Stockpile

It is 2034. Independent farms are obsolete. All forms of cattle are nearly extinct. Nina Claytor and her father, Wyatt, are all that is left of the family farm. The old barn now a withered blue, at her prime a lacquered navy. The only cattle left is that of the family's favoritism.

The eldest and most esteemed is Bessie, a gorgeous blonde Highlands heifer. Wilkes, the Plymouth Rock rooster, is the chief of the farm. Several simple-minded Alpaca's as well as a few graceful Piebald deer made up the "useless" section of the farm. A few emus also proved to be useless other than the ferocious Velociraptor-like growls and fierce protective tendencies. Finally, Duane the tuxedo cat and Anita the stunning white lab. All animals and all humans live, eat and sleep in the barn.

The Claytor's historic home was stolen by corporations. At least they were not alone in this disparity. The housing market became so out of control, so unattainable that only those of elite and generational wealth could obtain any home ownership in the United States of America... “the land of the free.”

Although, Nina did feel free some days. On days where they had scraped together enough food for all the animals and then themselves. The vast land was still theirs for the most part. They were able to salvage part of their property due to it being a protected area, originally purchased by their ancestors and proven by family signatures over centuries passing the land onto the next descendent.

Thick South Carolina air, sometimes with the faintest breeze, felt like heaven and hell at the same time. The grass now growing up to Nina's calves, but she didn't mind. Wild growing grass meant wildflowers and weeds, the rejects and black sheep of society. Wyatt, now in his 60's, was even less healthy before America capsized. The control money and corporations had over the food produced in America was making the country sick due to quality and profit. If they could keep us sick, they could sell us more medicine. The cycle could continue. Eventually, American's caught on and that was the beginning of the end. We had enough.

Once the corporations bought all the land they could in a hurry and sold out to foreign entities, the massive and endless food produced in America stopped completely. Piles of bread, canned goods, and non-perishables were dumped on the sides of every road, thanks to the working class of truckers. After truckers, groups came and went in droves. Delegating food to everyone they could. Although we knew this food could or would make us sick, we needed it. In addition to the food. We had seeds. We had plants. We were able to save animals from slaughter and keep them safely under our care. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that would not be blazing into our eyes until we could not think straight. We finally had some control.

The barn was now barricaded with every heavy-duty piece of steel, metal and wood Wyatt could direct Nina to gather. In the early days, Nina was able to salvage a lot in the beginning from the local Lowe's and Mom-and-Pop shops. Being that Wilkes was a smaller town in the middle of nowhere essentially, it took time for anyone to reach it. Biggest score was the generator, and the AC. Life would not be possible without those, at least not in coastal South Carolina.

What happened to the rest of the Claytor's comes down to the country's healthcare system crashing. Healthcare for profit is a business model in which humans are the currency. Any human with a working brain could understand where such a system would lead. Again, corporations sold out and disappeared. Rations went like wildfire, went rancid or went to those strong enough to murder the weaker ones in need. The only solace is that those who were suffering are not anymore, even if it was at the hands of another.

The stars laid over the sky like a thick blanket. Nina and her father would sometimes lay out on the bed of their old Bronco truck to look at the stars. Hoping to see a few shooting stars, particularly five for each family member they lost. In the distance, you could sometimes still hear explosions, screaming and gunshots but for the most part there was the sounds of wildlife returning. It was times like these Nina and Wyatt felt the luckiest, even chosen. Human life was nearly gone in America, but they survived. The slate had been riddled with chaos and almost beaten to a pulp. Now it was wiped clean, albeit barren. Better to be barren than full of shit.