Alex's biological clock, honed by years of routine, woke him just as the first, weak gray light of dawn filtered into his room. He got up, fully rested, and went through his morning motions. He dressed, not in tactical gear, but in practical work jeans and a t-shirt.
He went downstairs, made a strong cup of coffee, and headed outside into the crisp, cool morning air. He was greeted by Jimbo, who was already on his feet, waiting patiently by the large barn door, his tail giving a single, heavy thump-thump of acknowledgment. He was, as Alex had trained him, just about to lead the cows out to the pasture.
"Hey, buddy," Alex said, crouching to give the massive dog a deep ear scratch. "Good boy. I'll take it from here."
He unlatched the heavy barn door, and the small herd of cows began to file out. Alex then grabbed a wheelbarrow and a pitchfork and started the "real" work, efficiently cleaning the stalls, collecting the waste. He whistled as he worked, pushing the barrow to the large, fenced-in compost heap.
He checked on the chickens next, his pockets suddenly heavier with a few fresh, warm eggs. He then walked through the rows of the vegetable garden, collecting what he needed for breakfast: a few bright red paprikas, a handful of ripe tomatoes, and a couple of carrots.
With his basket full of fresh ingredients, he walked back into the house, ready to start cooking. He was surprised to find he wasn't alone.
Alice was already up. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, wearing one of his aprons she'd found, looking around with a slightly lost, hesitant expression, clearly trying to figure out where everything was. She turned as he walked in, a small, nervous smile on her face.
"Oh! Good morning," she said, her voice a little shy. "I... I wanted to help. I thought... maybe I could make breakfast."
Alex smiled, a light, genuine expression. "Good timing." He held up the basket. "Then these will help."
They started making a hearty breakfast. It was an easy, unspoken partnership. He handled the eggs, she started on the vegetables, their movements comfortable in the large kitchen. They got it done quickly, the silence filled only with the sound of a knife on a cutting board and the sizzle of the stove. They didn't notice the grinning little girl in pajamas, peaking at them from between the railings of the stairs.
"Okay," Alex said, piling the last of the scrambled eggs onto a platter. "I'll set the table. Could you... could you wake up the others?"
"Of course," Alice nodded, untying the apron. She started upstairs, waking the others one by one. She knocked on Mark and Jenna's door, then Jess's. She saved Mina's for last.
She pushed the door open without knocking. Mina was, as expected, "asleep," a lump under the blankets. Alice didn't bother.
"What were you up to?" she asked, her voice a little annoyed. "I know you're awake."
The lump giggled. Mina shot up, her hair a mess, her face split in a sheepish, triumphant grin. "Nevermind that, sis!" She gave Alice a huge thumbs-up. "Very good job! Being all domestic. Almost like a married couple."
Alice's eye twitched. She grabbed her sister's face, her fingers finding a soft cheek, and started to pull. "Mina, I am so tired of this nonsense..."
"Ow! Ow! Okay!" Mina yelped, but she wasn't really fighting. She just pointed at Alice's face. "But... you're blushing!"
They had a cozy, surprisingly normal breakfast together. The five newcomers looked rested, the terror of the past week finally receding, replaced by the safety of the fortress and the promise of a hot meal.
After they ate, Alex stood up. "Okay. Now that you're fed... get ready. It's time for the tour. You all need to learn how to care for this place."
"Right, listen up," Alex said, all traces of the "morning person" gone, replaced by the efficient foreman. "This is the tour. Pay attention. Your lives will depend on this."
He led them out, past the barn where Jimbo was now dutifully watching the grazing cows.
"First, the animals. They are our primary, renewable protein," he said, walking into the barn. "The cows: they need to be milked. Twice a day. 6 AM, 6 PM. No exceptions, no holidays. Their stalls need to be mucked out every morning, and the waste goes to the compost. That's non-negotiable."
He moved to the large, reinforced chicken coop. "Chickens: feed and water topped off daily. Eggs collected every morning before they get pecked. Coop gets a full clean-out once a week."
Next, he led them to the vast vegetable garden and the fields. "This is our long-term survival. The garden is on a drip irrigation system, but it needs to be checked for leaks. Weeding. Harvesting. This is a constant job. The main fields—corn, wheat—that's seasonal. But when it's time to plant or harvest... it's all hands on deck, sunup to sundown."
Finally, he took them to a large utility shed that hummed with a low, electric power. "This is the brain. The batteries." He pointed to a massive wall of industrial batteries. "The solar panels on the roof charge these, but they need tobe monitored. Levels, cleaning the terminals, checking the inverters. This is our life. Without this, we have no lights, no electric fence, and no well."
He pointed to a smaller pump house. "We're on a deep artesian well. The system is automated, but the filters need to be cleaned weekly. And last... the perimeter." He gestured to the distant, 12-foot fence. "It needs to be walked. The entire perimeter, once a day. Check for damage, check for biters, check for people."
When they finished the tour, they were all standing back on the main house's patio, slightly overwhelmed. Alex stood, arms crossed, running the list in his head. Milk cows (1 hour), muck stalls (1 hour), collect eggs (30 min), check garden (1 hour), walk perimeter (2 hours), check systems (30 min)...
