The dead are rising. The infection is spreading faster than anyone can contain it, and defenses are already failing.A study by the University of Leicester theorized that humanity would fall in roughly 100 days, leaving fewer than 300 survivors while zombies outnumbered us a million to one.Which means the choices you make in the first day, before the roads jam and the cities fill, decide whether you are in that 300.Zombies have haunted folklore and pop culture throughout history, usually depicted as reanimated corpses or infected people carrying a deadly virus. Either version comes back hungry, and neither is in a good mood about it.So do you hide, do you run, and what happens if you end up surrounded? Here is how to keep your skin, and your brains.Step 1: RunStaying in a city looks tempting at first. Fancy buildings, easy access to supplies, and food everywhere you look.The problem is that everything drawing you into the city draws them too. Within a short time you could be surrounded by thousands of them.Get out, and get as far from populated areas as you physically can.Going by what films have taught us, zombies are terrible swimmers, so finding refuge on a boat would be the safest escape available.One more thing. Do not head for the gun store the moment the news breaks.Arming yourself sounds sensible until you picture the reality: crowds of panicking people all reaching for weapons at once. In that kind of stress, friendly fire and misfires are close to guaranteed.Step 2: Zombie Proof Your Safe HouseNo water nearby? Then head for the hills.Hilly, mountainous terrain is your next best option, because most zombies struggle badly with unstable ground. Just hope you do not stumble into a pack that used to be hikers.Once you are elevated, find a building made of concrete, brick, or metal. Wood, drywall, and glass will not hold against a horde.Fortify every entry point. Barricade the doors with furniture, board the windows, and block off the fireplace, because the thing coming down that chimney will not be Santa.The last board goes in and you can finally breathe. You still cannot stay here forever.Step 3: Suit UpBuild armor from whatever you can find. Hockey pads, thick gloves, and a helmet to protect the part they actually want.Looking ridiculous beats becoming food.Arm yourself with anything available too, though the weapon is a last resort. Avoidance keeps you alive far more reliably than fighting, so only swing when something gets uncomfortably close.Step 4: Gather the EssentialsDo not drive to the supermarket, since engine noise announces exactly where you are. Stay away from densely populated areas so a supply run does not turn into your last one.Collect enough bottled water and non perishable food, like canned goods, to last at least a few weeks. Add essential medications, first aid supplies, batteries, a cell phone, and a radio.Grab warm clothes and bedding as well. With nobody left running the power stations, heating stops being something you can rely on.Then you step outside and realize there are far more of them than when you arrived.Step 5: Mask Your ScentOne or two you might handle. A crowd is not a fight you win.Hide until they move on, or create a distraction. And if neither works, you walk out among them, which means smelling like them.Covering yourself in zombie flesh or guts could mask your scent well enough to stroll straight past.Researchers at Doane College in Nebraska actually developed a perfume for this, called Eau de Death. It uses putrescine and cadaverine, two compounds produced by decomposing bodies, and it smells exactly like rotting flesh.Perhaps that is the real survival kit. Bottles of Eau de Death instead of ammunition.You made it through bite free. Now go wash the guts off, and take some comfort in knowing that hordes of hungry zombies remain far fetched, even if plenty of other things out there would happily eat us.