Sheep Herder

Chapter One

The long drive from the city was a grueling three days of winey roads and open fields. It gives me a lot of time to think and rethink about my current predicament. 

Just under a month ago my crazy Aunt Amma died leaving her only nephews, me and my two brothers inheritance, with some "interesting" conditions.

The oldest brother, Jack, got her mansion, but under the condition of the will he had to make over one hundred thousand dollars in a year to get the house. Fortunately for him, he already does so the house is as good as his.

The second oldest, Josh, would receive a warehouse full of all of the stuff my Aunt owned, the condition is he would live with nothing for a year. Again he was already living like a hermit before all of this so it was not too hard for him to achieve.

As for me, Jerry, I got the short end of the stick. I would receive my Aunt's fortune of one billion dollars after a convoluted series of events. Under the condition of the will I had to live on this farm in the middle of nowhere, then I had to make fifty thousand dollars from wool with only five sheep in one year. And from the little research I've done that's impossible.

So why am I going along with this crazy inheritance scheme? Because I live in a one apartment studio barely making a livable wage at a dead end job and this is my only chance to get out of this life. Also I'm stupid.

"Your destination is on the right," a robotic British woman's voice called out of my GPS from my phone. 

I turned to my phone to see it was on its last bar of service and would be cut off from the last bit of civilization I have left. I then look back to the road to see a small hill with a newly built wooden house, made just for this one thing. Standing next to the house was a thin old man in a black suit, my Aunt's lawyer,  waiting for me. 

I turned onto the dirt road, my rental car shifting back and forth on the uneven ground as I hoped what little things I owned didn't brake. I soon came to a stop right in front of the well dressed old man, leaving the car running. 

"Good, you finally made it. Hope it was a safe journey," the lawyer said as he approached the driver window. 

"Long, too long," I said annoyed. 

"Well you're here now and that is good."

I opened the car door and stepped out. I stretch to get all of the stiffness out of my bones before turning to the old man.

"So the fact that you're here means that you are now eligible for the inheritance," the lawyer stated, pulling out a folded piece of paper from inside his suit pocket. "Now let me go over some of the conditions you must follow." He then escorted me into the well built two floor log house. 

Walking past the front porch we entered a very spacious living room. This room alone was three times bigger than my old place. Everything in this room gave off an upper class rustic vibe. With a large black stone fireplace at the far end of the room with two large log couches with red cushions. In the center of the two couches was a large coffee table made of solid oak wood. 

"Wow," was all I could say. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad of an experience. 

"Now this will be your home for the next year," the lawyer started as he led me to the two couches. We then took a seat opposite to one another before the old man continued, "so here's the rules stated in the will; one, you are not to leave the property for a whole year starting today. If you need anything you will have a hotline to our office, and I do mean anything except for more sheep or people. That leads us to rule number two, with the sheep we have provided according to your Aunt's wishes you must generate at least fifty thousand dollars in the course of one year. We will check on your progress in exactly one year today." The lawyer finished. 

I just stared blankly at the lawyer as he listed off the few rules I had to follow. 

"That's it?" I asked.

"That's it. If you have any wool to sell, call us up and we will come pick it up and keep track of how much it makes. Other than that you'll have to wear an ankle monitor just so we can make sure you don't leave the property," the old man said, taking out a black bracelet from his inside suit pocket. 

"This feels more like a prison than an insurance policy," I nervously said as I took the round tracking device. 

"It's all for you Mr. Mccullen." He then gave me the paper he was reading off and headed out of the room to the front door. "Good luck Mr. Mccullen, I really do. Your Aunt was an eccentric woman but she did like you the most."

"It doesn't feel like it," I said deflated, following the old man out the door to the car.

"Have faith Mr. Mccullen. If your Aunt didn't think you could do this she wouldn't have given this challenge to you," the old man smiled as we reached the car.

"She has too much faith in me," I thought.

After I took out the three boxes that contained everything I owned, the lawyer stepped into the car and drove away with my only way out of this farm prison. With a final sigh I picked up a box and began what will be a very long and boring year.

It didn't take me too long to unpack but it did allow me to explore the house. The bedroom was on the floor above and it was a massive room. Not much furnishings but it did have a log king-sized bed with a red and blue plaid blanket, an oak dresser and an oak cabinet. The room next to it was a full size bathroom, with a full size jacuzzi that can hold up to four people, two sinks with a wall size mirror and a standing shower all in black crystal. 

The kitchen was no less impressive. A long labradorite countertop with a matching island made the whole place feel expensive. With multiple stained wooden cabinets and a large silver double door fridge, the whole place felt like I could serve a dozen people. Speaking of food, the dining room was right next to the kitchen and the living room. A large beautiful wooden table with a resin river going down the center was surrounded by half-a-dozen well crafted wooden chairs. The whole house looked like it was made from one whole oak tree carved into everything you need to live comfortably. If I wasn't a prisoner to this place I would consider this a great vacation home. 

After the tour of the house I exited out the back door to a raised backyard patio. Made with the same wood as the house, it was a large platform with a wooden guardrail surrounding the perimeter. Another larger jacuzzi that can hold eight people sat on the patio to the right and a large round table made from the trunk of a tree on the left, with a large stainless steel grill near it. And finally, further away from the house, was a large pool with several lounging chairs surrounded the edge of the water. It all gave off a nice relaxing atmosphere. 

Taking in a deep breath of the country air I finally noticed the red gambrel roof barn a little away off the right of the house. That must be where the sheep are being held I thought. Stepping down off the patio I walked over to the barn to check the animals.

Up close the large red barn was surprisingly big to just host five sheep. It also looked to be recently built just like the house. Unlocking the steel handle I entered the building. 

The smell of hay was the first thing that greeted me as I passed through the doorway. The air felt warm, like being under a thick blanket. Rays of light shined down through the windows above onto the many stalls that lined the barn. A pile of hay had freshly been placed at the back of the building. But despite looking like a real barn there was one thing missing, the sheep. 

Stepping in deeper I looked about for the famous sheep I had to made money from. The stalls that was meant to houses them were empty with only freshly placed hay and water. 

"Where are they?" I asked as I looked in an empty stall.

That's when I hear something rustle at the back of the barn. Turning away from the stall I carefully walked to the back of the room. As I approached the rustling became more louder allowing me to pinpoint the exact place the sound was coming from. In the corner of the barn was a wooden tool shed, big enough to hide five sheep.

"There you are," I smiled as I opened the shed door. But my smile disappears upon seeing my sheep.