LOSS System: Last Store Standing

The system’s final words left Jack weak in the knees. He dropped heavily to the floor.

Megan rushed over.

“Jack, what’s wrong?”

Jack didn’t answer her. His voice trembled slightly.

“LOSS, what does Catastrophic mean?”

“If no effective measures are taken, the heat wave will leave the entire area lifeless.”

The color drained from Jack’s face.

“We’re finished. This time, we’re really finished...”

Megan called his name several times, but he didn’t seem to hear her. Finally, she smacked him on the head.

“Jack, snap out of it!”

Jack jerked his head up.

“Meg, what are we going to do?”

His voice trembled as he spoke.

“What happened?”

Jack told her everything the system had warned him about.

Megan fell silent for a few seconds. Then she took a deep breath, crouched in front of him, and gripped his shoulders.

“Jack, look at me. We still have fourteen days, and the heat wave isn’t here yet. This is not the time to give up. Pull yourself together and think. What do we have, and what can we do with it?”

“What can we do?” Jack shook his head. “Even LOSS classified it as Catastrophic. How are we supposed to fight something like that?”

“I don’t know yet, but we have fourteen days to find an answer.” Megan raised her voice. “Jack, that’s enough. We survived being transported to this world. Are you really telling me we’re going to die because of a heat wave?”

Jack stared at her, still too overwhelmed to think clearly.

“The system gave us unlimited water and electricity, along with more supplies than we could ever use,” Megan continued. “We already have so much to work with, and we have fourteen days to prepare. You can’t decide we’re finished before we’ve even tried.”

“The things the system gave me...”

Jack repeated the words under his breath.

Then he remembered the energy shield and sprang to his feet.

“That’s right! I still have another cheat!”

Before Megan could react, Jack wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you, Meg! You reminded me!”

Megan was caught off guard. A faint blush spread across her face, but Jack didn’t notice. He was already laughing.

“How did I forget about it? LOSS gave me a ridiculously powerful defense!”

“What defense?”

“The energy shield,” Jack said. “Once activated, it can block any form of physical damage. How long it lasts depends on the strength of the attack. That has to be powerful enough, right?”

Megan’s expression only grew more serious.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“Physical damage,” she said. “Does a heat wave count as physical damage?”

Jack’s smile vanished.

“Don’t tell me...”

“I don’t know either. Ask LOSS.”

Clinging to his last bit of hope, Jack immediately asked in his mind, “LOSS, can the energy shield protect us from the heat wave?”

The system answered at once, its tone as serious as before.

“No. The energy shield can only block physical damage caused directly by external forces. It cannot keep out high temperatures or alter the temperature within the protected area. Apart from issuing an advance disaster warning, this system cannot provide any additional assistance.”

“You can only rely on yourselves.”

Jack’s last hope disappeared.

He looked at Megan, his voice much quieter than before.

“You were right. The energy shield can’t protect us from the heat.”

Megan said nothing, and silence settled over the second floor.

After a while, Jack spoke again.

“But you were right about something else too. We can’t sit here and wait to die.”

Megan gave him her full attention.

Jack took a deep breath.

“Let’s bring Elias here and tell him what’s happening. The three of us can figure out what to do.”

“How are you going to explain where the warning came from?” Megan asked.

“We don’t have time to worry about that anymore,” Jack said. “If I have to tell him everything, then I will. That’s still better than keeping quiet and letting everyone wait for the heat wave without knowing it’s coming.”

Megan thought it over, then agreed.

They returned to the trading post, found Elias, and asked him to come back to the convenience store with them.

Elias had no idea what was going on, but he set aside his work and followed them.

Once they were inside, Jack closed the door and locked it. Then he faced Elias.

“Old E, you’ve known for a while that there’s something unusual about me, haven’t you?”

Elias understood that Jack was referring to the endless supply of food and other resources.

“I have,” he said. “What happened?”

“Since you already know that much, I won’t try to hide it anymore. But you need to prepare yourself for what I’m about to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

“In fourteen days, a massive heat wave will reach this area,” Jack said. “We don’t know how high the temperature will rise or exactly how long the heat wave will last. All I know is that its effects will last for at least a month.”

Elias raised his voice.

“What? A heat wave?”

Jack nodded slowly.

“If we aren’t properly prepared, it could leave the entire area lifeless. Megan and I might survive, but the rest of you...”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish.

Elias took a moment to process the warning.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know,” Jack admitted. “That’s why I brought you here. We need to figure something out together.”

“The world ended, and we still survived,” Elias said after a moment. “I refuse to believe a heat wave can wipe us all out now.”

“Exactly,” Jack said firmly. “We still have fourteen days. We’ll find a way.”

“Do you have any ideas yet?” Megan asked Elias.

“Not yet,” Elias said. “This is all too sudden. I need some time to think.”

Jack thought for a moment.

“I want to go to the agricultural supply center tomorrow morning.”

“Why there?” Megan asked.

“For the cargo beds,” Jack said. “Tomorrow, everyone who can drive a CUEV will head out. We’ll install a cargo bed on every CUEV at the agricultural supply center, then go straight to the electronics mall. We’ll bring back as much useful equipment as we can, especially the Portable Climate Control Units.”

