LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Mort stepped forward and stopped in front of Henry.

“Arthur Coleman was my father.”

Neither Henry nor Elias had expected that. It took Henry a moment to find his voice.

“Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“My father disappeared not long after I was born. He left no message behind, so my mother thought he had abandoned us. It wasn’t until the military came to our home and told us about his death and the mission he had been carrying out that we finally learned what happened.”

“I was young, but old enough to remember. They told us he had exposed his identity while rescuing a captured soldier and was eventually killed by the enemy.”

Mort continued, “I did hate you once. Back then, all I knew was that if my father hadn’t gone to save you, his identity might never have been exposed. He might not have died there.”

“But as I grew older, I came to understand. My father chose that path knowing he might have to sacrifice his life at any moment. It was his choice, and it was his honor. You escaped, and you avenged him. At least his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

Henry said nothing for a long time.

“Arthur Coleman...”

He repeated the name quietly, then said it once more. A smile appeared on his face as his eyes began to redden.

“I finally know who you were. Now I can die without any regrets.”

The words had barely left his mouth when he swayed and collapsed backward.

“Henry!”

Elias caught him by the shoulders as Martha and Mort hurried forward. Jack immediately shouted toward the temporary treatment room.

“Megan! Henry fainted!”

Megan rushed out of the tent and told everyone to give them some room. She crouched beside Henry and checked his breathing and pulse.

“His breathing and pulse are stable. He was probably overwhelmed, and the dehydration and exhaustion didn’t help,” Megan said. “Lay him flat and let him rest. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Dean and Noah carried Henry into the trading post and laid him down. Martha stayed beside him, unable to keep herself from complaining.

“You’re already this old. You should know better than to get so worked up.”

“He had barely finished saying he could die without regrets, and he almost proved it,” Hal remarked.

Martha shot him a glare, and Hal wisely closed his mouth.

Elias turned back to Mort.

“Your father was a hero. I never expected his son to become a raider.”

Mort gave a bitter smile.

“If I could have chosen, I would’ve wanted to be a hero too. But I was never as great as my father. I did plenty of terrible things to survive, and I hurt a lot of people. Those are facts. There’s no point hiding them.”

Hal patted him on the shoulder.

“You can’t change the past. But you’re here now, doing honest work. At least you haven’t gone back to your old ways.”

“Forget about your old identity,” Jack added with a smile. “From now on, you can stay here and become a master brickmaker.”

Mort laughed.

“You heartless boss. Just because you make it sound nice doesn’t mean you get to exploit me forever.”

He patted the flail hanging at his side.

“If you push me too far, this thing isn’t just for decoration.”

Laughter spread through the crowd. Even Martha shook her head helplessly.

Once Elias was certain Henry was all right, he sent everyone back to work. Mort lingered for a moment before picking up his tools and joining the others.

As Jack watched everyone return to their tasks, a thought occurred to him.

One good thing after another had happened today. A day this special deserved a proper celebration.

He found Megan and told her what he had in mind.

“Let’s prepare some extra food and drinks tonight,” Jack said. “We can treat everyone for all their hard work and celebrate Elias and Henry finding each other again. We should also celebrate Henry finally learning who saved him, and Mort learning what became of his father.”

Megan liked the idea. The two returned to the convenience store and began preparing enough food for everyone.

By evening, Gordon and Reed had brought back the remaining energy cells from the electronics mall. As the daylight began to fade, the work on the electrical lines was nearly complete as well.

All fifteen wooden poles had been erected, starting near the convenience store and continuing beyond the moat at intervals of roughly fifteen meters. Once the lights came on, they would illuminate the trading post, the nearby paths, and the living areas occupied by Nolan’s group, Warren’s family, and Henry’s group.

No one would have to stumble around in complete darkness anymore.

Oscar connected the electrical lines to the circuit breaker inside the convenience store while Warren led the others through one final inspection. By the time Jack and Megan reached the trading post, Thomas was installing the last light.

“Done!”

Thomas climbed down from the ladder and looked up at his work.

Everyone gathered around the utility poles, eager to see the lights come on. Those born after the disaster were especially curious. They had never seen real streetlights and knew them only from the stories told by older survivors.

Oscar was about to have the power turned on when Jack called out.

“Wait! Don’t turn them on yet!”

Everyone looked his way.

Jack grinned.

“This is too important to end with someone casually flipping a switch. We need a proper ceremony.”

“A ceremony?” Elias asked. “For turning on the lights?”

Jack didn’t answer. He simply began assigning everyone a position.

“Elias, take the first utility pole. Warren, Oscar, Henry, Mort, and Hal, each of you take one after him.”

He then called Marg, Edith, Ruth, and Martha over, followed by Thomas, Gordon, Grant, Nolan, and Dean.

That made fifteen people, one for each utility pole.

Meanwhile, Megan sent Susan, Ray, Cass, and several others upstairs to bring down the food and drinks they had prepared.

Once everyone was in place, Jack stood before the crowd and cleared his throat.

“Today is worth celebrating. Elias and Henry found each other again after decades apart, and Henry finally learned the identity of the man who saved his life. Now, after being gone for decades, the lights of the old world are about to shine again.”

He raised his voice.

“Tell me, is that worth celebrating?”

“Yes!”

The answer rang out across the trading post.

Jack smiled and continued.

“The people standing beneath these utility poles came from different places. Before arriving here, many of you had never met. But today, you worked together and raised these poles with your own hands.”

He pointed to the switches in front of them.

“So I thought we should mark the occasion with a lighting ceremony. The fifteen of you will represent everyone here. You’ll flip the switches yourselves and bring back the lights that disappeared decades ago.”

