Hi!

Welcome to Toxo. We are so glad you chose us to be the people you are surviving the apocalypse with! What a damn honor. You must be smart, too, because you chose the right group to spend the apocalypse with. Now, how about we sit down and have a nice, long chat, hm? Because this group wouldn't run so smoothly, or be so tight-knit, without a few ground rules, don't you think? Aha, you're gonna love this fucking place.

Whispering Pines Ranch sits upon a large piece of land, a glistening lake to the East of it, rocky points and jutting cliffs to the South, and flat land to the West and North. Scattered trees dot the property, almost forming a line around the West and North outer edge. Multiple buildings are scattered around the flat land; one large house, and two moderate houses, all sit separately. The large house sits by the lake, its porch extending over the waters, turning into a dock with a small boat gently bobbing in the water. The other two houses sit further away, one towards the South, another towards the West.

Large sheds, almost warehouse-like, sit not far from each house. Two fair-sized barns take home more North of the property, fences lining part of the land, crossing each other, cutting parts of the land off, to hold in different farm animals. Windmills take up the West and North flat areas. A large building sits diagonal from the house on the lake, a large pipe exiting a hole in the building, and disappearing into the lake. Plotted lands scatter around the property, different crops thriving in them, some in pop-up green houses. Pipes run through the fields, providing water for the crops when the California sky refuses. Each corner of the property has a tall watchtower, made up of a mixture of wood and metals. Solar panels dot the roofs of every building, and smaller ones sit atop the watchtowers.

Near the fields, a large, metal door is in the ground, leading to an underground food storage. Four-wheelers sit beside each house, big trucks sitting in driveways, and a couple cars. In the new world, in the apocalypse, this place looks like a slice of paradise. It's equipped with everything one needs to make it through this scary world comfortably. It's a safe haven, or at least, it used to be.

Whispering Pines Ranch was established long before the apocalypse hit the world. Robert Pines was a child during the Depression, and ever since then, he had feared a collapse in society. Many years of hard work, dedication, and two other like-minded friends breathed life into Whispering Pines Ranch. Made in 2010, this gave the aging men eight years to turn this ranch into something amazing. It has everything it needs to sustain itself without the need of the outside world.

Solar panels and windmills provide electricity. A large pump inside a warehouse-like building beside the lake extends pipes to each building and the fields, recycling and filtering water from the lake. Farm animals provide eggs, diary products, and meat. Hay fields and corn fields provide some food for those animals. Tractors sitting inside the large sheds provide a means to gather the crops easier. A underground food storage provides the ability to store food at colder temperatures, making it last longer, along with nonperishable foods.

They had eight years to perfect this place. They had eight years to prep it for another stock market crash, to prepare to be on their own while society crumbled. They hadn't prepared for people eating other people, though. Nonetheless, Whispering Pines Ranch was off the grid enough, they didn't have much trouble from anybody. The three old friends and their families lived peacefully, letting other survivors come and live with them. They were comfortable, happy, and at peace while the world was dying outside their ranch.

Though, that changed quickly when they let a group of five into their safe ranch. The group stayed to themselves, at first, did their chores, listened to the three leaders' words. But, something shifted. One of the men in the group said they could do more, be more, have more. They could house an army here, become unbeatable, rule the places around them. Robert and his friends didn't want that. They were old, they just wanted to keep to themselves, and live the rest of their days out on their beloved ranch.

That man grew tired of their inaction, though. He said if they didn't gather more people, run a stricter group, then they would lose it all. Lose it all to either the eaters or a bigger group. The man didn't want to see the ranch ruined; no, he wanted to improve it, see it thrive. The man had no trouble killing Robert and his friends, and when their families stepped out of line, he took them down, too. He took immediate action, creating a new system with which the ranch would run by. The people that weren't apart of his group were forced to conform to this new system, or end up like Robert Pines.

The Whispering Pines Ranch sign hanging at the end of the driveway was ripped down. A wooden sign replaced it, that spelled out Toxo. From then on, the new leader would go out, and recruit people. If they would benefit his group, and agreed to follow his word, they were in. After all, they could live comfortably, so why wouldn't people agree? Slowly, he built up his numbers, until he was at forty-five people living on the ranch.

It began to become a bit crowded. There are tents and a couple RVs now on the property, both moderate houses full. The large house only had the leader, and his best and closest members living in it, which included his right-hand man and a few others. With such a large number, and the way the leader chose them, they had useful members. A doctor created the study in the large house into his exam room. Two mechanics jumped from shed to shed, staying there and regularly checking on the tractors and vehicles. Though, today, gas is sparse, but they are still useful to checking on the water pump and other things like that. There is a plumber in the group, in case anything goes wrong. There are a couple gardeners, and while a large field isn't quite a small vegetable garden, they can still apply their knowledge. There is somebody who used to be a farmhand, helping with the animals, milking the cows, and feeding the animals. There is also an engineer, somebody who keeps an eye on the solar panels and windmills, plus helped with the building of the watchtowers.

For others, they are put to use doing the group's laundry. There are a few who keep up with the inventory of food and weapons. They have a lot of mouths to feed, and while they do have thriving crops and canned food, they always need more. Scouters and runners are also in the group. They not only search for food, but they also search for bathroom necessitates, feminine products, even condoms and other things such as those. They have toilet paper which is rare in this world. Their weapons are checked and maintained regularly. They do have guns, though limited ammo. As a result, they are allowed in the watchtowers, to look more intimidating. Only a select few, such as the leader and his close posse, are allowed to bring guns outside of the ranch and into the outside world. There is a large range of other weapons, built up from scouting and stealing. Everybody has to check weapons in and out, or use points to buy them.

Points are the currency of the ranch. Depending on one's job, how often they do that job, and how good they are at it, depends on how much points they get. With these points, they can go to the "general store" set up in one of the large sheds. The general store has mismatched shelves lined in it, with a collapsible table by the large garage door. It is opened everyday, from morning till nightfall, the side door always locked. There is multiple point keepers for each job, like a manager, and they give their "workers" the correct points. The workers can go into the "store," get what they need, and pay for it all at the table.

The points system isn't perfect. It needs some work. The points are simply written down, with the point keepers' signature, and they keep up with who gets how many points in journals that the Toxo leader checks each night if possible. There may be smudges, some extra points here and there, some prices negotiated in the "store" when they should not be. It's a large group, so naturally, there will be those who try to squeeze around the rules or slip something extra in their pocket.

Don't let the Toxo leader find out. There are punishments for those who betray the group, steal from the group, or smudge their points to get more. The punishments vary, depending on what exactly the person did to deserve one. It's a very strict system put in place on this ranch, and the Toxo leader does not take this system lightly. So, be good, don't fuck up, and you should be just fine.