LOSS System: Last Store Standing

“Walter wants you to take a look at something,” Colt told Warren.

Warren set aside his work and followed him toward the trading post. Jack and Elias went with them.

Walter was waiting beside one corner of the trading post, with Hal and Mort nearby. A large section at the base of the wall had crumbled away, leaving broken bricks and debris scattered across the ground.

“What happened?” Warren asked.

“I was trying to secure the wire running in from the utility pole,” Walter explained. “But the moment I hammered in the nail, a large piece of the wall broke off.”

He motioned toward the debris.

“Something didn’t seem right, so I sent Colt to get you.”

Warren picked up a broken piece of brick and pressed it between his fingers. Powder immediately crumbled from the edges.

He checked the joints between the surrounding bricks, then went outside to examine the rest of the wall. After tapping several sections, he returned to the damaged corner and scraped at one of the cracks with a tool.

More debris fell away.

“The trading post isn’t safe anymore,” Warren said. “We need to reinforce it immediately, or the walls could collapse.”

Jack’s expression changed.

“How did it get this bad so suddenly?”

“These bricks were never fired, were they?” Warren asked.

“No. We used them after they dried in the sun.”

“That explains part of it.”

Warren led them to the wall closest to the large water pit.

“Water has been evaporating from the pit, increasing the moisture in the air around this side of the trading post. Some of that moisture has worked its way into the bricks. The surfaces are starting to crumble, and small cracks have formed inside.”

Jack examined the wall more closely. A web of fine cracks had already spread across a large section. When he touched one of the bricks, a thin fragment broke away.

“But the pit hasn’t been full for very long. Why has the damage spread so quickly?”

“Moisture alone shouldn’t have damaged the bricks this badly in only a few days,” Warren said.

“Then what else caused it?” Elias asked.

“We overlooked the heat,” Hal said.

He broke a small piece from the wall.

“Sun-dried bricks absorb moisture. When the humidity rises, the clay inside takes in water. But that alone wouldn’t make them deteriorate this quickly.”

“The constant heat made it worse,” Warren continued. “The bricks absorbed moisture, then dried out again. That cycle kept repeating. Each time, more cracks formed inside, and the bricks became more brittle. Once the outer layers started crumbling, the entire wall began losing strength.”

Jack looked back at the trading post.

“So eventually, it’ll collapse?”

“That’s right. We need to reinforce it before that happens.”

Jack immediately began asking questions.

“How long would that take? How many people would you need, and how much material?”

“The first batch of fired bricks is ready,” Hal added. “We have around eighteen hundred.”

Warren spent a moment estimating the work.

“We’d need at least ten to twelve people working for two or three days. The badly damaged sections around the base and corners would have to be removed and rebuilt with fired bricks. We’d also need posts and diagonal braces along the exterior, along with additional supports inside.”

He looked over the walls again.

“We’d probably use between seven hundred and a thousand fired bricks, plus a considerable amount of wood.”

“And after that, there won’t be any more problems?” Jack asked.

“I can’t promise that,” Warren said. “Most of the walls would still be made of sun-dried bricks. Reinforcement would only support them for now. If the bricks continue to deteriorate, we’ll eventually have to repair the walls again.”

Jack fell silent.

The trading post had only recently been completed, yet the walls were already beginning to fail.

After a while, he asked, “If we bring back everyone currently out gathering supplies and put all available workers on the shelter, how long would it take to finish?”

“If the materials arrive on time, about five days,” Warren replied. “We could install the wiring and climate control units during construction too.”

Jack took a deep breath.

“Then we won’t reinforce the trading post.”

The others didn’t immediately understand.

“What do you mean?” Warren asked.

“We’ll tear it down and rebuild it.”

Everyone fell silent.

“The walls can still be repaired,” Warren reminded him. “If we demolish the trading post now, all the work we put into it will have been wasted.”

“Reinforcing it would cost too much,” Jack said. “More than ten people would spend two or three days on it, we’d use hundreds of fired bricks and a large amount of wood, and you still can’t guarantee the remaining walls won’t keep deteriorating.”

He looked at the damaged trading post.

“If we’re going to rebuild it sooner or later, why waste time trying to save it now?”

Jack addressed the others.

“Today is the second day. We have twelve days left. We’ll concentrate everyone on the shelter first...”

“We may have more than twelve days.”

Megan’s voice came from behind them. She had just finished another first-aid lesson and arrived in time to hear the discussion.

“The heat wave is expected to reach this area in fourteen days,” she said. “That doesn’t mean the temperature will peak the moment it arrives. Even if the prediction is accurate, we may still have a few extra days before it reaches full strength.”

Hal slapped his forehead.

“That’s right. How did we forget that? A heat wave takes time to build. The temperature won’t jump straight to its highest point the moment it reaches us.”

