Q)What sort of guns/weapons can I have?
A) Ammunition is going to be very limited to nonexistant, so guns are close to obsolete. For long-distance weaponry, some people have taken up compound bows, and have made arrows from wood. Slingshots can be surprisingly useful as well.

Most people carry some sort of blunt object on them, such as a bat or piece of lead pipe, and a knife. The only ones who really need the long-range stuff are the Nomads, and that's for hunting.

Q) How has the virus affected animals?
A) An animal that is bitten by a zombie has the same reaction as a human that was bitten by a zombie. A zombie animal that bites a human can turn the human as well. However, there are few zombie animals in the plains, they tend to be house pets and such that were bitten. Zombie dogs are a nasty thing to encounter in one of the small towns.

Q) How EXACTLY is the virus transmitted?
A) Bodily fluids. If a zombie bites you, it's saliva is entering your bloodstream. Same is said for all zombie fluids. If zombie blood gets in an open wound, you're done. And if someone were seriously warped enough to attempt sex with a zombie, you would get it that way too.

More questions? Post them here and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.