He felt... off. Something was wrong with his math. He was counting internally, trying to figure out what critical, life-ending task he'd forgotten. It felt... too light.
His thoughts were stopped by Jenna's voice. "Um... Alex? Is... is that all?"
He frowned. "What do you mean, 'is that all'? That's a full day."
"No, I mean..." she said, doing the math in her head. "It's not. Not for six of us. If... if two people handle the cows, and one person does the chickens and the garden, and, say, one person walks the fence... and one checks the systems... I mean... that's maybe... two or three hours of work each."
Alex just stood there. He'd been so focused on his solo survival plan for so long, calculating his 8-hour, sunup-to-sundown workday... he'd never once factored in help. He'd planned for one person to work himself to the bone just to keep the place from falling apart.
He thought it over again. She was right.
"Yes," he said, letting out a slow, long breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "That... that's everything." He looked at the five of them, a strange, new feeling in his chest. "I... I must have miscalculated. I was always planning on doing it all alone."
Mina, who had been visibly counting on her fingers, suddenly beamed. "Wait... so if we have, like, three hours of chores... and we get up at 7... we're done by 10 AM?"
Her eyes went wide with pure, unadulterated joy. "That means... I can fool around and watch TV for more than half the day! This is a princess life!"
It had taken quite some time to show them everything. The fields, the irrigation, the power systems, the perimeter—the 'farm' was a massive, complex machine. It was a little past noon when they finally got back to the house.
"Okay," Alice said, tying her hair back. "I'll make lunch. You guys rest."
The others collapsed onto the massive living room couch, the reality of their new home sinking in. It was... safe. And now, as Jenna had pointed out, the work seemed almost... easy.
"So," Mark said, pulling out a small notebook and pen he'd packed. "We need a system. A rotation."
"I'll cover the 'Alpha Shift,'" Alex said immediately. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Alice work, but his voice was directed at the room. "I'm up at sunrise anyway. I'll handle the 6 AM milking, mucking out the stalls, and the chicken run—the eggs and feed. That gets the time-sensitive stuff done before most of you are even caffeinated."
A collective sigh of relief went up from the group.
"Oh, thank God," Jenna mumbled into Mark's shoulder. "I am not a morning person."
"That's a solid start," Mark said, scribbling. "So, that leaves... let's see... PM milking, the perimeter walk, the systems check, gardening, and... house chores. Like cooking and cleaning."
"Ooh! I'll be a cook!" Mina beamed.
"You almost set the kitchen on fire making toast yesterday, Mina," Alice called out from the kitchen, not even turning around. "Absolutely not."
Mina pouted. "Fine."
"Let's be realistic," Alex said. "Who can cook, besides me and Alice?"
Jess raised her hand slightly. "I can... follow a recipe. But I'm functional at best. Basic."
Mark and Jenna just shook their heads. "We make reservations," Mark said.
"Or starve," Jenna added.
"Right," Alex said. "New rule. Alice and I are 'Primary Cooks.' We'll handle the main, complex meals, like dinner. The rest of you... lunch, breakfast, and cleanup. We'll rotate those. If you're on cleanup, you clean. No exceptions."
"Okay, what about the other big jobs?" Jess asked, tucking her legs under her. "We should specialize."
"Agreed," Alex said. "Mark, you're CS, I'm Engineering. You and I will handle the systems check. We'll do it together every afternoon for the first few weeks, then we can rotate."
He then looked at Jess. "Doctor. The animals are your domain. Their health, feed management, and the weekly deep-clean of the coops, since that's a biohazard. You're also our medic. You're in charge of the medical inventory and our health."
Jess nodded, a look of focused purpose on her face. "I can do that."
"Good," Alex continued. "That leaves the Perimeter Walk, PM Milking, and Gardening."
"I'll take the gardening," Jenna volunteered. "I actually... I like plants. And... I can learn to milk a cow? It seems... calming."
"It's not," Alice called out, "but you'll get used to it!"
"So, Jenna and..." Alex looked at the group.
"I can do the PM milking, too," Alice said, stirring a pot. "It's fine by me."
"Okay," Alex said. "So, Jenna and Alice on PM milking and gardening."
"Wait," Mina said, her head tilted. "What about me and the Perimeter Walk?"
Alex shook his head. "The walk is the most important job. It's non-negotiable, two-person, and armed. I'll be one of the walkers every day, at least for the first month. Mark, you'll be my first trainee."
Mina threw her hands up. "So what am I, the mascot? I don't have a job!"
"Yes, you do," Alex said, pointing at her. "You're the 'Floater.' You're the most important one. You don't have one job, you have all of them."
Mina looked confused.
"One day," Alex said, "you're on cleanup. The next, you're helping Jenna in the garden. The next, you're helping Jess with the coops. You're the utility player. You fill the gaps. You get to learn everything."
Mina, who had been visibly counting on her fingers, suddenly beamed. "Wait... so if I do one job a day... and the jobs are only, like, two or three hours..."
She looked at the others, a slow, joyous grin spreading across her face. "Then... then I'm still done by, like, 1 PM! I can fool around for more than half the day! This is a princess life!"