Category: Zombies

Mike's Gear Reviews: 7 Survival Tactics That Will Get You Killed

5/19/2017

6. Hunt for food

If worse comes to worst, fresh meat is back on the menu. However, this same goes for other people. Suddenly, everyone is hunting for food. Then, there will be scarcity of food. Other people will be looking for deers and other animals to eat.

What to do:

Stock up on food and supplies. Competition will be fierce during a zombie apocalypse. People will not only fight the undead, but other people as well, for survival. Learn about other sources of food like edible fruits and vegetables. It will be helpful to know which plants are poisonous. This type of knowledge is beneficial for survival.

7. Going outside alone

When we are fighting for survival, we often think that other people will weigh us down, but when we are sick or need to defend ourselves, we realize that we need others. The worst scenario could be coming face-to-face with zombies alone.

What to do:

We often hear, “there is strength in numbers” and “no man is an island”. We need others in order to survive. Go in groups wherever you go. Learn from RPG games to make a party, surround yourself with people that could be helpful to everyone’s survival. For example, one might be an expert in designing and using weapons, the other is a nurse or a doctor, and another could be a cook.

Experts claimed that zombie apocalypse is not entirely impossible despite it sounding like from a fiction novel. Since there is a possibility, it is best to know which strategies will work on your advantage and which will lead to your untimely death.

Visit Mike’s Gear Reviews to learn more on how to survive a zombie apocalypse and other survival kit essentials.

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Mike of Mike's Gear Reviews, who's speculated real-life tactics should the end of the world actually come. Dystopian or post-apocalyptic, your future might ultimately depend upon your survival skills.... Enjoy!

Since the influx of zombie films and TV series, several survival tactics are found online to keep you safe in case of emergency. Various websites give different survival tips. However, the main questions remain the same: where to go and what to take?

In a state of panic, you may make hasty decisions that will worsen the situation. Below are the seven popular survival tactics during apocalypse that will get you killed. These hacks are not exclusive for zombie-related incidents but to other emergency situations as well.

1. Going to the gun store

In case you didn’t know, zombies die by destroying their brains or removing their heads. Thus, you need high powered artillery that can do the task. Getting a gun on the day of the zombie apocalypse will not work as most people will think the same thing! Hundreds of desperate people will run to the gun store to grab a weapon. You may not be killed by a zombie but by other people trying to survive.

What to do:

Preparation is key! Stack up on your weapons and ammo. It pays off to be prepared so you have weapons at hand whenever the undead (or other disasters) strike. It is important that you do not buy guns only. It is best to acquire knives, hatchet, and even baseball bats for when the ammo runs out.
Make sure that you have weapons for different fighting ranges. Long range arsenal may include machine guns and crossbows. Close range weapons could be handguns and shotguns, while knives are perfect for hand-to-hand combat (check out our review on the Top Ten Survival Knives).

2. Evacuate immediately

One of the biggest mistakes that most people make is panicking when in an emergency. Even if it is a zombie apocalypse or an earthquake, try to remain as calm as possible. If zombies are attacking your city the first thing might will come to your mind is to leave and escape the city. Everyone will think this way and there will be a huge traffic jam as cars will leave the city through the main roads. People trapped in traffic are like a buffet for zombies.

What to do:

Have an evacuation strategy with your family. Put together a survival kit, that includes essential items like food, water, clothes, first aid kit, and tools. Make sure your car has enough fuel to get you to your safe location.

Do not leave immediately. Wait for the commotion to die down before escaping. Make sure your home is well-stocked with food with long expiration dates, while strengthening your home defenses. When the time is right, be prepared to leave.

3. Staying indoors

When zombies arrive, the initial reaction is to lock the doors and to shut the windows. Some people decide to turn their houses into a fortress and strengthen their home defenses. They will most likely stay indoors for as long as they can until help and rescuers arrive. But, your supplies will not last forever.

What to do:

Zombies are almost immortal unless you aim on the right place. Learn the back roads to escape the city when the time is right. All family members must learn this escape route.

