Part One, WTSHTF:

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When the sh*t hits the fan. A phrase so commonly used to desribe total and utter chaos smothering the world. Basically anything that isn't good at all, on a large scale.

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-News websites

-News channels

-Circulation Rumors, you know when you hear about a large earthquake or something

-This website (You guys would report any suspicions or anything else)

-Convoys rolling down the street, increased number of riots, store shelf depletion, etc.

-Mass panic of people

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I see the Panic having sort of "stages", where certain events of the panic take place. Here's how I think it would go:

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Stage 1: Rumors or hear-say of a new virus or infectious disease, hearing things of more ominous proportions on the news, minor amounts of store shelf depletion.

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Stage 2: This new infectious disease is now something to worry about. It now takes the place of those global warming or running out of oil news reports, and rumors increase dramatically. People on the wiki start reporting things more than usual, and troll count increases 3 fold. Shelves are now starting to look more and more empty, as people start stocking up (just in case, right?). Police and law enforcement is still intact.

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Stage 3: Scientists now classify the disease as something similar to a mix of cannibalism, rabies, and mad cow disease. Scientists also begin to pull vaccines out of their butts, saying that they will keep you safe from this new disease. In reality, these are really just older vaccines for diseases already inexistence, they just changed the name a bit and started selling them. People on the wiki start becoming more and more cautious. Veterans like TR, Pedro, 3DA, FL147, etc. would start taking the "trolls" seriously, and making plans for the apocalypse. News reports of death tolls rising, and news of shutting off electricity for the time being "until we figure something out". Government and LE is starting to crumble under the weight of an entire nation, begging for help.

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Stage 4: Shelves and stores are empty, most are now closed. Traffic jams are becoming more like 5 mile long parking lots, people frantic to get out of the cities. Survivalists should now commence the laughing in the faces of doubters and skeptics. Police, military, and Government are now all but gone, telling people to wait in their homes until further instruction, or some other bull crap they say when they're in deep trouble. Unfortunately, the "instruction" never comes. Power, TV, Radio, Phones, are now all off. The grid is completely shut down. Power plants, and other industrial things are turned off or abandoned. People are running rampant in the streets, riots, clogged roads and highways are now clearly visible everywhere you turn. The scientists stopped selling the "vaccines" a while ago. People who aren't prepared are now unaware as what to do next, people who are prepared are now heading over to their B.O.Ls, and setting up camp.

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Stage 5: The Panic is now for the most part over. People are either gone, dead/eaten, or zombies. It's not likely that where you are there are any infected yet. It's just, empty. Gone. Sure people are still there, in colonies or in caravans, you just never expected it to be so barren. Stores are destroyed or empty, at least what left of them is. You are now surviving off of what you had, or what you scavenge on a daily basis. It won't be long until the zombies come to your area, but until then you have to prepare and survive the last remnants of the panic. Raiders are now becoming a problem. They roam the streets looking for places to loot and leave for dead. You have a long apocalypse ahead of you, so you better get started.

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Now, when the SHTF, I will not be staying in my current location. My house is like a glass cage, with so many windows, you would think it's transparent. I will be moving up the street, to the other half of my groups house, which is more easily protected and maintainable. We'll be staying there for the rest of The Panic, until it fizzles out and it's safe to journey over to the B.O.L area. After we've decided it's all gone to hell, and we'll be commencing the plan, I'll contact the other house and pack up our vehicles with all our useful stuff, and head over. Once there, I'll try to contact another family that would join up with our group, if the panic isn't full blown yet, and the roads are too clogged.

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In the next Section I'll talk about my B.O.B and it's contents.