LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Inside the convenience store, the equipment Jack had received from Marlin was already plugged in and charging.

Upstairs, Jack lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

He had only been in this world for a few days, but it already felt like more had happened than in all his years back on Earth.

The wasteland, the raiders, the Red Sand Badgers, the Dustchucks, the settlement, the trades—and somehow, the area outside his convenience store was getting busier by the day.

Jack stared at the ceiling for a while longer, then rolled onto his side.

There was no point lying awake and worrying about it. He could not control what tomorrow would bring, so he might as well get some sleep while he could.

The rest of the night passed without incident.

Before dawn, while Jack was still asleep, Vane had already left the settlement with Mort bound to a crude handcart.

Mort was awake, but his face was pale, and blood had soaked through part of the cloth around his abdomen. Neither of them spoke as Vane pushed the cart across the wasteland.

They had set out as soon as the horizon began to lighten. Mort’s wounds were serious, and the strong scent of blood could easily attract trouble if they stayed on the road for too long. Marg had decided there was no reason to delay.

The cart creaked softly over the sand. Every so often, Vane glanced down to make sure the ropes were still secure, but Mort made no attempt to struggle. He simply lay there with his eyes half-open, staring at the pale gray sky.

Whenever the wheels struck a stone, the cart jolted beneath him. Mort would tense at the pain in his abdomen, then fall still again without a word.

Vane left him alone.

As long as Mort survived the journey, Jack could decide what happened next.

And so they continued toward the convenience store in silence.

Jack woke the next morning after sunrise.

It was his fifth day in this world.

After washing up, he made a simple breakfast. By then, Elias and the others were beginning to wake. Cass looked much better than he had the day before, though the injury still made it difficult for him to walk.

Susan checked the wound and found no signs that it had worsened. It was simply healing slowly, which allowed everyone to relax a little.

After breakfast, Jack sat down with Elias to discuss the workers and their pay. They had agreed the day before that people from the settlement would help with the construction, but they still needed to decide who would come, what work they could handle, and how Jack would pay them.

“Thomas and Reed can help,” Elias said after giving it some thought. “Thomas knows some carpentry and repair work. Reed is strong enough for carrying supplies and digging. Vane and I will stay at the settlement for now.”

Jack was about to agree when Elias suddenly rose to his feet, looking toward the distance.

The others noticed it too. Cass straightened in his chair, while Marlin lowered the water bottle he had been about to drink from. Reed was already standing.

A figure soon appeared in the distance, heading toward the convenience store.

It was Vane.

He approached with a crude handcart, looking grimmer than usual. A man covered in blood was tied to it.

When the cart stopped in front of them, Jack recognized the man at once.

“Mort?”

Elias and Cass both stiffened. Reed was already reaching for his hammer.

“What happened?” Elias asked.

“We don’t know,” Vane said. “He collapsed outside our settlement last night. Thomas and I were going to kill him, but Marg stopped us.”

He looked at Jack.

“She said we’re not raiders. She also said Mort attacked your convenience store, not our settlement, so you should be the one to decide what happens to him.”

No one spoke for a moment.

Cass gave a cold laugh. “And if we don’t kill him? Do we keep him around until his friends come looking for revenge?”

Elias shot him a warning look, then turned to Jack. “What do you think?”

Jack opened his mouth but found himself unable to answer.

Cass had a point. Jack knew that. But understanding the danger and ordering someone’s death were two very different things.

He was still an ordinary person. Before coming to this world, he had never killed anyone. He had never even killed a chicken.

Then he remembered the Red Sand Badger from two days ago.

All right. Maybe the part about never killing anything was no longer true.

Jack’s mouth twitched.

Before Jack could reach a decision, Marlin spoke.

“He’s dangerous. I won’t argue with that. But that doesn’t mean he’s useless.”

Cass frowned. “What are you getting at?”

Marlin walked over to the cart and looked Mort over. His gaze lingered on the industrial apron, the heavy gloves, and the grease-soaked leather he wore.

“I told you before—they call him Locksmith. Most of the weapons and scrap equipment in the raiders’ camp were probably repaired or modified by him.”

He nodded toward the chain hammer.

“You can’t make something like that by tying an iron weight to a random chain. If the balance is wrong, the person swinging it is more likely to kill himself than anyone else.”

Reed kept his eyes on Mort. “He knows how to use it too. He’s strong, but it isn’t just brute force. Once that chain starts moving, an ordinary person can’t stop it.”

Cass looked ready to argue, but Elias cut him off.

“Enough, Cass.”

Cass turned away, still visibly unhappy.

Marlin looked back at Jack. “You want to build a defensive system. Someone with Mort’s skills could be useful. You’d have to keep him under guard, of course. He’s still a raider.”

Elias nodded. “Marlin has a point. I don’t think we should kill him either. If we kill a helpless man simply because he might become a problem, then we’re no different from the raiders.”

Jack understood what Elias meant. He did not want to order Mort’s death, nor did he want killing to become an easy solution.

Before he could answer, Susan came over from the tent and crouched beside the cart. She checked the blood-soaked cloth around Mort’s abdomen, then looked at his pale face.

“If we don’t treat him soon, he may not survive the day.”

“Can you treat him?” Jack asked.

Susan examined the wound again. “I can only try. He’s badly hurt, and the wound has been left like this all night.”

Cass looked at Jack. “You’re really going to save him?”

“First we keep him alive,” Jack said. “We can decide what to do with him afterward.”

Cass still looked unhappy, but neither Elias nor Marlin objected.

Reed checked the ropes around Mort’s wrists and ankles, tightened the knots, and moved the cart closer to the tent.

“Treat him here,” he said. “Don’t untie him.”

Susan agreed, then asked Jack for clean towels, water, disinfectant, and gauze.

Jack returned from the store a short while later with everything she needed.

Marlin stared at the supplies. “I thought you gave me the first-aid kit. How do you still have all of this?”

Cass lifted his chin, looking rather pleased with himself.

“What did you expect? Did you really think you walked away with Jack’s only medical supplies?”

Then he added, “There’s a whole wall of cabinets inside the store filled with medicine.”

Marlin stared at him in disbelief.

Jack gave Cass an annoyed look. “You really can’t keep anything to yourself, can you?”

Susan ignored them and began treating Mort’s wound.

As Susan removed the blood-soaked cloth, the wound underneath proved worse than Jack had expected. A large bruise spread across Mort’s abdomen, and the torn skin was caked with blood, dust, and sand.

Susan cleaned the area with water, carefully removing the dirt caught in the wound. When the disinfectant touched the exposed flesh, Mort tensed and let out a muffled groan.

Vane pressed a hand against his shoulder.

“Don’t move.”

Mort opened his eyes. His gaze passed over Vane and settled on Jack, but he made no attempt to struggle.

Susan finished cleaning the wound, stopped the bleeding as best she could, and wrapped his abdomen in fresh bandages. Once the final layer was secured, she sat back and let out a slow breath.

“That’s all I can do for now.”

Mort was more alert by then. He looked at Susan and managed a hoarse, “Thank you.”

Susan said nothing. She gathered the bloodied cloth and used towels and moved them aside.

Jack looked at Mort’s freshly bandaged abdomen and felt the beginning of a headache.

Saving him had been the easy part.

Now they had to decide what to do with him.