4. Confronting the zombies

While it is true that zombies are limping and crawling and do not have good reflexes, confronting zombies might not be the best idea. Eventually, you will get tired from fighting them or a swarm of zombies will mob you.

What to do:

There is one thing to do – run! Learn from Rick in “The Walking Dead,” avoid confrontation with the zombies as much as possible. Rush to a safe place. It is best to start doing cardio exercise so you will be prepared when you need to run for your life.

5. Aim for the head

Everyone knows that the zombies’ weak spot is the head. However, it is hard to aim and shoot for the head unless you are an expert shooter. If you keep aiming for the head, you will run out of ammunition to ward off the zombies.

What to do:

Aim for the pelvis or legs. The hip bone is bigger making it easier to aim. Shattering the hips or legs will disable the zombie from walking.

Source and Infographic: http://mikesgearreviews.com/

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Excerpt -- Jane the Hippie Vampire: Dazed and Confused

10/10/2015

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Today's the final day of the October Frights Blog Hop. I hope you've enjoyed the last ten days, and I hope you've been able to add at least a few good books to your TBR pile.

Following is an excerpt from my new release, Jane the Hippie Vampire: Dazed and Confused. Leave a comment for a chance to win an electronic copy of the novella. Also, make sure to stop by other participating blogs (the list on the right) for a chance to win some other great prizes.

A slim, uniformed woman with dark, wavy hair and olive skin came around to the shoulder. “Hey, whatcha doing up there?”

Jane glanced down the steep cement incline, apprehension turning into sleep-deprived, hung-over irritability. “I was trying to take a nap.”

“Do you think that’s very safe?”

“Safe as any other shady spot in the middle of the Nevada desert. We’re in Nevada, right?”

The officer pursed her neatly painted lips. “Come on down, sweetie. How old are you? You out here on your own? Gosh, where are your shoes, child?”

Jane gathered her hat and shouldered her backpack and made her way down to the shoulder. She did her best not to cop an attitude when she asked, “I’m just passing through. Can you give me a break?”

The officer—Lieutenant Flores, according to her badge—motioned down both directions. “This is a pretty desolate highway. If someone were to come by and decide to do something terrible to you, there wouldn’t be anybody out here to stop them. Do you really want to take that chance?”

Jane shrugged.

“Got any I.D. on you?”

“Lost it a while back.”

Flores went quiet in contemplation, maybe even considering taking the opportunity to search her bag, then let out a heavy sigh. “Hop in. I’ll give you a lift.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“No, you’re not. Get in the car.” Flores opened the front passenger door.

Jane looked around, considering her options, and then slunk into the seat. The front door usually indicated the detainment would be minimal if any, and Jane was too tired to press her luck. She dug into the bag for her sunglasses, which only offered slight relief in her current state.

It just had to be a drunk guy….

The officer got in, snapped at Jane to buckle up, and then pulled back onto the freeway. “So, how long has it been?”

“Since…?”

“Since you ran away from home.”

“I don’t know.” Oh, about fifty years….

The officer nodded. “Kids these days have it rough. I get it. I’m not going to presume to understand what brought you out here. I’m not the judgmental type.”

“Well, I appreciate that.”

She shifted her glance to Jane, keeping her eyes only partially on the road, looking intent on gaining and holding her attention while she added, “Still, it’s my job to—oh, shit!”

The tires screeched, smoke clouding alongside the car, as the woman stomped down on the brake petal. A lanky man rolled up the hood, crashed into the windshield, and flew over the car before the officer was able to bring the car to a stop.

Both sat, stunned, frozen for a moment while the situation registered. Jane had seen the guy about a millisecond after the officer’s startled explicative, and it was likely the woman had barely caught him in the corner of her eye before she snapped her attention forward. What had he been doing out in the middle of the road? Suicide, maybe?

“Wait here!” Flores jumped out, radioing in the accident, and ran to the body now lying still in the middle of the road.

Jane watched through the rearview mirror, just as stunned, wondering if she should disobey the woman and see if there was anything she could do to help. Yeah, stagger around in the sunlight and dry-heave a little—that’ll be loads of help….

