Southern Gothic // Joshler

1. Class

Tyler doesn't remember the last time he woke up and didn't feel like he was suffocating. In all truth, he doesn't remember anyone in his family ever commenting on the thick humidity that cut through the air every day. The dehumidifiers that ran in every room in the house had to be emptied multiple times a day, yet the suffocating air remained.

He closed his bedroom door behind himself as he padded down the hallway to the stairs and down into the living room. A fire was lit in the fireplace, and coming from the kitchen was the smell of breakfast. His mother stood next to the sink, washing dishes as he entered the room.

She didn't look up at him before saying quietly, "Good morning, Tyler," and set her dish that she was holding down in the sink. Finally turning to him, she motioned to the table. "Pancakes this morning."

"Thanks, mom," Tyler smiled warmly at her, then sat down and began to pick at the plate in front of him that was practically overflowing with food. "Did we have any luck with meat this morning?"

Turning back away and resuming the dishes, his mother responded, "Not today. The pigs are still sick," her voice was soft, wavering. Tyler felt nauseous as he looked down at his plate. "Mr. Willis said that hopefully the next litter will be okay. I know, I'm tired of it too."

"Even the cows?" Tyler asked, not daring to look up from his food towards his mother, "Did the last calf make it?"

"No, she didn't," She responded. Tyler felt her eyes on him but he didn't look back at her. "It was a stillbirth. He can't figure out what's wrong, they were fine for months and now all of the livestock is just... sick, I suppose."

Tyler took another bite of his pancakes, the syrup that had been poured on top feeling like it was gluing his mouth shut. There hadn't even been butter to make it better. Their neighbor ran the production of all of the livestock in the town, from birthing them to slaughtering them and milking them. Since all the animals had fallen ill, he had been eating pancakes day in and day out for a few weeks, at least. There was no milk, no butter, no eggs, nothing. The vegan pancakes that his mother had been making were tasty, but certainly no replacement for the real thing.

Finally managing to swallow, Tyler placed his fork down onto his plate. It was half empty, at least, and he knew he wouldn't be able to force down another bite. "Is Madison still in bed?"

His siblings were more than likely still asleep, at least his little sister was bound to be. His brothers, Zack and Jay, were hopefully already at school. Both attended the local middle school, while Tyler was lucky enough to attend the high school, which started later than the former.

"She's still sleeping. Your brothers are at school," His mother started, and he inwardly sighed in relief, "But you'll have to get going soon. I'll take care of Maddy, don't worry."

Tyler stood up and walked over to the trash, taking his plate with him, before scooping the remaining pancakes into the trash can. "I'll go change and I'll head out. Thank you for breakfast, mom," He said quietly as he set the plate down next to the sink and kissed his mother on the cheek.

He hurried away and felt her eyes on him as he walked, a chill running down his spine.

Heading back up into his bedroom, Tyler put on what he wore mostly every day, a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved white shirt. He didn't want to stand out too much within the community, as his father had warned him years ago, so this is what his primary wardrobe consisted of. Lacing up his black boots, he grabbed his bookbag and headed back down the stairs. The fireplace was out now, and the first floor felt much colder than it had only a few minutes before. He looked at the clock, which read only eight in the morning.