“We can’t count on those extra days,” Elias said. “Fourteen days is only an estimate. What if the heat wave arrives early?”

“I agree,” Jack said. “Any extra time should be treated as a buffer in case something goes wrong, not included in the schedule.”

He looked back at the damaged trading post.

“We’ll focus on the shelter first. Once that’s finished, we’ll rebuild the trading post. By then, the second batch of fired bricks should be nearly ready.”

He continued, “We’ll use fired bricks for the lower section of the new trading post and wooden boards for the upper walls and roof. No more sun-dried bricks.”

“You want to finish both buildings before the heat wave arrives?” Warren asked.

“That’s right. Work out how long we’ll need.”

Warren gave him a helpless smile.

“You certainly have a lot of confidence in me.”

He took out some paper and a pen, crouched on the ground, and began calculating. No one interrupted him.

After a while, Warren wrote down the final number and rose carefully to his feet.

“We’ll demolish the trading post first and recover every usable board and piece of material for the shelter,” he said. “The shelter should take about five days. Once it’s finished, everyone can move over here and rebuild the trading post.”

He pointed to the rough outline on the paper.

“The new trading post will be twelve meters long and nine meters wide. The bottom meter of the walls will be built with fired bricks, while the upper walls and roof will use wooden boards. Three thousand fired bricks should be enough.”

He checked his calculations once more.

“Including demolition, construction, wiring, lighting, exhaust equipment, and climate control units, both projects should take around ten days.”

“Then that’s the plan,” Jack said.

“Not so fast,” Warren warned him. “That estimate assumes all the workers and materials are available when we need them. Even one problem during construction could put us behind schedule.”

“We’ll deal with problems as they come,” Jack said. “If daylight isn’t enough, we’ll continue at night and work in shifts. The trading post already has electricity, so darkness won’t stop us.”

Warren considered the schedule once more before accepting it.

“All right. We’ll plan for ten days.”

“Now that we’ve decided, we can’t keep assigning people wherever they happen to be needed,” Elias said. “Everyone should continue their current work for now. Once Cass and the others return, we’ll reorganize the teams.”

“Agreed,” Jack said. “When they come back, we’ll suspend the supply runs and put everyone on the shelter and trading post. Once both are finished, we can return to the electronics mall for whatever else we need.”

“We can’t stop the supply runs.”

Henry’s voice came from nearby. Jack turned and found him standing beside the trading post.

“If we keep sending people out, we won’t have enough workers,” Jack said. “All the younger people need to stay and help with construction.”

“Then let us old men handle the supply runs,” Henry replied. “Warren, Walter, and Oscar are needed for construction and wiring, so they can’t leave. Elias, Hal, Mort, and I can take over for Cass’s group and continue bringing supplies back from the electronics mall.”

Jack rejected the idea immediately.

“No. You’re all too old. I can’t let you...”

“I know what you’re about to say,” Henry interrupted. “But we can’t stand around watching while the younger people do everything.”

He gestured toward the parked CUEVs.

“Besides, we recognize old-world equipment. That’s better than having you bring back anything that looks useful. We’ll also have CUEVs and cargo beds, so it’s not as though we’ll be carrying everything on our backs.”

Elias cleared his throat.

“I don’t know how to drive a CUEV.”

Henry gave him a look.

“Then have Megan teach you. You were a soldier. Stop making such a fuss.”

“Henry’s right,” Hal said. “There isn’t much for me to do here besides keep an eye on the brick kiln. I might as well help with the supply runs.”

“I’ll handle security,” Mort added. “I’ll make sure they all come back in one piece.”

Jack still hesitated, but Henry had already made up his mind.

“It’s settled.”

Jack looked at the four men and realized that arguing any further would get him nowhere.

“Fine, but only if you agree to three conditions.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, none of you are allowed to carry anything too heavy. I don’t care how useful it is. Leave it behind.”

Henry nodded.

“Second, your safety comes first. If you run into danger, forget the supplies. I don’t care what you abandon, but every one of you must come back safely.”

“No problem.”

Jack raised a third finger.

“Third, no more than two trips a day.”

“Fine,” Henry said readily. “We’ll follow all three.”

Only then did Jack agree.

Then something occurred to him.

“By the way, do you know how to drive a CUEV? Do you need Megan to teach you too?”

Henry stared at him without saying a word.

Jack shifted uncomfortably.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Elias finally burst out laughing.

“He used to be Lone Wolf, the best soldier in his unit. He could even fly a fighter jet. Do you really think a CUEV would give him trouble?”

Jack finally remembered Henry’s background.

“I forgot.”

Henry snorted and called Mort away.

Jack watched them leave and muttered under his breath.

“So he can drive. What’s so impressive about that?”