The officer kneeled beside the man, searching for a pulse, her face going desperate. She returned to her feet, a hand going to her shaking head, then she stepped back a few paces, looking ashen. She rushed back to the car, opened the trunk, and started lighting flares at an angle along the lane.

When she’d set the second one, the man sat up.

What the heck?

Flores froze for a second, dropping the remaining flares. A hand went to her mouth, and she went yet another shade paler.

The man stood, his movements mechanical yet unsteady, then he began to shamble toward the shaken woman. She backed away to match his steps. “Stop right there!” Jane could hear her yell.

Jane turned around for a better look. Was it possible the officer had come across two vampires in one day? If so what on earth was he doing running blindly into the road—in the middle of such a bright, sunny day, no less?

He definitely wasn’t among the naturally living.

Flores circled around him, again commanding him to stay where he was. She pulled her gun, backed toward the car, fired a round.

The man recoiled but did not fall back, instead lunging forward, arms reaching.

The sound of another gunshot made Jane wince.

Flores made a dash for the car, the man just behind her. She shot again, slowing him just enough to allow her the time to get in the car and lock the doors.

Both women jumped when the man slammed his body against the driver’s side window. Thick, black ooze ran down his chin, and his eyes were so bloodshot not a speck of white showed around his foggy, dilated pupils and nearly nonexistent irises. A gurgling moan emanated from his gaping mouth while he snapped at the glass, leaving a gooey, black film behind.

“What is that?” Jane asked, not expecting an answer.

The officer gave off a nervous laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a zombie.”

The man belched, and a wave of black mucous poured out his mouth. He grabbed at the door handle, tugging desperately.

Thanks for stopping by! For even more prizes, including a chance to win a fully loaded Kindle Fire, check out the 31 Days of Hell on Facebook. More info, as well as my guest post on October 26th, can be found here. I'll be giving away a signed copy of Revival, a signed Revival poster, refrigerator magnets, electronic copies of each of the Jane the Hippie Vampire books, and more! Hope to see you there!

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October Frights, Day Nine: Vampires v. Zombies

10/9/2015

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Their roots are so different—one stemming from the superstitious fears of peasants during times of plague and the other from slaves made by poisoning and cutting out the victims’ tongues—but both have evolved so much, even just over the past few decades. Even more, there has been a strange weaving between their individual mythos, turning each into a varying display of horror, mindless creature, and humanity in its most primal form.

The first vampires I remember were in the Hammer films, with Christopher Lee turning an array of bouffant beauties into hissing vixens. I loved those films, as cheesy as some of them were. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula was excellent, but Christopher Lee added an even deeper sensual tone. In contrast, the first zombie film I remember seeing was Night of the Living Dead. George Romero forever altered the course of the zombie with that movie, pulling it from its African and Creole roots, transforming the buried alive into the walking dead.

From there, “undead” took on two meanings: vampire and zombie. Both are a plague upon humanity, that which consumes human lives in order to survive itself, but they also became symbols of human nature in its most basic, animalistic form. It’s not surprising that, on a similar note, vampires took on the sensual role they did; what is surprising is the fact that both vampires and zombies have been the basis of their own erotica subgenres.

Turn me on, dead man….

The similarities modern zombies have with vampires isn’t at all surprising, however, when you consider the source. Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, in which a pandemic bacterial infection has reduced the world’s population to rabid, vampire-like creatures, was the inspiration behind Night of the Living Dead. Romero simply turned them into mindless corpses.

Considering all they have in common, it was only a matter of time before zombies found their way into my Jane the Hippie Vampire series. Of course, the subgenres would have crossed eventually anyway—Jane encounters some kind of supernatural force in nearly all of her stories—but Dazed and Confused, I think, offers a nice blend of Matheson and Romero, a fitting case study of the men behind the monsters.

Stop by tomorrow to read an excerpt from Jane the Hippie Vampire: Dazed and Confused. Want a chance at a free copy? Leave a comment, and I’ll throw your name in the hat.

About Dazed and Confused:

She’s broke and homeless. She’s a vegetarian. She’s undead.

