Home > Fiction > FF – Dust Storm

FF – Dust Storm

Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Russell Gayer.

Copyright Russell Gayer

 

Jerry stared at the deadly, yet immobile, dust storm. The stasis field, a miracle of temporal engineering, had kept them safe all these years, freezing them in time.

Trapped inside, they had struggled to survive as supplies ran low. Taboos were broken, terrible sacrifices made. People died.

“Can’t stay here alone no more, better off dead,” he murmured, switching off the stasis field, trembling, waiting for the dust to shred him.

There was a whoomp. The dust fell to the ground, the storm long since spent.

“Well, bugger. Could’ve done that months ago. Guess I didn’t need to eat Frank after all.”

 

  1. January 2, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    Bravo!

    Like

  2. January 2, 2019 at 10:15 pm

    What other taboos I wonder…?!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. January 2, 2019 at 10:20 pm

    OOOPS! Too late! 😀

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 7:58 am

      … he said as he mopped up the last of the gravy 🙂

      Like

  4. January 2, 2019 at 10:30 pm

    Great story. Just one question. If they were inside a termporal stasis field, why did they get hungry? Or indeed do anything?

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 8:00 am

      Yeah, I had the field on the outside, then the inside… then I decided just to go with it 😉 I’m thinking they’re in their own time bubble where time moves a different rate from outside, but still moves. Hard to explain that in 100 words though!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. January 2, 2019 at 11:30 pm

    ain’t he glad it was over before he bit the dust (pun intended.) 🙂

    Like

  6. January 3, 2019 at 1:36 am

    Oh dear! I am guessing Frank’s last name was Furter. I bet he regrets committing such an act when there no mustard available.

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 8:01 am

      Ha! Yes, he sadly used up the last of the mustard on “leg of Harry” 🙂

      Like

  7. January 3, 2019 at 3:19 am

    I bet that’s exactly what Frank said, too.

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 8:02 am

      No Jerry, just switch off the… munch 🙂

      Like

  8. January 3, 2019 at 5:07 am

    Ha ha ha, all done and dusted then. And the time when they were feeling cold and…Naah, it never happened!

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 8:02 am

      Yeah, I expect they just sat there and shivered 🙂 And ate Nigel.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. January 3, 2019 at 6:18 am

    More like Arnold Schwarzenegger movie TOTAL RECALL of living in Mars!

    Like

  10. January 3, 2019 at 9:55 am

    I was waiting for that last line… you didn’t disappoint.

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 4:05 pm

      There had to be a little something at the end 🙂

      Like

  11. January 3, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    Dear Ali,

    I’m sure Frank didn’t much care for being the blue plate special either. SMH and ROFL.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Like

    • January 3, 2019 at 4:05 pm

      Dear Rochelle,
      No, poor fella. I guess he drew the short straw 🙂
      Ali

      Like

  12. January 3, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    A bit bitter aftertaste maybe….

    Like

    • January 4, 2019 at 7:44 am

      Certainly now he’s discovered he didn’t need to eat him after all.

      Like

  13. January 3, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    Oops! Should have poked his head out a bit sooner. Ah well, never did like that Frank character anyway. 😉

    Like

  14. January 3, 2019 at 7:58 pm

    Great piece of sci-fi! And then I choked on the last line. Hilarious!

    Like

  15. January 4, 2019 at 2:51 am

    Guffaw!
    I was counting on you to get a giggle out of me…
    Not going to think of the taboos…

    Like

  16. Abhijit Ray
    January 4, 2019 at 5:25 am

    Capable of creating a field to stall a storm on its track, but cannot create artificial food? Misplaced priorities.

    Like

    • January 4, 2019 at 7:46 am

      Their technology went off in the wrong direction.

      Like

  17. January 4, 2019 at 7:13 am

    At least Jerry’s now discovered a brand new food source that he probably wouldn’t have tried before the dust storm…

    Like

    • January 4, 2019 at 7:47 am

      Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

      Like

  18. January 4, 2019 at 7:25 am

    Was he eating Frank and beans? 😛

    Liked by 1 person

    • January 4, 2019 at 7:48 am

      Ha! His favourite dish, with a twist.

      Like

  19. January 4, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    Hindsight is always… Excellent..

    Like

    • January 4, 2019 at 4:41 pm

      Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!

      Like

  20. gahlearner
    January 4, 2019 at 11:20 pm

    Gulp. You had me at the breaking of taboos… I’ve recently seen a documentary about the Donner party… So Frank can stay in the freezer or is he still alive, sneaking around trying to eat Jerry? I love the setup. Perfectly logical to me, just like these replicators in the bubble in SG1…

    Like

    • January 5, 2019 at 11:05 am

      The Don(n)er Kebab party… 🙂
      I’m afraid Jerry has already finished Frank off along with a nice bottle of Chianti bwahaha.
      If only the Asgard had managed to keep the Replicators in the bubble!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. January 4, 2019 at 11:43 pm

    Ha! Funny, love a bit of canabalism to lighten the mood eh?!

    Like

    • January 5, 2019 at 11:05 am

      It was sounding a bit dark so I thought I’d brighten it up a bit!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. January 7, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Cannibalism..oops, my bad.
    Great comic timing!

    Like

    • January 8, 2019 at 7:39 am

      Everyone else just kinda fell in the fire, it would have been a waste not to take advantage…
      Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

  23. January 7, 2019 at 10:45 pm

    Well, I guess Frank will always be with him, sort of. . . .

    Like

  24. January 8, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    Such rotten luck. I bet he wishes he’d thought of the solution earlier. Oh well – you win some, you lose some.

    Like

  25. January 8, 2019 at 8:03 pm

    Poor Frank! Love the notion of a stasis field.

    Like

  26. January 14, 2019 at 10:50 pm

    Haha, it was a good one. Frank must have been good too…

    Like

  27. January 15, 2019 at 8:36 pm

    Man, I hate when that happens…

    Like

    • January 16, 2019 at 3:30 pm

      Find friend, get stuck in stasis field, eat friend, have to find new friend… it’s a never ending circle.

      Liked by 1 person

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