LOSS System: Last Store Standing

When Jack and Megan arrived at the trading post the next morning, Warren and Leonard were already waiting for them.

Leonard glanced at the latest data he had collected from the monitoring station.

“Today’s temperature is about the same as yesterday’s. It’ll probably stay this way for the next few days.”

Jack wasn’t surprised by the result.

Warren pointed toward the shelter.

“We’ve chosen a location for the clinic. The soil is suitable too. We can start excavating whenever you’re ready.”

Jack’s previously cheerful mood vanished in an instant.

He remained silent for a moment before muttering, “The Dustchucks have gone on strike.”

Warren didn’t immediately understand.

“What?”

Standing nearby, Megan remembered Jack crouching on the ground and gesturing repeatedly the night before. She couldn’t help laughing.

“Let’s go look at the site first.”

Jack waved a hand, unwilling to discuss the matter any further.

The group left the trading post and soon arrived beneath the canopy in front of the shelter. Although it was still morning, the temperature outside had already begun to climb.

Warren pointed toward an open area across from the shelter.

“Right there.”

Jack followed the direction of his finger. He was about to ask Warren about the exact boundaries when a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the moat.

He turned and quickly froze.

Dustchucks were emerging one after another from near the moat. The lead Dustchuck walked at the front, with the rest trailing behind in a long procession as they marched toward the group.

Jack’s dejection disappeared instantly.

He turned toward Megan and winked smugly.

He didn’t say anything, but the meaning written across his face couldn’t have been clearer.

Who said they didn’t understand?

Megan saw how quickly his expression had changed and fought back a smile, refusing to humor him.

The people inside the shelter noticed the approaching Dustchucks as well and watched them curiously.

Before long, the lead Dustchuck arrived in front of Jack. It lifted its head and stared at him without moving.

Jack met its gaze for a moment, his smile growing wider.

He turned to Warren.

“Exactly where do you want them to dig?”

Warren raised a hand and pointed out the excavation area.

Jack memorized the location, then led the Dustchuck toward the open ground. The other Dustchucks quickly followed.

Once they arrived, Jack pointed at the ground and mimed digging. He then led the lead Dustchuck around the boundaries Warren had indicated.

“Start digging here.”

The lead Dustchuck stood there watching him.

Jack crouched and repeated the digging motion before pointing toward the other Dustchucks.

“All of you dig together. Finish the job, and you’ll get potatoes.”

This time, the lead Dustchuck seemed to understand.

It turned and called several times to the others behind it.

The Dustchucks gathered nearby immediately sprang into action. They moved past their leader, reached the area Jack had indicated, lowered their bodies, and began digging.

The hard, dry clay broke apart rapidly beneath their claws. Before long, a noticeable depression had appeared in the previously level ground, and large amounts of excavated soil were being pushed off to the side.

Warren stood there, too stunned to react.

The people inside the shelter stared at the Dustchucks digging exactly where Jack had directed them. For a long moment, no one said anything.

Warren swallowed with difficulty and turned toward Megan.

“They... can understand what Jack’s saying?”

Megan looked at Jack, who was standing beside the Dustchucks with a thoroughly pleased expression. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer.

Then she gave a helpless laugh.

“Who knows?”

Jack watched the Dustchucks disappear one by one into the opening they had excavated. Only then did he return beneath the canopy.

He walked over to Megan, clearly in a much better mood than before.

“Come on. Let’s go prepare the potatoes.”

Megan nodded and followed him back to the convenience store.

They found several sacks and filled them with potatoes. A while later, Jack and Megan returned beneath the canopy in front of the shelter, each carrying a sack.

Jack set the potatoes down and looked toward the excavation site.

An opening had appeared in the previously level ground, and large amounts of broken clay were being pushed out at regular intervals. All the Dustchucks had gone underground. From beneath the canopy, the only visible sign of their work was the steadily growing mound of soil.

Jack still wasn’t entirely at ease and decided to inspect it himself.

“I’m going to take a look.”

He left the canopy and headed toward the opening.

When he reached it, Jack stood outside and bent down to peer inside.

He had already prepared himself for the worst. The Dustchucks might have followed their natural instincts and dug a network of winding tunnels.

Instead, what he saw took him by surprise.

The Dustchucks weren’t digging randomly in every direction. The underground space was extending toward the intended area, and the broken clay was being transported outside rather than left to pile up within.

There was no way to tell what the finished excavation would look like yet, but at least it hadn’t strayed from the planned direction, and the entrance was surprisingly neat.

The longer Jack watched, the wider his smile grew.

Another pile of loose clay was suddenly shoved out of the opening. Jack hurriedly stepped back, narrowly avoiding being covered in flying dirt.

He wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he clapped the dust from his hands in satisfaction and returned beneath the canopy.

The moment Megan saw his delighted expression, she knew the results had to be good.

“How is it?”

“Excellent.” Jack sat down beside her. “They know which direction to dig. I don’t even have to stay there and watch them.”

Warren froze again.

He looked at the opening in the distance, then back at Jack. He seemed to want to ask something but ultimately remained silent.

They stayed beneath the canopy, occasionally looking toward the open ground across from them.

The Dustchucks remained underground and could no longer be seen from outside. Only mound after mound of clay shot from the entrance and landed across the nearby ground.

The temperature outside continued to rise.

No one knew how long they had been watching when the mound outside the opening became alarmingly large. Yet the flow of clay from underground showed no sign of stopping.