Jane has had one hell of a time ever since she bumped into the wrong guy during the Summer of Love, but she’s taken it all in stride. Wandering from town to town, she seeks out the needy and the broken in hopes of breaking the curse that’s left her bloodthirsty and forever seventeen.

In this fifth novella in the dramatic horror series, Jane the Hippie Vampire, Jane stumbles upon a small, secluded town in the Nevada desert, where the simple life seems to have its residents in a rut. When patient zero of a biological weapons test stirs up some action, Jane finds herself amidst a whole different breed of undead—and in the middle of a war zone designed to leave no witnesses behind.

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All Sorts of Paranormal Fun

9/12/2015

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Those of you who've been following my work know I'm pretty eclectic, often shifting gears between projects, which can range from gritty realism and dark slice of life to paranormal and full-blown horror. If there is a constant in my writing, it is a reflection of the challenge I seek in making sure every piece I produce is unique in its own way.

Over the past several months, I've focused my attention on the Revelations project, managed by fellow horror author Jaime Johnesee and published through Devil Dog Press, and my self-published dramatic horror novella series, Jane the Hippie Vampire, both of which deviate--the former a little more than the latter--from my more literary works. Interestingly, I've found the mainstream hand to be more of a challenge than the literary.

Revelations has been the bigger of the challenges, however, since I share 2/3 of authorship--an even cut in each novel--with two other writers. Finding a voice that meshed as seamlessly as possible with theirs took some time, and maintaining that has required a little extra effort from all of us. All things considered, I think we've done a good job working together. The world we've built is creative and fun, and I think paranormal fans will find it right up their alley.

Book One: Cast in Blood is currently reduced to $0.99, and Book Two: Cast in Fire is available for pre-order for $3.99.

Jane the Hippie Vampire will appeal to that same audience, although more of my literary voice peeks through. I consider the series a side project of sorts, a bit too far outside the box for publishers but far too unique to keep to myself. The stories are quirky yet serious, whimsical yet gruesome. Jane is a walking dichotomy--colorful and peace-loving while, just beneath the surface, dark and bloodthirsty. The stereotypical Goth girl Jane is not, and I think that's what makes her so much fun. The first episode, Love Beads, is permanently free through all major online retailers. Episode Five: Dazed and Confused, is available for pre-order for $0.99, set for release on September 30.

About Cast in Blood: An unknown force threatens Heaven and Hell, along with every soul on Earth. Three unlikely heroes join together to restore universal balance. Will their shared adversary initiate an Apocalypse before they're able to uncover the truth, or will they rise to a calling that has, from the beginning of time, been Cast in Blood?

About Dazed and Confused: In this fifth novella in the dramatic horror series, Jane the Hippie Vampire, Jane stumbles upon a small, secluded town in the Nevada desert, where the simple life seems to have its residents in a rut. When patient zero of a biological weapons test stirs up some action, Jane finds herself amidst a whole different breed of undead—and in the middle of a war zone designed to leave no witnesses behind.

So, what's on the horizon? I think I have at least a few more Jane episodes up me sleeve ... and I have a speculative novel currently brewing in my head that combines literary, cyberpunk, and steampunk. If the story comes out as I hope it will, it will be something special. I'll keep you posted!

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Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014: Alex Laybourne

6/21/2014

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The stench of rotting flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 33 of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of June.

As the Blog Tour moves into its 21st day, I'd like to welcome my guest, Alex Laybourne, who is promoting his survival horror novel, Diaries of the Damned.

About the Novel:

The dead have risen and a desperate struggle for power has begun. The military are evacuating all survivors in passenger planes. With their destination unknown, one group of survivors, led by a journalist named Paul Larkin, decide to share their experiences with the hope that when combined, their stories will reveal some answers that the government had not been willing to give themselves. Nine survivors have banded together, determined to tell their tale of survival. None of them realized that as they stood to tell their tales that they stood on the brink of discovering a conspiracy the likes of which the world has never seen.

