Step 1: Assuming the power has gone out, I will immediately search my house for anything that could be useful. I can find a hunting rifle in the garage(though I cannot effectively wield it), a first aid kit in the bathroom(it's stocked with quite a lot; my dad likes to be prepared), enough canned food to last me at least a few days(hey, I like Chef Boyardee. Don't judge me), a full canteen(we go hiking sometimes), a Leatherman knife(versatile and useful, but the blades are small), and of course my trusty mountain bike(it's in good condition, and fast). I should be able to stuff all this equipment into my backpack(for school) without too much difficulty, with the exception of the rifle, which I will sling over my shoulder using the strap. I do this immediately because otherwise, once the panic sets in people will ransack the place themselves trying to get my stuff, and the bite-sized person that I am, I probably will not be able to fend them off.
Step 2: With the assumption that my parents are not home, I shall have to abandon my pets. It's unfortunate, but we're talking about my life, here. They will have to fend for their own.
Step 3: I will leave the house immediately and set out for the Energy Solutions head office. I am going to Energy Solutions for two reasons; one, it is not likely to be the first place that pops into peoples' heads, so therefore it won't be ransacked immediately(this means that on my bike I will probably be able to reach it before any looting occurs), and two, it's the most likely place for me to get some kind of Haz-Mat suit, gas mask, or something of the kind. They deal with toxic and radioactive waste disposal; how can they not have Haz-Mat gear? If I encounter any zombies on the way, I will just flee. Apparently they walk pretty slow, and I'm almost positive that going top speed on my bike, I'll be able to escape without being exposed. I cannot run the risk of shooting them because then their "articles"-dead skin, blood, etc. etc- would probably reach me. I can't take that chance. When I go inside, I'll lock up my bike outside. I can't risk losing it at this stage.
Step 4: Having now acquired some sort of protection against being infected in the form of a hazardous material suit, I will now make my way to the nearest sporting goods, power tools, or similar store. Best case scenario, I might find some kind of martial arts studio or dojo(I'm sure there are plenty in Salt Lake). When I have found one of these places, I'll grab a melee weapon from it(crowbar, baseball bat, isshinryu staff, whatever). The reasoning behind this is that my gun is effectively useless in my hands. I have little to no idea how to operate it, plus it's heavy. On the other hand, I am at least moderately skilled with melee weapons, having trained in martial arts, and therefore I will be able to use them effectively. My plan is to run if I see a zombie. If they get close enough so that I can't run, I shall just have to whack them on the head with my melee weapon, hopefully giving me enough of a reprieve to get on my bike and gtfo. If even that fails, then I will have to shoot them; even I can shoot from close range, and that is the only situation where I would need to use the gun.
Step 5: Now that I am not only defended against infection but armed, I just need to find a way to sustain my existence. I'll go to the nearest supermarket and get whatever hasn't been looted already. Food is best; something that lasts long, like beef jerky, would be my first choice. I'd also grab a poncho, first aid kit, vitamins/minerals(in pill form, presumably), powdered milk, binoculars, a few dry bags(I can find these at sport supply stores, they're usually for rafting), matches/lighter, an ice chest, and some heavier food like Ramen Noodles. If one store is empty, then I'll go to the next, and as for panicked humans? Keep on the down-low as much as possible, and stay away from big crowds at all costs. It will be time consuming but worth it.
Note: Throughout the course of this, I will stay on the sidewalks with my bike, and be as cautious as I can. I don't think people will be too concerned with whether the light is red or green in the apocalypse.
Weapons: 30-06 Rifle[1 full magazine], Aluminum Baseball Bat.
Armor: Haz-Mat Suit.
Edibles: Beef Jerky[10 bags], Chef Boyardee[5 cans], Ramen Noodles[5 packages].
Drinks: 1 Canteen of Water[full], Powdered Milk.
Miscellaneous Supplies: Backpack, poncho, first aid kit, vitamins/minerals, binoculars, 5 dry bags, matches[12], Leatherman knife, ice chests[3].
Transportation: Bicycle.
I think the best place to go would be somewhere that's completely useless. Someplace that nobody would ever go because it is completely empty, completely useless, or something like that. That way, it will be relatively safe from the humans. I'm thinking maybe the local library would be a likely location. The bookshelves themselves, if shifted, could easily be made into makeshift barricades. Not only that, but the books are effectively useless for survival, so nobody will go there. And last but not least, I will always have some source of entertainment so my life isn't entirely miserable and I don't go insane. With a little remodeling, I think that the Salt Lake Public Library would be a perfect spot.
