations would fall, heads would roll, cover-ups would be attempted, and monies would be spilled all over the place.

There would also be some major litigation within families and neighbor to neighbor. Figure if the son of one family turns zombie and bites his buddy next door, the surviving family members will go to court over it. No doubt about that. If there’s anything we are more than predatory it’s litigious. There will also be tragically complicated suits built around euthanasia, as survivors have their lawyers try to settle the rightness or wrongness of killing the infected. Expert witnesses will get rich collecting fees to try and determine at which
point
a person is considered legally dead and at which point an infected person—alive or dead—became enough of a threat so that shooting them is justifiable. Within two years, there will probably be college courses on zombie law; within ten there will be degree programs. Even though much of the economy may receive mortal wounds, the legal and legal education systems will flourish.

Oh, and
ambulance chaser
will take on a whole new set of meanings.

Dead Aim
by Jonathan Maberry

“You got to bring enough gun for the fun, son.”
—Old U.S. Army catch-phrase

I
n Chapter 5 we discussed how law enforcement and the military might respond to a zombie attack. Now let’s discuss the weapons and equipment they could bring to the game.

J
UST THE
F
ACTS

Firearms

Mike Witzgall, former Force Recon Marine and former Dallas SWAT member, thinks that the standard SWAT weapons would do the trick. He says, “Weapons are broken down into 3 categories. Primary Handgun, Backup Handgun and rifle or Sub-gun. The Primary Handguns carried by SWAT teams vary from team to team and sometimes, from teammate to teammate. Most teams have now standardized what the team carries. 9mm, 40 caliber and 45 caliber are weapons of choice, though makes and models vary from team to team. I personally preferred the 9mm Beretta (Italian made) 92F for close in surgical shooting on hostage rescues (headshots). Most people that have the higher caliber weapons are not secure in their marksmanship skill. Remember, if ya cannot shoot for crap, a higher caliber ain’t gonna help.”

What about backup guns? “Backups,” Witzgall says, “are rarely carried in SWAT—when they are it is usually something like a compact Glock 9mm or a 9mm Beretta 92FC.”

And long guns? “The choice of which sub-guns and rifles to use opens up a major can of worms,” Witzgall says, “because most SWAT teams cannot decide what they want to carry. Here’s a little history: Back in the mid 1970’s I was in Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance. We carried the Colt (223) C.A.R 16 which looked like a little M16. This weapon was the mainstay for Special Operations for many years. Around 1982 the H&K 9mm MP5 sub-machine gun came out and everyone loved it (it really is a very good weapon). Problem was, it was a 9mm that was great for close in fighting; but had poor range and poor knock down/stay down. Eventually the H&K 40 Cal. MP4 came out. Better range, better knockdown/stay down capabilities; but still had poor range. Then the bad guys started wearing ballistic vests and carrying AK’s. SWAT teams then adopted the M4 (223) Weapons System. Which is the C.A.R 16 revamped and made of better, lighter materials. So, until something new and nicer comes out, we are using the M4 Weapons System. In case you are wondering about the name ‘Weapons System,’ the M4 is just an M4 until you start adding a bunch of way cool (but useless in my opinion) do-dads to the weapon. Laser targeting, range finders, night enhancement scope and lights.”

I asked him about the weapons used by SWAT snipers. “That’s almost always the sniper’s choice. Most carry a bolt action 7.62. Make and Model is up for grabs. I always liked the Remington 700 Police Sniper System. Straight out of the box, it’s about one of the best around. A skilled SWAT sniper could drop one zombie every five seconds = 60 seconds per dozen. There is generally one sniper element (two men—a sniper and a spotter) per each SWAT team. In Dallas SWAT, we had eight primary snipers and at least another five or ten SWAT officers that had the skill and training.” Put that kind of skilled manpower on some rooftops and it would truly be a shooting gallery.

For advice on how to choose a handgun, I asked Vincent DeNiro, movie weapons armorer and defense industry consultant.
¹
“People that are not familiar with handguns believe what they see on TV; and many TV shows and movies are produced and directed by people that are not familiar with guns. In reality people don’t fly back ten feet when shot, guns don’t shoot forever without reloading, and no one shoots two handguns at the same time. Now, for picking an appropriate handgun, here are some things to consider:

 


Size:
Compact guns (in full-size calibers like 9 mm, .40, .45) are very popular now as concealed carry is allowed in every state except IL and WI).


 


 


Feel:
The gun must fit the hand.


 


 


Weight:
Polymer (plastic) frames are very desirable and metal-framed guns have now taken a back seat to Glock, Beretta Px4 series, Springfield XD, and Smith & Wesson M&P models as weight is a big consideration.


 

 


Caliber:
In years past, the .22, .25, .32, .38 Special, and .380 were considered sufficient stopping power, but this gave way to the 9 mm. Although the 9 mm is about the same strength as a .38 Special, it has the high-capacity fast reload feature, which the .38 doesn’t have. Over the past fifteen years, the trend is to go stronger than the 9 mm and calibers like .357 SIG, .40, and .45 are very popular now.


 


 


Action:
Semiautomatics or pistols have taken over revolvers as the choice for handguns since the 1980s. Semiautomatics allow for fast reloading with some pistol magazines holding 30 rounds. The revolver tends to have a much slower reloading time, and the user only gets to reload five, six, seven, or eight rounds. However, the advantage of the revolver is that revolvers can handle much more powerful ammunition like 454 Casull or 500 S&W. There are even revolvers that fire the big game rounds like the 45–70, which was a popular buffalo cartridge.


 


 


Firing Mode:
Double action is the mode in which a revolver fires: there are also pistols that are double action. Double action is when the trigger is pulled, the hammer is drawn back and then released when the trigger reaches a certain point. Single action is when the hammer is back, the trigger only has to be pulled lightly and has little travel, which causes the hammer to fall resulting in more accurate firing. Many models combine both whereby the first shot is double action and all the following shots are single action. Single-action 1911 style .45 pistols are prized for their accuracy. These should only be used by experienced shooters.”