By Author S. Johnathan Davis

Standing in line just outside of Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta, I glanced at the iPhone resting in my palm only to find that we still had another thirty minutes before we’d be pitted against some of our greatest fears. Lifting my head from the device with a heavy sigh, I looked to the front of the line where a pair of uniformed soldiers cautiously guarded the metal detector we’d all have to pass through before entering the Arena.

I couldn’t help but notice what I can only describe as a “tense eagerness” in the air. Shaking my head from side-to-side before pushing the phone into my pocket, I smirked at the couple behind me. Both in their mid-twenties, dressed in overly-tight sweat-wicking work-out gear, they were each pulling their ankles up to their backsides in an attempt to do what the nerdy kid in the movie Zombie Land called “limbering up.”

As I briefly wondered why the heck they looked like they were getting ready for a 5K, a woman’s scream suddenly pulled my attention to the sidewalk on our right. Feeling a smile grow across my face, I took note of a giant fleshy gash running down the forehead of what looked like a zombie. I watched as the creature slowly followed after his unsuspecting victim, giving her a scare that had the whole crowd laughing.

One of my buddies called out, “Ohh, that one is pretty good!”

Nodding in agreement, I noticed the bald man’s blood-covered suit …I couldn’t help but admire his professional makeup as he chased after the woman, who was now laughing along with the rest of us.

Yes, we were surrounded by zombies, but as you can already tell, they weren’t real. However, that didn’t make us feel much better about what lurked inside the Arena up ahead. Pulling my own ankle to my rear, I quickly decided that perhaps I was just a bit unprepared for what was crawling around beyond that security gate …

In case you haven’t figured it out already, we were waiting to gain entrance into a new kind of traveling event: The Walking Dead Escape. If you’re not familiar, the TWDE is a life-sized immersive experience. Its creators transform the Philips Arena into an apocalyptic war zone, allowing willing participants to race around dark corners and through narrow hallways while a horde of other people, all dressed as very real-looking zombies, chase them down. I first saw TWDE at ComicCon last year, and the people behind it have since syndicated it out to many other major cities across North America.

Being dropped into a life-like zombie apocalypse has a funny effect on one’s mind. Leaning over to stretch my back, I heard one of my buddies ask a simple but important question. It’s the question we should all be ready to answer should sh&t ever really hit the fan, and this little adventure we were preparing to embark upon seemed like the perfect place for the debate.

The Question: “If the zombie apocalypse hit, and you could only grab three things before darting out the door …what would they be?”

We talked about all kinds of “things.” One of my friends immediately called out that he’d grab his car keys; another said he’d grab a Bible. While there was certainly no lack of debate around what would be the most useful items in those initial days of a real-life zombie outbreak, we finally landed on a few must-haves.

Our top three “things” are listed below.

Blunt-Force Weapon:

There was really no debate on this item. We all agreed immediately that having a weapon with enough bashing power to smash in the skull of a zombie, without making much noise, would be a “must have.”Not only is a good old hammer or hatchet ideal for killin’ zombies, but any sort of tool would be helpful in those tricky situations where you’d need to bust open a lock or break through a door.

Firearm:

Sadly, zombies wouldn’t be the only thing to worry about if society crumbled. One of the biggest threats would be other men and women. When push comes to shove, just having a firearm or shotgun is a hell of a deterrent …even if you never have to pull the trigger. And it could be a lifesaver if you ever had to.

Backpack with Enough Food and Water to Last Three Days (per person & pets):

According to the CDC and the Red Cross, in any real catastrophic scenario it is predicted that it would take at least three days before the government restores any semblance of order. One only has to look as far back as Hurricane Katrina to see the chaos that broke out in New Orleans. People almost immediately turned to looting, stealing, and fighting to ensure their own survival. Any half-decent Apocalyptic Prepper has a bug-out bag ready and waiting, and I’ll be the first to admit that my little black backpack is sitting in my garage as we speak. Okay, sure, this is a bag consisting of more than “one thing,” but our little group all agreed that we’d count it as one item—just as long as it was already set up. I hope I never have to use it, but I feel just a little more safe knowing that I have enough portable supplies to get my family someplace safe even as the supply chain breaks down, leaving grocery store shelves empty and people’s stomachs even emptier.

But what about money? What about the Bible mentioned above? What about the car keys? What about …all the other “stuff” sitting in your house?

At the end of the day, if you can’t make it past the beginning, everything else is useless. Cars run out of gas. Bibles can be found anywhere—It’s the most read and published book in the history of man; money becomes useless (or of much less value). If you really needed to, most everything can be replaced …except your life. So grab what you need to make sure you have that chance to scavenge later on.

The first days will be the toughest, and you’ll need every advantage. Assuming your goal is survival, and you want to be serious about it …you need to make it longer than the people around you. I know it sounds callous, but once past the first days you can focus on getting to the point where you’ll be able to help others. If you think about it, this is the same philosophy that is used on those dreary airline videos where passengers are instructed to “calmly” put that yellow cup over their own mouths before they assist anybody else.

Remember, if you’re not alive …you can’t save anybody else.

Now …you may be wondering how my little group did in the Arena. Thinking back on it, our single goal for the evening was to try to get through the course without being “touched” by a zombie—in TWDE that was equal to getting “infected.” Fortunately, I survived that day’s challenge.

Some of my buddies were not so lucky.

How about you? What would be your three things? What would you gravitate toward in order to survive? I want to know. Please share in the comments section below!

About S. Johnathan Davis

S. Johnathan Davis has been published by Severed Press, Kings Way Press and Luzifer-Verlag. He is best known for publishing apocalyptic horror.

Davis released his first novel, 900 Miles, in January of 2013. The book debuted as number one on Amazon’s top new books for weeks after the initial launch, and remained in the top 100 in Occult Horror on Amazon for over 8 months.

A sequel to 900 Miles is currently in the works, set to be published by Severed Press in 2014.

Davis resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two children.

Website:www.zombiebook.net

Twitter: @900milesbook