I'll barricade the library using the bookshelves, and try to stockpile some food and water. Go on cautious daily forays into the city, and bring back anything useful to the library: food, water, weapons, etc. Anything.
That said, I will need to find a way to heat the place now that winter is coming. I think sticking around is a feasible option as long as I'm properly defended against looters, and it's certainly better than in the middle of nowhere, out in the Wasatch Mountains(remember, this is Salt Lake City) during winter. I'd never survive that.
Now, I think what I will have to do is immediately start building up defenses(alternating between going out and getting supplies, and building defenses). I think that the nonfiction books will prove useful, as they can tell me what kind of materials will be most useful, how to build, etc. etc. Now that the initial panic has died down, with a little time, I should be able to find the necessary supplies to barricade the library against possible raiders. That is my first priority.
Once the library has been set up to defend against possible looters, I shall have to find a way to heat the place up. I suppose that if I could find a corner where there is nothing flammable; for example, upstairs there is only a warehouse, and it's pretty empty and made out of stone, I can set up a good fire there. I can attach that to the heating system that was already installed and presto! You have heat throughout the place.
With no power, lighting, plumbing, food, and water, are all major problems. I think that I shall have to set up lights all over the place, powered by batteries or something like that. I can probably find how to build an engine or some other kind of generator in a book. If I can hook up a manual electricity generator in the place, I will set up some lights.
Afterwards, is the problem of water. I only started out with a canteen and even with frequent trips to the stores, eventually I will run out. If I can find some way to desalinate the water from the Great Salt Lake, that would be perfect, and I probably can find how to do that.
Food? Well, I will keep raiding stores. Hopefully that will be enough to hold me over until I learn how to use the rifle from the books and practice.
Now I will need a secondary means of escape; a fire escape seems the most likely choice as these particular zombies cannot climb, but there is always the possibility they will wait for me at the bottom, so I will, using chemistry books from the library and materials I gather from stores, place a few explosives around the bottom of the fire escape. They will be remotely detonated(so that I don't accidentally trigger them myself) and I will set up a trip wire connected to something loud like a bunch of pots and pans to alert me if someone is down there so I can activate the explosives.
As for defense?Bookshelves would work for the inside; some kind of steel shutters would be good for the windows(you know, the kind they have in pharmacies) and I'll have to fortify the door somehow(locks are good, chains are good, bars are also feasible). To get the steel shutters, just finding steel would be a start, then I could shutter it in an overlapping scale-like pattern. That would probably be a good defense. It's also possible I could just take them from pharmacies.
And of course, I'll darken out all the windows(with paint, covering them up, whatever) so that the lights aren't obvious.
Now, on to the most immediate problem: WATER.
Now obviously there would be clean water supplies present at the Great Salt Lake but there would also be other looters there as well who thought of it before I did. Now I will try to get ahold of a black camo outfit so that I will be better hidden at night time, and besides, a Haz-Mat suit will probably make them think I'm a government employee, which could have multiple effects-some good, some bad-but I'm not willing to risk that.
Now that I have the camo outfit, I will leave most of my stuff at the B&N: the food, water, gun, etc.
Weapons: Aluminum Baseball Bat.
Armor: Camouflage Clothes.
Edibles: None.
Drinks: None.
Miscellaneous Supplies: Backpack, poncho, first aid kit,binoculars, matches[12], canteens[20].
The rest is staying at the library. The reason I am leaving the gun behind is because it's useless to me anyway until I learn how to use it, and it will make me seem like more of a threat...which could be a good or bad thing. Anyway, as long as I can get close enough to hit them with the aluminum bat, which shouldn't be difficult since I'll be sneaking around, I'll be okay.
So, I will travel to the GSL water tanks at nighttime(I'll sleep during the day then travel so that I will arrive at about 1:00 am, which is when sleepers usually hit their deepest REM cycle), using a book from the library to find out just which tanks I'm supposed to use, and any enemies I find I will knock out and loot but STEALTHILY. Then I will continue on my way until I reach the right water tanks. I'll fill up all my canteens and put them in my backpack, then skedaddle before anyone realizes I'm there. Now what I would have liked to have done was to actually control the water tanks and some kind of food supply, but I don't have nearly enough firepower to do that, so for now just stealing will have to do.
And as for teammates? I'll wait and see who turns up. In the meantime, I'll go out and raid for supplies a few times a day, enough so that I have a surplus(this surplus I will store in my ice chests) just in case. And I will also be practicing with my hunting rifle, learning from books how to use it, etc. but not actually firing it unless necessary...don't want to attract unfriendly attention.
