LOSS System: Last Store Standing

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked immediately.

“Mutant beasts are approaching, and they’re huge.”

The laughter beneath the canopy vanished. Elias, Hal, Megan, and the others gathered around Cass, while Jack put down what he was holding and moved closer to the screen.

The distant scenery wavered in the heat on the drone feed. Several grayish-brown figures could be seen moving slowly across the wasteland, but their outlines were still difficult to make out.

Cass adjusted the drone’s direction and brought it slightly lower.

The figures gradually came into focus.

They were a herd of large, deer-like mutant beasts with grayish-brown coats. A ridge of dark gray bristles ran along their backs from their necks to the base of their tails, while their broad, heavy hooves left clear tracks in the sand.

Several calves were protected in the middle of the herd. The adults surrounding them raised their heads from time to time to check the area ahead.

Hal recognized them at once.

“Gray-Ridged Elk.”

Everyone was surprised.

Cass guided the drone closer, trying to get a better count of the herd.

The noise soon caught the animals’ attention. An adult bull at the front stopped and raised its head toward the drone.

Several other adults noticed it as well. The herd immediately tightened its formation.

The calves crowded into the center while the adults closed ranks around them. The bull kept its attention fixed on the drone, occasionally letting out a low call.

“Keep your distance,” Elias said. “Don’t frighten them.”

Cass immediately raised the drone.

Megan studied the footage.

“Could this be the same herd that injured Erin?”

Hal looked at the calves protected in the center.

“Very likely.”

Jack watched the herd continue across the wasteland.

“Will they attack us?”

“Probably not,” Elias said. “Gray-Ridged Elk rarely attack people without reason. Erin was injured because her group unknowingly got too close to the herd and its calves.”

Jack checked the direction they were heading.

“Are they coming toward us?”

“Looks like it,” Hal said. “They probably caught the scent of water and followed it here.”

Jack still wasn’t entirely at ease. He turned to Vane.

“Take a CUEV to the shelter and warn Henry and the others. Tell everyone to stay inside and keep away from the herd.”

Vane put down his tool and headed for the parked CUEVs.

When he reached the shelter and explained what was happening, Henry immediately ordered everyone to remain inside. The presence of calves meant the herd would be especially protective.

Vane stayed instead of returning to the trading post. He parked the CUEV beneath the canopy, drew his knife, and kept watch over the ground ahead.

Back at the trading post, Jack and the others continued monitoring the drone feed. Cass kept the drone high above the herd and followed from a distance.

The Gray-Ridged Elk moved slowly beneath the scorching sun. Several adults maintained a protective ring around the calves, while the bull at the front stopped occasionally to survey the surroundings before leading them onward.

Before long, the herd came into view beyond the shelter.

Vane tightened his grip on the knife, and the people on watch beneath the canopy rose to their feet.

Henry and the others watched from inside the shelter. The trading post also fell silent as everyone focused on the approaching herd.

The Gray-Ridged Elk had clearly noticed them.

The bull stopped, and several adults closed ranks around the calves, shielding them from view.

For a moment, the herd and the people beneath the canopy watched each other from a distance. No one stepped outside, and the elk made no attempt to approach the shelter.

Jack was still worried they might charge when the bull suddenly turned away. The rest of the herd followed, crossing the open ground in front of the shelter and heading straight for the large water pit.

Once Jack realized where they were going, he finally relaxed.

“They really were drawn here by the water,” Hal said.

The approaching herd soon caught the attention of the Dustchucks and Gray-Eared Jump Hares near the PCCUs. The Dustchucks rolled onto their feet and raised their heads, while the Gray-Eared Jump Hares stopped chewing their pieces of ice and crowded together with their ears standing upright.

Jack glanced between them and the herd.

“They don’t even eat meat. What are you so nervous about?”

Several Dustchucks retreated behind the PCCUs and peeked out from cover. The Gray-Eared Jump Hares remained pressed together, watching the much larger animals approach.

The herd stopped again near the water pit.

The bull surveyed the surroundings and sniffed the ground before circling to the opposite side, where the slope leading down to the water was gentler.

The rest of the herd held back. Several large adults remained around the outside, while only a few approached the water.

The bull lowered its head and began drinking as soon as its lips touched the surface.

The herd took turns at the water. After the first group had finished, those adults returned to the outside of the formation and allowed the next group forward.

The adults guarding the calves never fully left their positions. They occasionally lowered their heads for a few quick laps of water, then raised them again to watch the surroundings.

Before long, the thirsty calves began growing restless. Several tried to push their way toward the water, and one managed to slip between two adults before a nearby female blocked its path.

The other calves quickly joined in, disrupting the herd’s orderly formation. Several adults closed ranks around them again, using their bodies to keep the calves away from the edge of the pit.

“What are they doing?” Megan asked. “Why won’t they let the calves drink?”

“I’m not sure,” Hal said. “Maybe the others haven’t finished yet, or perhaps they’re worried the calves will get too close and fall in.”

The edge of the pit was uneven, with steep slopes in several places. The adult Gray-Ridged Elk were tall enough to reach the water from the edge, but the calves might not be able to approach safely.

Jack watched the calves continue trying to squeeze past the adults. After a moment, he stood up.

