LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Jack had barely finished speaking when the refugees outside the entrance began exchanging uneasy looks.

They glanced at the seedling trays and bags of supplies on the ground, then back at Jack. Their expressions gradually darkened.

The refugee at the front opened his mouth several times before finally asking, ”What exactly do you mean? Are you changing your mind again?”

Jack blinked.

Before he could answer, someone beside him hurriedly spoke up.

”This is everything we could find. We really did our best.”

”We know we were wrong, but we were just trying to survive.”

”Please. Just help us.”

The crowd quickly descended into anxious chatter. Someone pushed the bag of seeds forward, while another untied the garden twine around the seedling trays, apparently trying to show Jack that there were still plenty of usable ones inside.

Others simply began pleading with him, asking for at least enough food to keep them from returning empty-handed.

Jack stood at the entrance as voices came at him from every direction. His head was starting to pound, and for a moment he didn’t even know who to answer first.

Then it clicked.

He couldn’t really blame them. What he’d just said could easily have sounded like he was about to turn them away.

Jack raised both hands.

”All right. Everybody shut up for a second.”

The voices gradually died down, though the refugees continued watching him uneasily.

Jack pointed at the supplies on the ground.

”I never said I wouldn’t take these, and I’m not backing out of the deal.”

The crowd went still.

”Then what did you mean just now?”

”I didn’t explain it properly.”

Jack cleared his throat awkwardly before pointing toward the CUEVs parked nearby.

”What I want to talk about is what happens to you from here.”

His tone softened as he looked over the exhausted refugees.

”I know making this trip every day isn’t easy, so I have an idea.”

He pointed toward the open ground beyond the fence.

”For the time being, how about staying over there?”

The refugees followed his gesture. Disbelief gradually spread across the crowd.

Jack continued before anyone could get the wrong idea.

”But you’re not coming inside the fence. That’s not negotiable.”

”We agree,” the refugee at the front said immediately.

Others quickly nodded.

After a brief silence, someone cautiously asked, ”But... there’s nothing out there. Where are we supposed to stay?”

Jack pointed at the CUEVs.

”There are pallets and tools in the cargo beds. Build something yourselves.”

”I’ve got food ready too. Once you’ve picked a spot, I’ll have a water line run over there.”

The refugees immediately stirred with excitement, but before anyone could thank him, Jack continued.

”Let’s get one thing straight. None of this is free.”

That quieted them down again.

”I’m keeping track of everything you take. Once the heat wave is over, if you want to leave, you pay off what you owe first.”

The refugee at the front hesitated.

”How are we supposed to pay you back?”

”Go out to the ruins and bring back supplies,” Jack said. ” It doesn’t matter what kind of supplies you find. As long as they’re intact and not obviously damaged, bring them back.”

Another refugee asked, ”What if we want to stay?”

”Same thing. You go out and gather supplies until the debt’s paid off. After that, if you’re willing to help with construction, I can hire you.”

Low murmurs spread through the crowd again. Some had already begun discussing what kind of work they could do, while others kept staring at the open ground beyond the fence, as though they still couldn’t quite believe they wouldn’t have to walk all the way back to the agricultural supply center tonight.

Jack gave them a moment before continuing.

”If you decide to stay, don’t build anything that blocks the entrance or gets in the way of traffic. And you’ll have to put the shelters together yourselves. I can’t do that for you.”

”That’s fine,” the refugee at the front said immediately. ”We’ll build them ourselves.”

The others agreed.

Jack glanced down at the seedling trays and bags of supplies.

”All right. Now we can talk about this stuff. What do you want for it?”

One refugee hesitated before asking quietly, ”Could we use all this to pay off part of what we’ll owe you?”

”Sure,” Jack said. ”We’ll settle the numbers later. If you’re not happy with that, you can hold on to it for now.”

The refugee shook his head quickly.

”No. Keep all of it.”

No one else objected. There was little point in hauling the seedling trays, seeds, and miscellaneous parts all the way back to the agricultural supply center when they could instead count toward what the group would eventually have to repay.

Seeing that everyone seemed to have accepted the arrangement, Jack asked, ”Any other questions?”

The refugees looked at one another.

No one had any.

”Then let’s talk about food. For now, five potatoes per person per day. I’ll also give you cooking pots, stoves, and a sack of salt. How you cook them is up to you. That enough?”

The refugees stared at him in surprise before nodding repeatedly.

”Good. We’ll start with that. Work out the rest among yourselves.”

The group discussed the arrangement for a while and gradually settled on a basic plan. Several people would share each shelter, with the immediate priority being to make sure everyone had somewhere shaded to rest. Everything else could be improved later.

Food would also be collected and cooked by group rather than having everyone use separate stoves and pots.

After a long silence, the refugee at the front finally looked at Jack.

”Thank you.”

The others turned toward him as well.

