How to Escape Zombies using Three Dimensions

When you are outnumbered and on the run from a horde of mindless Zombies, you need to think your way to an escape.  While Zombies have a drive to close with you and eat you, they aren't good at predicting your next move.  Zombies also aren't good at performing complex functions like climbing, crawling, or squeezing around obstacles.  If you can think about escaping in multiple directions and get out of the box, you can elude Zombies.

Zombie Flash Mob in London - http://www.cgpgrey.com [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Up to Escape Zombies

Sometimes, you can climb to escape Zombies.  For example, you can use a ladder to climb to a roof, pull the ladder up after you, and then escape from the other side of the building.  Similarly, you may be able to use a fire escape or steep cliff face to get up and away from Zombies.

Fire escapes in Cincinnati. Photo shot by Derek Jensen (Tysto), 2005-August-09 {{cc-by-2.0}}

Fire escapes in Cincinnati. Photo shot by Derek Jensen (Tysto), 2005-August-09 {{cc-by-2.0}} 

Down to Escape Zombies

In The Walking Dead, Glenn famously hides under a rolling trash dumpster to elude a horde of zombies.  Earlier in the series, Rick and his party crawled and hid under a tank.  Zombies may not immediately grasp that their prey has executed a complex move to exit from an area.  Instead, they will tend to mill about where they last saw their prey.  Unfortunately, they can mill about for an uncomfortably long time.

By Paul Sableman (Blue Sewer Lid) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Squeezing Through Obstacles

Zombies also do not seem to search exhaustively or methodically for the humans they seek.  You don't see them looking into dumpsters, searching closets, slithering into crawlspaces or climbing into attics.  They typically seem to push into obstacles to find humans when they are attracted by movement, light, or sound.  If you can squeeze through a gate, under a fence, or through an open window, they may take quite some time to figure out how to follow you.

A gap in a fence might be an escape! Photo by David Lally [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

If you are on the run from Zombies, a tool to cut through obstacles can prove worth it.