Elias immediately saw what Jack had in mind.

“That’s right. As long as we can keep the temperature under control, it won’t matter how severe the heat wave becomes outside.”

“But everyone is living in tents,” Megan pointed out. “If the temperature outside rises too high, filling the tents with climate control units won’t solve the problem.”

Jack considered that.

“If we have no other choice, you and the others can temporarily move into the trading post,” he told Elias. “It should hold the temperature better than the tents.”

“What about everyone living outside the moat?” Megan asked.

Jack had no answer.

“Let’s ask Hal and Mort when the first batch of bricks will be ready,” Elias said after giving it some thought. “If we still have enough time, we can build a temporary shelter large enough for everyone.”

He was about to leave when Jack stopped him.

“Wait. If we’re going to discuss this, bring Hal, Mort, Warren, Walter, and the others here too. Having everyone work on the problem will be better than the three of us sitting in here guessing.”

“Bring Marg and the others too,” Megan added. “Dozens of people may have to live together for at least a month. We need to plan for food, drinking water, and sanitation. Building the shelter is only part of the problem.”

“All right,” Elias said. “I’ll get them.”

After he left, Jack turned to Megan.

“Don’t come with us tomorrow. Stay here and teach more people how to drive the CUEVs. The more drivers we have, the more supplies we can bring back on each trip.”

“All right.”

Before long, Elias returned with the others. He had already given them a brief explanation on the way, so everyone began discussing possible solutions as soon as they sat down.

Hal spoke first.

“The first batch of bricks should be ready tomorrow. We’ll probably get around eighteen hundred. Even if we start firing the second batch immediately, it’ll take at least another six or seven days before those bricks are ready.”

Warren shook his head.

“That won’t be nearly enough,” Warren said. “Eighteen hundred bricks won’t come close to covering a shelter large enough for everyone. And if the second batch takes another six or seven days, we’ll be cutting it too close.”

“Is there anything else we can use?” Jack asked.

“If we have no other choice, we’ll have to search the nearby ruins for suitable building materials,” Warren replied.

“That’s worth trying,” Henry said. “Now that we have vehicles, we can search farther away and still make it back in time.”

Elias thought for a moment.

“What if we don’t use bricks at all? Could we build the shelter entirely out of wood?”

Jack immediately understood what he had in mind.

“Wood won’t be a problem. I have plenty.”

“It could work,” Warren said. “But wood won’t insulate nearly as well as brick.”

“Then we make up for the poor insulation with more climate control units,” Elias said. “There are plenty at the electronics mall. If one unit isn’t enough, we install several. With enough of them running, we should be able to keep the temperature down.”

“Electricity won’t be a problem,” Jack said. “The question is whether the wiring can handle that many units running at the same time.”

“As long as we can find the right cables and electrical components, I can redesign the wiring,” Walter said.

Warren considered the proposal.

“Building entirely out of wood would certainly be much faster.”

“But the boards would all come from dismantled pallets,” Jack reminded him. “They aren’t the same size or thickness. Can you still use them?”

“Yes. We can sort them by size and join them together as needed.”

Warren reached for some paper and a pen.

“Tell me everything the shelter needs. I’ll write it down and draw up a plan. Once the design is ready, we can review it together and make any necessary changes.”

“All right,” Jack said. “We’ll leave the plans to you.”

Marg spoke first.

“If this many people are going to live inside for a month or longer, we can’t prepare meals the way we do now. Cooking produces a lot of heat, so the cooking area should be separated from where everyone sleeps and rests.”

“Water needs to be stored somewhere everyone can reach easily too,” Megan added. “Once the temperature rises, everyone will need to drink more. Besides water, we’ll need salt and something to replace lost electrolytes.”

“What about sanitation?” Ruth asked. “If dozens of people are living under one roof, we need somewhere for them to bathe and use the toilet.”

“We’ll need a basic washroom and toilet area, separated from the sleeping area,” Megan said.

Warren wrote down each requirement as they discussed it.

Once everyone had finished offering suggestions, Jack outlined the work for the next morning.

“Moving supplies will be our first priority.”

Everyone gave him their attention.

“We’ll start at the agricultural supply center and install a cargo bed on every CUEV. From there, we’ll head straight to the electronics mall. We’ll bring back as many Portable Climate Control Units, Indoor Air Regulation Units, and other useful supplies as we can.”

“If you see any electrical cables or components, bring those back too,” Walter said. “You don’t need to figure out what we can use. I’ll sort through everything afterward.”

“No problem,” Jack said. “The second priority is preparing the wooden boards. Once Warren finishes the plans, we’ll know how many pallets need to be dismantled.”

He looked at Elias and Warren.

“I’ll leave the work assignments to the two of you.”

“Leave it to us,” Elias said.

Warren agreed.

When no one had anything else to add, Jack brought the meeting to an end.

“Then that’s the plan for now. We’ll tell everyone else about the heat wave tomorrow morning.”

He glanced at the darkness outside the window.

“It’s getting late. Go get some rest. Starting tomorrow, we have another hard battle ahead of us.”