Jack shifted his gaze away, suddenly uncomfortable under all the attention.

”Don’t thank me. I just don’t want anyone dying out here.”

The man nodded firmly.

”I know.”

Then he bent deeply at the waist.

”I’m sorry.”

The other refugees followed his lead.

Jack clearly didn’t know what to do with that. He said nothing more and simply had someone take the agricultural supplies aside to be recorded.

Megan walked over with a teasing smile.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Jack had no comeback.

The refugees soon divided into several groups according to the plan they’d agreed on and began unloading pallets and tools from the CUEVs.

Several people first searched for a suitable place to build. They didn’t go far before settling on a relatively flat patch of ground some distance from both the fence and the entrance, far enough away that they wouldn’t interfere with CUEV traffic.

Once the location had been chosen, the others began carrying pallets over.

At first, no one seemed entirely sure where to begin. They laid several pallets side by side and tried fastening them together with wooden strips and nails. The first few came out crooked, and one even tipped upward the moment someone stepped on it because the ground underneath was uneven.

They had no choice but to move the pallets again, clear away the protruding rocks, and fill the low spots with sand.

Warren watched for a while before finally walking over. He didn’t do the work for them. Instead, he pointed out several obvious problems and suggested that they build a raised platform first before worrying about the shade structure above it.

With a clear direction, the refugees quickly got back to work. Some cleared the ground, others carried pallets, while another group secured the joints. Progress wasn’t fast, but at least they were no longer fumbling around without any idea what to do.

The others began preparing dinner.

Each group collected a cooking pot, a portable stove, and its share of potatoes for the night. Once they had their food, they found spots away from the construction and began washing the potatoes.

There were plenty of potatoes, but the pots were small, so they had to cook them in batches. Once the water came to a boil, several washed potatoes went into each pot while the rest waited nearby for their turn.

Before long, steam began rising from several small pots.

The potatoes weren’t ready yet, but their faint aroma was already drifting across the open ground. More than one person carrying pallets glanced toward the cooking area, and their hands seemed to move a little faster afterward.

When the first batch was ready, the people cooking didn’t divide everything immediately. A few potatoes went first to those who were too exhausted to continue helping with the shelters.

The rest were shared among the groups.

People sat directly on the newly laid pallets and peeled open the steaming potatoes. Some sprinkled on a little salt and took a bite without waiting. Others immediately jerked their hands away from the heat, but refused to put the potatoes down, passing them back and forth between their palms instead.

Those who had eaten soon took over for the others. Some went back to leveling the ground, some carried more pallets, while the rest stayed by the stoves and waited for the next batch of potatoes to finish cooking.

Little by little, several joined platforms began to take shape beyond the fence.

Once the raised floors were in place, the refugees began setting wooden supports upright and using the remaining boards to build roofs for shade.

Warren gave them a few more pointers from the side, mainly warning them not to seal the shelters completely or the heat would build up inside during the day. After that, he left the refugees to work out the details themselves.

No one cared whether the shelters looked neat.

They only wanted to finish enough before sunrise to give everyone somewhere out of the sun.

Several makeshift shelters gradually took shape beyond the fence. Their heights didn’t quite match, and some of the boards sat crooked, but they were beginning to look like places people could actually stay.

Only after the locations of the shelters had been finalized did Jack have Walter run the water line over.

The end of the line was secured near the edge of the temporary camp, with several containers placed nearby so the refugees could collect water whenever they needed it.

When clean water first began flowing, several refugees instinctively crowded closer.

Then they stopped.

After exchanging glances, they approached one by one to fill their containers.

Some drank most of what they collected immediately. Others carried the water to people still working on the shelters. The rest was left near the stoves for cooking the next batches of potatoes.

Jack stood inside the fence and watched them work.

Some knelt beside pallets, fastening wooden strips into place. Others carried tools back and forth, while several remained near the stoves waiting for the next batch of potatoes.

Even after eating, most still looked terrible.

Several of the weaker refugees were already lying on the new platforms to rest. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their lips were badly cracked.

Jack hadn’t planned to do anything more.

But after watching them for a while, he still couldn’t quite leave it alone.

They’d spent the entire day enduring the heat inside the agricultural supply center, then walked all the way here through the hot night. Plain water could quench their thirst, but it wouldn’t necessarily replace all the salt they’d lost through sweating. If they kept working until sunrise, someone really might collapse from dehydration.

Jack went to find Susan and Ray and asked them to prepare several buckets of lightly salted water with some ice added.

Before long, the chilled salt water was carried outside the fence.

The refugees looked confused at first. Once they realized it was for them to drink, they gathered around with cups.

”Slowly,” Jack reminded them.

Those still working put down their tools and came over in turns.

After drinking the cold, lightly salted water, the people who had been worn numb by the heat finally seemed to regain some energy.

Jack watched them return to work.

Only then did he feel a little more at ease.