Excerpt:

Chapter 1 - Boarding

Paul Larkin sat in his seat and fastened his seatbelt. His body was caked with sweat and dry blood. His ears rang from the gunshots, and his ankle swelling again, remnants of an injury he acquired jumping from the first floor window of his suburban home; at least, it used to be suburbia, before everything went to shit.

He sat back and let out a long, deep breath. Shock threatened to take hold of him, and so he closed his eyes and waited. The plane filled up, and the cries of those refused admittance echoed down the walkway, swiftly followed by the sound of their execution.

Paul spared but the most fleeting of moments thinking about it. He found it strange how killing and death had become such a large part of his life.

“Excuse me,” A fragile sounding voice stirred Paul from the calm place he had just started to settle into. “I believe this is my seat.” An elderly woman, late seventies at best stood before him, her face was smeared with blood, while one eye had been covered by a filthy rag that had been hastily secured to her face with what looked like Duct Tape.

“I’m sorry…” Paul asked, confused.

“Seat 17b, this is my seat.” The woman waved the ticket in Paul’s face.

Paul said nothing, but gave the woman a look which screamed, ‘the world as we knew it has ended, are you seriously going to complain that I’m in your seat’. If she could read his expression, she showed no signs of it, and so with another heavy sigh, this one of frustration, Paul undid his belt and scooted one seat over.

“Thank you. I don’t mean to be rude, but after all that has happened, I feel the need to remain proper about some things.” She said as she sat down. There was an odor to her person that Paul found distinctly repelling, but still, she had clearly gotten through the scanners at the gate.

“It’s fine.” He answered her, closing his eyes once more.

The seat he had taken was a window seat, just before the wings of the Boeing 737 that the military had been using as an emergency evacuation vehicle for the past two weeks. Looking out across the tarmac, Paul saw the army standing guard at the perimeter of the small airfield. The sun had begun to disappear beneath the horizon, and in the dull afterglow of yet another survived day, Paul found himself staring at the firework like bursts of gunfire and wondering how it could have all gone so wrong, so quickly.

He tried to stop himself, but before he knew it, his mind was cast back. He saw his wife, Julia and their two children, Doug and Maddy. They were outside, Paul was stood behind the barbeque, and Julia busied herself by setting the table, while their kids played in the garden, enjoying the summer weather. He blinked, trying to force the image away. It worked, but was replaced by the memory of his wife’s battered, bloody corpse lying on the floor in their living room. Her face blackened and swollen by the sickness, her body broken from the repeated strikes he had delivered with his son’s baseball bat. Her blood dotted his clothes, his face, everything.

“Daddy, I don’t feel well,” his daughter called. Paul had turned around just in time to see the blood flow from her mouth like vomit. She collapsed to the floor, the convulsions already upon her. His son followed suit within the hour; their small bodies were an easy target for the virus.

“I love you,” Paul had whispered as he hugged them both tightly, and then pushed their heads beneath the surface of the water. They struggled of course, but their bodies were too weak from the disease to provide much resistance. His daughter fought the longest. “You’re with the angels now” Paul whispered to them as he dried their faces, dressed them in clean clothes and laid them in their beds.

The sound of an explosion within the terminal rocked the plane and pulled Paul from the nightmare. The sun had fallen behind the trees, yet the plane did not seem anywhere near full.

“Close those doors.” The lone flight attendant called out, running down the aisle, pushing passengers out of their way without a second thought. “Close them now,” She screamed again just as the roar of machine gun fire reached them.

The screams of those still in the walkway cut out as the doors were closed and the engines roared into life.

“Ladies and Gentlemen please take your seats, we are making an immediate departure.” The now out of breath young women spoke into the intercom. “God help us all,” she added.

The plane shuddered into life and rolled away from the gate. The coupling that connected it to the terminal was still filled with bodies. Paul watched them cascade to the floor like lemmings; a human waterfall. “Lucky bastards,” he whispered as he stared at their still, lifeless forms.

The plane rolled onto the runway, and stopped. They sat there for ten minutes, and then, just as people started to get nervous, three armored Jeeps came to a screeching halt either side of the aircraft, the machine guns mounted on the top of each firing into the unseen enemy.