Everyone nearby turned toward him.

Without explaining, Jack returned to the convenience store’s storage room and came back carrying a wooden tub. He loaded it into the cargo bed of a nearby CUEV, climbed into the driver’s seat, and prepared to start the vehicle.

Elias hurried over.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to bring some water to the calves.”

The others immediately gathered around the CUEV.

“Are you out of your mind?” Cass asked. “They wouldn’t even let the drone get close, and now you want to drive straight toward them?”

“I’m not going right up to them,” Jack said. “I’ll leave a tub of water nearby and come straight back. I’ll keep my distance.”

No one was convinced.

Elias blocked the front of the CUEV, while Warren and Walter tried to talk Jack out of taking the risk. No matter how many times Jack explained, none of them would move aside.

Megan came over to join them, but before she could speak, Jack leaned closer and whispered, “Did you forget? I have Animal Affinity.”

Megan paused as she remembered his ability. Her concern eased slightly, but she still warned him, “Be careful. We don’t know whether it works on Gray-Ridged Elk, especially when they have calves with them.”

“I will. I won’t get too close.”

She studied him for a moment before finally stepping back.

Once Megan stopped objecting, Jack started the CUEV. Elias and the others knew they weren’t going to change his mind, so they reluctantly moved out of the way.

The CUEV rolled out from beneath the canopy and passed through the only opening in front of the new trading post.

As Jack drove past the shelter, the people beneath the canopy spotted the wooden tub in the cargo bed and quickly realized what he intended to do. Several of them called out to stop him, but Jack only waved to reassure them and continued toward the far side of the water pit.

Everyone near the trading post and shelter watched him closely as he approached the herd, worried that the Gray-Ridged Elk might become frightened and charge.

The elk soon noticed the vehicle.

Several adults at the water raised their heads at once. Those guarding the calves turned and placed themselves between the young and the approaching CUEV.

The bull stepped forward, lowered its head, and aimed its broad antlers at Jack. The other adults closed ranks around it. Some pawed at the ground, while others let out low warning calls.

Behind them, the calves stopped moving and crowded together.

Jack immediately stepped on the brake, stopping well short of the herd.

He remained in the driver’s seat and watched their reaction. The bull kept its antlers pointed at him and scraped the ground several more times. None of the other adults backed away. If the vehicle moved any closer, they looked ready to charge.

After a moment, Jack switched off the CUEV and opened the door.

The bull stopped pawing at the ground.

It raised its head and stared at Jack from a distance. The other adults gradually fell silent, though they remained firmly between him and the calves.

Jack stepped out but stayed beside the CUEV.

The bull watched him for a while before slowly lifting its antlers out of their threatening position. The other adults began to relax as well, though none of them approached.

Jack smiled.

Animal Affinity worked on Gray-Ridged Elk too.

He got back into the CUEV and eased forward at the lowest possible speed. He stopped several times along the way, only continuing once he was certain the herd showed no renewed hostility.

Eventually, he brought the vehicle closer to the water pit.

From the trading post, everyone stared as the herd gradually lowered its guard.

“What’s going on?” Warren asked, completely baffled.

No one could answer him.

Only Megan remembered what Jack had whispered. The tension left her face, and a slight smile appeared.

Jack stopped the CUEV several meters from the herd. Several adults still stood between him and the calves, but none tried to drive him away.

He climbed out, lifted the wooden tub from the cargo bed, and carried it to a gentler section of the pit. After filling it more than halfway, he dragged it back up the slope and placed it on flat ground well away from the edge.

The Gray-Ridged Elk watched him the entire time. The bull moved a few steps closer, and the other adults adjusted their positions to keep the calves behind them.

Jack made no attempt to approach the herd. Once the tub was in place, he returned to the CUEV and closed the door.

The elk remained where they were.

The bull watched the vehicle and the wooden tub in turn, while the other adults continued guarding the calves.

It was the calves that reacted first.

One poked its head between the adults and cautiously moved toward the tub. Several others soon followed, crowding forward as they caught the scent of water.

An adult female followed the first calf. She sniffed the water, then raised her head toward the CUEV. After watching Jack for a moment, she allowed the calf to continue.

The calves immediately crowded around the tub and began drinking. The adults no longer blocked them, though they remained nearby and occasionally glanced toward the CUEV.

The water level dropped quickly. Several calves drank so eagerly that their noses and mouths were soon dripping wet. When they lifted their heads and shook off the water, they splashed the others around them.

Jack finally relaxed.

Once the calves had drunk their fill, they moved away from the tub and returned to the middle of the herd. The adults led them farther back, putting more distance between themselves and the CUEV.

Jack thought they were about to leave.

Instead, one adult Gray-Ridged Elk broke away from the herd and slowly approached the vehicle.

Everyone near the trading post and shelter tensed again.

Jack left the CUEV off and remained in the driver’s seat as the elk came closer. It lowered its head to sniff the vehicle, then gently nudged it twice with its nose.

The CUEV rocked slightly.

Jack met the elk’s gaze through the window and remained still.

After a moment, the elk raised its head, turned away, and returned to the herd.

Only then did the people watching from a distance finally relax. Even so, they continued staring at Jack, surprised that he had come through the encounter completely unharmed.