LOSS System: Last Store Standing

“That price is too low,” Jack said.

Dale, Roy, and Colt stared at him. None of them had expected that to be the reason he refused.

Jack glanced at the CUEV and gave them his own price.

“Thirty loaves of bread, thirty bottles of water, fifteen cans of beef, and ten cans of pepper spray.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “And twenty potatoes.”

Dale, Roy, and Colt could only stare at him.

Elias, on the other hand, looked resigned. The moment Jack stopped him from bargaining, he had known the idiot was about to raise the price himself.

“No, that’s far too much,” Dale said quickly. “We don’t even know if the vehicle still—”

“Still works?”

Dale nodded.

“Then we’ll test it.” Jack patted the CUEV. “Even if it doesn’t start, the metal alone is worth what I offered.”

Dale struggled to come up with an answer.

“You really are…”

“Fucking wasteful,” Vane finished for him without missing a beat.

Megan burst out laughing, and several others nearby joined in.

Jack laughed along with them. They had no idea that everything he had offered was in unlimited supply. If he weren’t worried about frightening them, he could have multiplied the price dozens of times without a second thought.

Elias knew there was no changing his mind.

“Fine. You’re the boss.”

He told Vane to prepare the supplies.

While they waited, Colt looked around the settlement. There weren’t many people, but everyone seemed to have something to do.

Then he noticed Ava with a group of Dustchucks.

The little girl appeared to be directing them as they worked.

Colt stared at the scene.

“How is that possible…?”

Dale and Roy followed his gaze.

“What’s impossible?”

Colt pointed toward Ava and the Dustchucks but couldn’t get the words out. Once Dale and Roy saw them, they fell silent as well.

Jack noticed all three of them staring in the same direction.

“What’s wrong?”

Dale finally looked back at him.

“Those Dustchucks… are they yours?”

Jack understood.

“I’m not raising them. We’re working together.”

“Working… together?”

Dale still looked unconvinced.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I’m planning to build houses too.”

Colt glanced at the Dustchucks.

“You’re going to have them build the houses?”

Jack burst out laughing.

“Of course not. People will build them.”

He gestured toward the unfinished trading post.

“The problem is, we don’t have enough workers. We’ve been working on this place for ages, and it’s still only half finished. Building houses will take even more people.”

Dale, Roy, and Colt exchanged a look.

None of them said anything, but they were clearly thinking the same thing.

Jack didn’t notice. He headed toward the canopies to find more people to help move the CUEV and soon returned with Cass and Gordon.

The three approached together, talking and laughing. Cass said something that made Jack give him a light shove, while Gordon laughed beside them.

Colt watched them from beside the handcart.

For a moment, he found himself envying them. He wasn’t sure whether it was their easy friendship, the atmosphere around the settlement, or the life they seemed to be building here.

Colt quickly looked away and bent down to check the ropes on the handcart.

By then, Vane had finished preparing the payment.

Dale carefully counted everything and checked the packaging before nodding.

“Everything’s here. Thank you.”

The three loaded the supplies onto the handcart and secured them with rope.

“Be careful on the way back,” Elias said. “If you find anything else, bring it over.”

“We will.”

Dale took the handles while Roy and Colt walked beside the cart. Before long, the uneven ground hid them from view.

Elias then headed toward the convenience store, eager to find out whether the CUEV could still run.

Jack, Cass, and Gordon had already pushed it against the side wall. The vehicle was far heavier than Jack had expected, making him wonder how Dale and the others had managed to bring it all the way there.

Jack caught his breath and dusted off his hands.

“Wait here. I’ll get an extension cord.”

He had barely stepped inside when he noticed the portable energy cell.

Jack looked back at the CUEV.

If the energy cell could charge it, they wouldn’t have to depend entirely on the convenience store’s power supply during future trips.

And if it worked on the CUEV, there was a good chance it could charge Megan’s Tesla too.

Jack immediately forgot about the extension cord. He grabbed the handles on both sides of the portable energy cell and carried it outside.

Cass stared at it.

“Why did you bring that out?”

“To charge the CUEV.”

“What?”

Jack told them what he had in mind.

Elias returned from the trading post just then and noticed the portable energy cell beside the CUEV.

“Why did you bring that out?”

Jack looked at Cass and Gordon.

“One of you explain it. I’m not saying it again.”

Cass held back a laugh and repeated Jack’s plan. Elias listened, then nodded.

“It’s worth a try.”

Gordon opened the storage compartment at the rear of the CUEV and took out the charging cable and adapter they had found earlier. After checking the connectors, he handed them to Jack.

“This should be the right set.”

Jack connected one end to the CUEV and lined up the adapter with the energy cell’s output port.

Everyone gathered around.

“Please work,” Jack muttered.

He secured the adapter and switched on the portable energy cell.

Nothing happened.

The longer the instrument panel remained dark, the quieter everyone became. Gordon crouched beside the charging port to check the connection, while Megan kept her eyes fixed on the display.

Just as Jack began to wonder if they had missed something, a battery symbol appeared on the screen.

“It’s responding!” Megan shouted.

A moment later, the entire display lit up.

The CUEV began running a self-check. Indicator lights flashed one after another. The headlights came on briefly, followed by the left and right turn signals, while a low electronic chime sounded from the vehicle.

At the same time, the output reading on the portable energy cell climbed before settling at a steady level.

Jack pumped his fist.

“It worked!”

The shout brought the others over. Once they learned that the CUEV was charging, smiles quickly spread through the group.

Hal was already thinking about what they could do with it.

“Once it’s charged, can we use it to bring back the rest of the seeds?”

While the convenience store celebrated its new vehicle, the journey home was much quieter for Dale, Roy, and Colt.

The handcart rolled across the sand as Dale, Roy, and Colt made their way home.

The supplies they had received far exceeded their expectations. By all rights, they should have been pleased, yet none of them spoke.

Jack’s mention of building houses had left all three of them thinking.

After walking in silence for a while, Colt finally spoke.

“Do you think we should tell Walter what we saw?”

Dale slowed the handcart slightly.

“What exactly do you want to tell him?”

“That Jack is planning to build houses, and he needs more workers,” Colt said. “The three of us can work, and Harris is stronger than any of us. If we offered to help, I don’t think they’d turn us away.”

Dale said nothing, so Colt continued.

“You saw who lives there. They have older people, women, and children. If they can live safely near the convenience store, maybe we should think about moving closer too.”

“I’m not saying we have to join them,” he added. “We could build our own settlement nearby. We’d still have our own place, but we could work for Jack during the day and return home at night.”

“Colt has a point,” Roy said. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Colt looked at him.

“They need workers, and we need a safer way to get food and water,” Roy continued. “Working for Jack would be better than risking our lives every time we go out looking for supplies.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Both of them waited for Dale’s answer.

After a moment, Dale nodded.

“I’ve thought about it too.”

“So you agree?” Colt asked.

“I agree that we should tell Walter what we saw and explain our idea,” Dale said. “But the settlement belongs to everyone, not just the three of us. Walter has to make the final decision.”

Roy and Colt both agreed.

“Then we’ll speak to him together when we get back,” Dale said.