With limited water, we couldn't grow enough crops to feed the cows. Now maybe, if we were happy just eating the grain and corn, we could have made it. But no, Americans needed their beef. So we threw away our bountiful, easy food resources trying to raise the sparse ones. The cattle got thinner. There wasn't enough food or water for them, either. They started to die off. And then, almost overnight, so did the people.
McDonalds ran out. Taco Bell too. Within 3 days, the country went from being rich and healthy and happy -- if a little thirsty -- to being hungry. Thirst sucks, but it's manageable. Hunger, on the other hand, makes people angry. Folks quick to the punch took action, stealing food and stockpiling dry goods for the long haul. Those caught unawares were robbed blind or murdered. Civil war broke out. Not one based on political or religious disputes like those of the past, but one based on hungry people scared for their lives and fighting each other for what limited resources were still available. The military got involved but were paralyzed into inaction, not knowing which civilians to shoot and which ones to save. Major cities became war zones. Rural areas were flooded with people trying to escape, only to realize they had nowhere to go. People died in droves. It was horrific.
That was 20 years ago. My daughter and I were able to flee to a small corner of land in Montana where I'd set up a property in the before times. We had a well for water, a farm for food, and were far enough away from any civilizations that it was easy to protect ourselves from the rare straggler who wandered our way. Things were good. If a little lonely.
My daughter started to grow up. She went from being a cute kid to helping out around the farm. She went from helping around the farm to being a woman. Inevitably, she started to want woman things. She started to want a lover.
We packed our things and started striking out on expeditions. Some old maps pointed to places nearby that used to be civilizations. We checked all of them, looking for any signs that someone might have passed through or be living nearby. Over the course of years, we scoured what must have been most of Montana and parts of old Idaho and Canada. We found nothing. We found no one. The expeditions were becoming too long; the farm was paying the toll and we were stretching our resources thin trying to travel as far away as we could while still making it back to our only safe haven. The years started to drag on. She was getting older. So was I. We were losing hope of ever finding anyone. Things were bleak.
Finally, she asked the question. The one I'd been dreading.