“Oh God, they got past the perimeter fences.” A voice cried out. This was accompanied by a wave of panic that saw people leap from their seats. Paul however, sat still; shock and weariness had overcome him. As a result, he saw the guns cease firing, and the gunner of the car nearest his window waved his hands in a signal which even Paul understood meant “Get going, NOW!”

Paul opened his mouth to warn the panicked mob, but he was too late. The engines roared and the plane sped down the runway. Bodies were thrown to the floor and into their seats as the plane gathered momentum. Through his window Paul watched as the bodies of those that had caused the delay were mown down by the speeding jet. Even that wouldn’t be enough to kill them all, but what did it matter now; they were airborne and the legions of the undead were behind them.

Looking back, Paul was just in time to see the main concourse explode in a ball of flame. The mushrooming ball of fire looked, for a few seconds at least, as though it would engulf the plane too, but their ascent was steep; too steep to be safe. They avoided the blast, but the resultant shock wave shook them enough to dislodge an extra round of screams from his fellow passengers.

Once they leveled out, and everybody had pulled themselves to their feet, an eerie hush fell over the cabin. Nobody moved nobody spoke. They had all lost people to the disease, they had all killed as a result of it, and while they were alive, the world beneath them was locked in a bitter fight for survival. The city burned around them, the air dark with ash and soot. The military presence was immense, tanks, aircraft, and platoons of men, armed to the nines with every weapon that could be issued. They had a lot to mourn, and a lot to be thankful for.

Of course, Paul had seen firsthand how the creatures… infected - it was all too easy to forget that they had been human beings but two weeks ago - had eaten bullets and kept on walking, so what use the military presence would serve in the long run was beyond him.

Beside him, the old woman began to weep, and within a few seconds the whole plane echoed with the sound of tears being shed; the conflicting of emotions too over whelming. As a collective they had stayed strong, but now, like a house of cards, when one fell, the rest would never be far behind. Apart from Paul that was. He didn’t cry he felt nothing; his entire body was numb. He was not an emotional man, that is to say, he was a man that had learned to deal with the dark tide of his emotions internally. He didn’t keep it bottled up in an attempt to look tough, for at five feet eight and seventy kilos, a tough guy he was not; not under the traditional definition. He did it because he didn’t know how to let it out. Instead, he watched, and listened as those around him gave voice to their pain.

The sobs died down and the gentle thrum of the engines seemed to ease the entire group into a semi doze. Even Paul found himself struggling to hold his eyes open. Climbing over the snoring elderly woman beside him, Paul made his way to the back of the plane. The bathroom stall was unlocked, but when he opened the door, he let out a cry of alarm when he saw the young air hostess, the one who had run down the plane and closed to door when things got too heavy, sitting slumped over the toilet seat. She was covered in blood, which spilled from the two slashes she had made in her wrists. The mirror above the sink had been smashed, and in her left hand she held a bloodied shard. She clutched it like a knife; even as Paul reached over the spreading pool of blood on the floor to check her pulse, she managed to lash our feebly.

About the Author:

Given he was born and raised in the coastal English town Lowestoft, it should come as no surprise (to those that have the misfortune of knowing this place) that Alex became a horror writer.

He has been a writer "as long as [he] can remember" and has always had a vivid imagination. To this day, he finds it all too easy to just drift away into his own mind and explore the worlds he creates--where the conditions always seem to be just perfect for the cultivation of ideas, plots, scenes, characters and lines of dialogue.

For more information about Alex Laybourne and his books, visit his Amazon author page. You can purchase Diaries of the Damned through Barnes and Noble.

Stop by the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour event page on Facebook so you don't miss an interview, guest post or teaser… and pick up some great swag as well! Stop by for giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them! #SummerZombie

AND so you don't miss any of the posts in June, here's the complete list, updated daily.

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Mike's Gear Reviews: 7 Survival Tactics That Will Get You Killed

Excerpt -- Jane the Hippie Vampire: Dazed and Confused

October Frights, Day Nine: Vampires v. Zombies

All Sorts of Paranormal Fun

Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014: Alex Laybourne

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