In the inevitable zombie holocaust where the undead walk and cannot be quickly destroyed your own home will not longer offer you sanctuary, be it for lack of food or that zombies have worked their way through your defenses. Or maybe at the beginning of an outbreak you run and need to find a safe place to hide with you cadre of fellow zombie survivalists. As you search you will likely come across one of the now common super shopping centers. These centers may offer the appearance of safety along with a number of other attributes, but do not be fooled.
Apparent Advantages:
- Ready Source of Food: These super shopping centers have sles upon aisles of food, canned, bagged, boxed, and otherwise. They even have dog food for rover so that when you run out of food he is fat and happy and ready to be consumed.
- Several Exits: These centers have a number of entrances and exits so that if the undead do break in you can quickly escape without a prolonged battle. Also the centers will likely have build material so that you can barricade the entrances.
- Weapons: Even if the store does not carry firearms the gardening section will give you plenty of weapons in forms of shoves, axes, and other handheld implements of zombie destruction.
- Gear: When you have to leave the center that you have occupied you will also have a ready source of transportation in the form of bikes and be able to carry out food, medical supplies, and weapons as you flee the infestation.
- Safety in Numbers: You will not be the only ones looking to take refuge in the store, be it employees, or others who have the same idea as you there will be other looking for a safe place. There is always the chance that those you let in to help you defend the shopping center will be infected and letting a zombie into your base can ruin anyone’s plans. Also one must consider that there could already be zombies inside and you could very well be walking into a kill box.
As we feel that safety comes with increased knowledge, we also like to offer potential counter-points to the positives.
Apparent Disadvantages:
- Ready source of food: Though it is not question that these stores carry a large amount of food, the liability comes in on whether or not the outbreak was seen coming, if people saw the possibility of the walking dead then they would have stocked up on food leaving you with less provisions.
- Several Exits: Though there are several ways out this also means several ways in. Several ways in means that you and your fellow survivors will need to watch them constantly, even barricaded if enough zombies push against it the barricade will fall, and if that comes to pass you will likely be surrounded and you hopes of escape will be almost non existent.
- Weapons: In a crisis people buy weapons, from guns to baseball bats. Though gardening implements may still be available many of the other weapons will have been grabbed up by those trying to prepare for a home defense.
- Gear: As with weapons useful gear will have been brought up by those who tried to prepare for a home defense.
- You Are Not the Only One: You will not be the only ones looking to take refuse in the store, be it employees, or others who have the same idea as you there will be other looking for a safe place. There is always the chance that those you let in to help you defend the shopping center will be infected and letting a zombie into your base can ruin anyone’s plans. Also one must consider that there could already be zombies inside and you could very well be walking into a kill box.
In the end if you see one of the modern super shopping centers during an outbreak pass it by. You don’t know what could be lurking inside and whatever good you could come across by going inside are certainly not worth you life. This is not to say that one of these buildings could not be fortified, or scrounged but only that doing so in an unorganized or as a first choice effort is not recommended.
Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay alive.
This story via zombiesarecoming.com
