(Transcriber’s Note: This material was written within in a blood-stained notebook found in one of the many safe rooms used by survivors during the zombie outbreak that began in the year 2008. It has been transcribed here as a glimpse of what it was like to be a survivor fighting off the walking dead while on their way to find safety.)

(The following introduction was found on the final written page.)

This notebook contains everything I have learned while managing to survive through so many situations while those around me did not. Though I have led countless groups of survivors to safety across four different zones of the infected I have seen too many people wander blindly into danger and get killed due to simply not knowing how to deal with what lies beyond this barred door. I leave this guide in the hopes that whomever finds it will help educate those around them, giving them the knowledge they need to make it through this hell and out to safety.

(Many notes are found throughout the notebook detailing the various forms the walking dead are made up of. The following is an organization of those notes, rewritten for clarity.)

Common infected – This form of the infected is the most plentiful, found ambling about in small groups as well as traveling in packs of twenty or more. When aware of a survivor’s presence they instantly break into a sprint towards them, regardless as to how wounded they become in doing so. Weak in both their ability to take as well as dish out injury, the infected are only really a threat when encountered in packs. Their attacks will slow you down and throw your aim off, so like any other infected threat it is best to deal with them from a distance.

Smokers – I’m not sure if it’s their tongue or if it’s their intestines, but whatever it is they are capable of spitting it a long range and wrapping it around their prey. Once this happens its victim is completely defenseless as it drags them towards itself until either someone puts a bullet in the smoker, or sometimes it is easier to run up and melee the poor guy out of its grasp to free him first. Letting someone stay in that tongue is incredibly painful, like they are getting constricted by the world’s strongest snake. When killed smokers react violently and explode into a toxic cloud, making it incredibly difficult to see and breathe for anyone nearby.

Hunters – These are what kill lone survivors more than anything else. Capable of clinging to walls as well as leaping many yards, hunters are identified by the horrible scream they give off when they see a survivor. When you hear that noise immediately look around, and if you see a hooded figure crawling on the pavement put a bullet in its brain before it leaps at your group. If it pounces at someone it will tear at them while pinning them down until it becomes injured and unless you are a crack marksman or at a distance you are better off running up and shoving them off as hard as you can. At that point they will stagger off, freeing the victim, and instead of wasting ammo you can easily just beat the hunter to death by hitting them with melee five or six more times.

Boomers – These fat monstrosities are incredibly weak, and violently explode into blood and strange green goo when they take even the slightest damage. Their threat comes in the form of getting that goo on you, either by being near one when it explodes or having the fun of one projectile vomiting the stuff on you. The goo reacts with the skin of a survivor, immediately summoning a horde of the infected to their position. Basically you want to take these guys down at range if at all possible, and if you hear their gargled moaning try and figure out where it is coming from so it doesn’t suddenly round the corner in front of you. If you do find yourself face to ugly with one melee it away, which makes it so they temporarily cannot vomit, and then backpedal to a safe range to pop them like the world’s nastiest balloon.

Witches – What were once young girls are now far less innocent. Their sobbing has lured many into thinking they are just a lost girl, until they see that she is naked and has claws and glowing orange eyes. Witches are sensitive to light so keep your flashlights off around one, and your best bet is to just leave them be. While they are sobbing you can crouch or walk (not run!) rather close to sneak around them unless they are directly in your path. However, if you hear her growling and she becomes agitated she will spring up and become a major threat, capable of taking a lot of damage for such a small frame and incapacitating survivors with a single swipe. If this happens you can only really pour as much lead into the hag as you can and hope for the best.

Tanks – If you hear the roar, you need to react quickly. Tanks are the juggernauts of the infected, capable of hitting survivors so hard they will fly across the room as well as tear chunks out of the ground and throw jagged concrete at your group. When this happens you can shoot the chunk to break it up in midair before it ruins one of your group member’s day. Tanks aren’t the brightest and generally only pursue one target at a time, so have that person turn around and run (not backpedal, run!) while the others unload into the tank’s back. If the tank switches targets to chase you let everyone know and then you run while your group shoots it instead. Tanks have a massive advantage in close quarters, so if possible try to lure them out and fight them in streets and fields rather than in alleys and hallways.