Warren stared at the growing pile and suddenly realized what was happening.

“Stop them!” He shot to his feet. “If they keep going, they’ll hollow out this entire area!”

Jack snapped out of it as well.

He immediately jumped up and ran toward the opening. But the moment he left the canopy, a wave of scorching air struck him head-on. After only a few steps, the exposed skin on his body began to sting, forcing him to retreat beneath the canopy.

“Shit!”

Jack hurried over to put on protective gear before charging toward the opening again.

When he reached the mound of clay, he shouted into the dark entrance.

“Stop! Stop digging! All of you, stop!”

Clay continued spilling from inside. Jack had no idea whether his voice could reach deep enough for the Dustchucks to hear.

All he could do was remain outside and keep shouting into the opening.

After a while, movement finally came from underground.

The lead Dustchuck crawled out, shook the loose clay from its body, and looked up at Jack.

Jack immediately waved both hands.

“Stop. Don’t dig anymore.”

He pointed toward the entrance, shook his head repeatedly, and crossed his arms in a large X in front of his chest.

The lead Dustchuck stared at him for a moment before turning and calling into the tunnel.

Before long, the other Dustchucks began emerging one after another. They were all covered in clay, and several started shaking themselves the moment they reached the surface, sending dust flying everywhere.

Jack quickly stepped back.

Only after every Dustchuck had emerged did he lead them back beneath the canopy.

The moment they approached, every pair of eyes turned toward the two sacks of potatoes nearby.

“All right. I know what you want.”

Jack opened one of the sacks and distributed the potatoes. The Dustchucks quickly crowded around, each clutching its share as they began to eat.

Warren watched them quietly eating, then looked toward the opening whose interior no one had properly inspected yet.

“I’m going inside.”

He put on protective gear and quickly left the canopy. At the entrance, Warren crouched and inspected the slope before carefully walking inside.

After he had gone some distance, the light around him quickly faded.

Warren stopped and narrowed his eyes, but he could barely make out the ground nearby. Everything farther ahead was almost completely dark. He couldn’t determine how much space the Dustchucks had excavated, let alone see where he was going.

He didn’t venture any deeper and soon returned outside.

Back beneath the canopy, Warren removed his protective gear.

“It’s too dark in there. I can’t see anything. We need a few lights.”

Jack nodded.

“I’ll get them.”

He and Megan returned to the convenience store again and found several camping lights. Jack was about to leave when he reached the warehouse door and suddenly stopped.

Megan looked at him.

“What is it?”

“We shouldn’t leave the entrance exposed to the sun all day,” Jack said. “Let’s bring a canopy and set it up over the entrance.”

He took a spare canopy from storage and loaded it onto the CUEV with the camping lights. The two then drove back to the shelter.

Jack handed the canopy to Warren.

“Have a few people set this up over the entrance tonight after the temperature drops.”

Warren accepted it and called two people over, instructing them to erect it once it was cool enough to work outside.

Walter stood as well.

“I’ll come with you.”

They wasted no time. Everyone put on protective gear, took a camping light, and headed toward the opening.

Once there, they switched on the lights. Several beams illuminated the entrance, revealing the nearby clay walls and sloping ground beneath their feet.

Jack entered first, bending low as he walked. Megan, Warren, and Walter followed one after another.

After descending along the sloped ground for a while, they were gradually able to straighten up.

Jack raised his camping light. The beam swept across the uneven clay walls nearby, while farther away, only a vague outline could be seen.

Warren continued forward without stopping. The others spread out in different directions. As the beams of light moved farther apart, the rough extent of the underground space gradually came into view.

The Dustchucks had excavated a much larger area than Warren had originally marked out.

The walls were uneven. Some sections had been dug much farther outward than intended, while others contained noticeable recesses. Fortunately, the Dustchucks hadn’t created a network of tunnels extending in every direction. Instead, they had hollowed out a single broad area whose overall shape still resembled Warren’s original plan.

Warren continued along the wall, carefully inspecting every section that had been over-excavated. From time to time, he stopped to examine the ground and the clay layer overhead.

The floor was uneven as well, but there were no major differences in elevation. The clay overhead showed no obvious signs of loosening, aside from several places the Dustchucks had left rough and irregular.

Walter followed nearby with his camping light, helping inspect the opposite side. Megan stood a little farther away and directed her light toward whichever section Warren was examining.

Only after a long while did Warren return to the others.

“It’s considerably larger than planned, but there’s nothing wrong with the main space.”

Jack let out a breath of relief.

“As long as they didn’t ruin it. They’re mutant animals, after all. There was no way they could follow my instructions perfectly.”

Warren nodded.

“True. The fact that they managed this much is already unbelievable.”

“Never mind that for now.” Jack looked around the underground space. “Let’s see how different the temperature is down here.”

He removed his protective gear first and waited for a moment.

The underground space was still hot and stuffy, but the exposed skin on his arms didn’t sting, and the heat had no effect on his breathing. Even without protective gear, he could move around normally.

Megan, Warren, and Walter removed their protective gear as well. The four of them remained inside for quite some time. They gradually began to sweat, but none of them experienced any discomfort.

Everyone was pleased with the result.

Warren sighed.

“If only we’d thought of building the shelter underground from the beginning.”

Jack looked toward the indistinct underground space beyond the reach of their lights, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

At least from what they had seen so far, moving the clinic underground had been the right decision.