“Let’s do it!”

The response was even louder this time. Even the usually composed Elias joined in, while Mort and Henry smiled along with the others.

Jack burst out laughing.

“Is everyone ready?”

All fifteen placed their hands on the switches.

“Ready!”

“When I count to three, I’ll turn on the main power. Flip your switches at the same time.”

Jack gripped the main breaker and looked along the row of fifteen wooden poles.

“One, two, three!”

He threw the breaker.

At the same moment, all fifteen people flipped their switches.

Every light came on at once.

The lights formed a bright path from the convenience store, through the trading post, and out toward the living area beyond the moat. The darkness receded, revealing the tents, the stacks of sun-dried bricks, the trading post, and the tools left behind after a full day’s work.

Those born after the disaster lifted their heads and stared at the streetlights they had only ever heard about from the older survivors.

For them, darkness had always been part of the night. Torches and weak lamps were the best they had ever known. None of them had imagined that a line of lights could illuminate the entire area so clearly.

Warren, Oscar, Henry, and the others who remembered the old world quietly watched the lights.

Decades ago, electric lights had been everywhere. No one had ever thought twice about them. Now, it had taken them decades just to see fifteen ordinary lamps shining again.

Elias stood beneath the first pole, his eyes fixed on the light above him.

As everyone admired the sight, the aroma of food drifted over from the convenience store.

The crowd turned to find Megan leading Susan, Ray, Cass, and the others toward the trading post with food and drinks.

Jack stood beneath the lights and grinned.

“Since today is such a happy occasion, I can’t be too stingy. Megan and I prepared some food and drinks for everyone. It’s nothing extravagant, but today we celebrate. Eat and drink as much as you want!”

Another cheer went through the crowd.

Everyone gathered around the food, and the trading post soon filled with conversation and laughter. Some chatted as they ate, while others raised their drinks. Even with food in their hands, many still kept glancing up at the fifteen lights.

Henry sat beside Elias with a drink in his hand. He looked up at the streetlights and smiled.

“I never thought we’d live to sit beneath electric lights and share a drink again.”

“And I never thought I’d see you again,” Elias replied.

“Looks like the two of us old men are pretty hard to kill.”

“At least harder than those people expected back then.”

The two left the past alone after that. They sat beneath the first utility pole and watched the celebration around them.

Martha had initially stayed with Henry, but Marg soon called her over. After a few words, their conversation naturally turned to food.

When Martha learned that Marg usually prepared meals for everyone, she began asking how she managed it all. Edith and Ruth soon joined them.

“Cooking for this many people by yourself must be exhausting,” Martha said. “If you ever need help, call me. I can lend a hand.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Marg handed her a serving of food. “But no talk about work tonight. Eat first.”

Martha accepted the food and sat beside them. Before long, the four women were discussing different ways to prepare meals. Martha described some of the methods used in her former settlement, while Edith and Ruth listened with interest.

Elsewhere, Nolan brought food to Dean and Noah and asked what kind of work they had done before.

When Owen and the others learned that Dean had been part of a hunting team, they immediately began asking him about hunting and tracking mutant beasts.

“Do you hunt here too?” Dean asked.

“Not yet.” Nolan pointed toward the nearby stacks of brick blanks. “For now, we mostly make brick blanks and dry them into bricks.”

Dean followed his gesture.

“You made all of those?”

“That’s right,” Owen said with a smile. “Don’t underestimate those bricks. They’re how we earn our food now.”

“That’s right,” Owen said with a smile. “Don’t underestimate those bricks. They’re how we earn our food now.”

Dean thought he was joking at first. But after Nolan briefly explained the trading rules, he looked at the stacks of sun-dried bricks again.

“So all you have to do is make brick blanks, and you can exchange them with Jack for food?”

“That’s right.” Lyle handed him a drink. “But since you know how to hunt, you might be able to earn food that way instead. You’ll have to ask Jack how he wants to arrange it.”

“I hope so,” Dean said. “As long as the rules are reasonable, I’m willing to follow them.”

Noah had already wandered away from the conversation. Carrying his food, he circled the CUEV several times and kept glancing up at the lights on the utility poles.

Eventually, he approached Cass and Grant and began asking how everything worked.

Cass answered patiently at first, but the questions kept coming.

“Why do you have so many questions?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Noah replied. “Weren’t you curious the first time you saw it?”

“I was, but I didn’t ask questions nonstop.”

Grant laughed and took over the explanation. It wasn’t long before all three of them were gathered around the CUEV, discussing how it worked. Noah even began asking whether he could learn to drive one.

Mort sat farther away, quietly watching the celebration.

Hal soon came over with a drink and sat down beside him without asking.

“What are you doing hiding over here by yourself?”

“Enjoying the peace and quiet.”

“Everyone’s celebrating, and you still want peace and quiet?” Hal pushed the drink into his hand. “Come on. Stop hiding over here and sit with us for a while.”

Mort glanced toward Henry and Elias, then got up and followed Hal.

Henry didn’t mention Arthur Coleman when they approached. He simply shifted aside to make room for Mort, and Hal sat down with them.

Before long, Henry and Elias began talking about their old unit. Hal listened with great interest, occasionally interrupting with a question. Mort said nothing. He simply listened, learning more about the unit his father had once served in through the memories of the two old soldiers.

Henry looked around the trading post.

The five people who had arrived with him had already scattered among the crowd. The tension they had carried when they first arrived was gone.

He raised his drink and gently tapped it against Elias’s.

“Looks like we really were lucky this time.”

Elias watched the people talking and laughing beneath the lights, then smiled and raised his own drink.