due to kind of a...non-vote situation (i gave options A or B and people chose C...i replied to your comments in the previous post, by the by), i'll try to find a happy medium.
naturally there are plenty of variables in the situation (where's stephanie, where's sean, is this a major or minor outbreak, is sean wearing pants, etc.), but let's skip to the part where stephanie and i are in the same place and are gathering supplies, most of which i have already because i am a prepared-panda.
ideal kit for a quick egress of the infected AO would be: assault pack or light ruck for both stephanie and i, containing: 1 US Army issue poncho and at least 5 bungie cords (field-expedient shelter), 1 US Army issue poncho liner (best blanket ever!), 1 Army issue entrenching tool, 1 first aid kit w/ tourniquet, 3 days worth of non-perishable food, 3 packets of water purification tablets, 2 liters of water, toiletries.
clothing: ideally, you want things that are light but bite-proof-ish. your ideal tactic with the undead (while you're on the move) is to run away, as your superior speed and agility can get you out of non-horde situations; you want to find a balance between bite resistance and mobility. i think that a pair of BDU pants are a good compromise, and a lightweight leather motorcycle jacket would serve you for protecting your arms, but i'd only wear that while i'm clearing an area, not all the time as you'll just get warm. and smelly.
weapons, one of the following for each party member except the shotgun(this discussion of what's best could go on for a long time, so i'll just give my picks and you can judge me later): 1 assault rifle (5.56mm), 1 handgun (9mm), 1 machete (melee), 1 shotgun (12ga: not really for use as a weapon, per se, but with 12 gauge sabot rounds you never have to worry about locked doors). ideally, you'd have a tactical FLC for carrying your magazines; i'd recommend 7 mags (210 rds) of 5.56mm, 3 mags (about 45 rds) of 9mm. for those of you who are unfamiliar with the FLC, this is Army issue:
another great thing with that type of system is that you can add more pouches for compasses, maps, etc, all of which i did not list on the ruck kit because they'd be here, on my FLC. details like what type of sight i'd use, gps's, batteries, etc., i'm going to leave out because y'all wanted a medium-sized list. but i have thought about it.
vehicles: adaptability is key, so for this situation i would choose an "enduro"-style motorcycle, which is kind of a large dirt bike. these bikes are a great choice due to high mobility, long range, and their inherent all-terrain capability. they are noisy and you are exposed to enemy fire (as bandits will be just as if not more dangerous than the walking dead, fyi), but the benefits you get from speed and the ability to move through any type of terrain (let's say there's a truck blocking the road; a normal car might not be able to squeeze around or under the vehicle, or might get stuck in a field, where your enduro bike will be just fine) makes them perfect. there's a great documentary that ewan mcgregor made where he and his buddy ride these types of bike around the world, and you wouldn't believe what they pull off on them; i recommend it. if you can't picture what i'm talking about, here's a, um, picture:
the plan: let's assume that this is a full-on apocalypse, in which case nowhere is completely safe. you've got zombies to contend with, and even worse, people. scared, desperate people. ergo, you would ideally prefer to avoid said people, and the best place to do that is on the open ocean. "but sean," you say, "there're problems with your plan: A) you can't swim, B) there's that first thing which i think you should be more concerned about, C) you don't know how to sail, D) both A and C are making this look like a really bad idea, and finally E) even if you could swim and knew how to sail, are you just going to sail forever?"
A: touche, B: we already talked about this, C: i know how to
motor, and they make motor
boats...we'll get back to that, D: no, because i have a destination.
stephanie and i will drive down the coast, avoiding major highways, until we reach southern california, which by that time will be a hellhole. sorry, you're right: more of a hellhole. but i think most of the aforementioned desperate, scared, etc., will head for catalina. where will stephanie and i be going? the just-barely-offshore oil derricks! this solves problem C as we can just motor or even row on out there, the derricks should have a significant amount of water and food (last at least a month...we'll get back to that), and we can just motor on back to the mainland if we need more. what if those scared desperates are already on the oil derrick? well there're quite a few (i've got them google-earthed and lat-long'ed, don't think i don't) and i don't think that many people will have that particular great idea. and if they do? i've got 600-some rounds of ammo and a sense of fair play that says that there's room for two more.
now, this is a temporary solution. after about a month, maybe two, it'll be time to head inland/mountainous, probably california as it doesn't snow too much and the soil's good (oh yeah, i've taken aridity into account...pretty sure aridity's a word. if not, it is now) to build a cabin and make a new life. fish, hunt, declare the Republic of Sean, etc.
who's comin' with me?
stephanie: us.
sean: yes. right. us. maybe the kitten. (if she's not a zombie already. but as soon as stephanie, or cranky, isn't looking, she's a zombie.)
