Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Dust: Short Story
    The Dust: Short Story
    The Dust: Short Story
    Ebook38 pages33 minutes

    The Dust: Short Story

    By James Loscombe

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Only the useful will survive

    Nick and Clara only want to stay alive for as long as they can, but The Matter Plant sweeps the land and it is only a matter of time before they are found and deemed useless. They eek out a nomadic existence in the scorched Earth, always watching, always waiting for their time to come. Until they meet Jed who offers them the hope of something more, IF they can make a final stand against the machine. If they refuse or fail, then they, and what remains of humanity, will be destroyed forever.

    The Dying & The Dust is a standalone post-apocalyptic story of survival, set after the singularity.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames Loscombe
    Release dateMar 22, 2019
    ISBN9781386835844
    The Dust: Short Story
    Author

    James Loscombe

    James Loscombe has been publishing under various pen names for the last five years. He lives in England with his wife Tamzin and their sons Jude and Oscar.

    Read more from James Loscombe

    Related to The Dust

    Related ebooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      These Bad Things

      Dec 23, 2019

      These Bad Things
      9 min read

    • Article

      Practicing

      Mar 15, 2018

      This would have been her favorite season in the Allegheny woods. The shadows of the trees were rickety, and the wind had sap in its scent. But last week, Ty had left; now one day decayed into the next. Their house was abandoned. Only their father, si

      18 min read

    • Article

      Quotients

      May 7, 2020

      Quotients
      8 min read

    • Article

      This One So Loved

      May 9, 2019

      This One So Loved
      9 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Jul 8, 2024

      Books
      5 min read

    • Article

      Drawn to THE MOORS

      Feb 8, 2022

      Drawn to THE MOORS
      11 min read

    • Article

      Out Of This WORLD

      Apr 20, 2021

      Out Of This WORLD
      6 min read

    • Article

      Hare Today

      Sep 5, 2024

      Hare Today
      11 min read

    • Article

      Staying Alive

      Mar 29, 2024

      Staying Alive
      12 min read

    • Article

      Dust To Dust

      May 7, 2020

      Dust To Dust
      8 min read

    • Article

      Form Seven Alpha

      Oct 10, 2023

      So here I sit with it again, Form 7⍺. It is printed on cheap paper with low-quality ink that smudges under my fingers. The option they judge least bad for me has been scored through, unavailable, while the four other options remain. Since the last ti

      26 min read

    • Article

      Some Things Are Worth Missing School For. An Eclipse Road Trip, And A Search For Wonder.

      Apr 9, 2024

      “I can’t wait for it to go dark,” says Sylvester. He wiggles in his camp chair, and I look over at my son. His dark hair flops over a pair of protective eclipse glasses as he angles his head toward the waning afternoon sun.  We’re minutes away from a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Thin Place

      Nov 16, 2020

      We looked out of the window at the torrential rain. We’d booked tickets for the Castle’s Halloween event. The Castle was famous for being haunted by the ghost of its last court jester and made the most of this reputation every October, hosting a fair

      6 min read

    • Article

      Intarsia

      Feb 6, 2020

      Intarsia
      6 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Nov 1, 2022

      Five Poems
      3 min read

    • Article

      Climbing Mount Cameroon

      Nov 18, 2019

      In 1895 Mary Kingsley became the first woman to climb Mount Cameroon. Her apparel was unlikely: long black trailing skirt, tight waist, high collar, a small fur cap, lace-up shoes and a parasol. In every respect she was unusual. With no formal school

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Bargain

      Dec 10, 2022

      “Which one of you owns G2V3889?” Cygnus glided through a luminescent star field suspended in the center of an otherwise dark, oblong studio, then turned in a slow circle to survey the twenty Agents surrounding him. “Come on, speak up.” Vega shuddered

      16 min read

    • Article

      How we MET

      Aug 1, 2023

      How we MET
      6 min read

    • Article

      Jackie FRENCH My Fire Wombat

      Oct 7, 2020

      Jackie FRENCH My Fire Wombat
      5 min read

    • Article

      Phytophthora

      Nov 22, 2018

      Phytophthora
      11 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      Without the adventof Stockholm Syndrome,how could I havelearned to love myself so much? I’m asking Godand New York, can anyonehelp me? (An all-but-audible “or else.”) The captain’s chair:it’s beginning to smella little too much like me. Again.But the

      4 min read

    • Article

      Setting The Scene

      Dec 5, 2024

      Setting The Scene
      6 min read

    • Article

      FotoQuick

      Mar 1, 2023

      FotoQuick
      12 min read

    • Article

      How We Met

      May 26, 2021

      How We Met
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE HOUSE with the BLUE DOOR

      May 7, 2020

      THE HOUSE with the BLUE DOOR
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Dust

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Dust - James Loscombe

      If you would like to read more by James then check out http://jloscombe.com/books/ where you will find a complete list of releases.

      If you would like to be the first to know when new titles are available (and receive copies of all James’ short stories for free, then click here http://jloscombe.com/subscribe/ to register.

      Dark clouds shifted ominously overhead, scarring the sky like a bruise. Below he could see the wind whipping the trees back and forth and blowing bits of discarded Matter along the deserted street.

      ‘It’s going to be a mean one,’ said a voice behind him.

      He turned away from the window. His wife stood before him. Her cheeks smeared with a black substance that might have been bio-oil. Her blue dungarees covered in the same. She had her blond hair pulled to the sides in bunches, held together by Mini-Mouse hair bobbles.

      ‘Are the kids in?’ he said.

      ‘The cotton tails are scared,’ she said. ‘I had to tranq the Browns, but they’ll get through it.’

      ‘They always do,’ he agreed. ‘Come on.’

      He took her hand and led her through the apartment. Past the Picasso, past the Monet, through the kitchen and into the bedroom which he had lit with candles scavenged before the Matter Plant could process them.

      She gasped when she saw that rose petals scattered across the bed in the shape of a heart.

      ‘Oh Nick,’ she said. ‘It’s wonderful.’

      He pulled her towards him and they kissed.

      ‘What’s gotten into you?’ she said. His arms were still around her and she didn’t try to remove them.

      ‘Someone’s got to enjoy it while it’s still here.’

      He kissed her again and they fell to the bed. The storm threw sheets of rain against the window while they made love with the curtains open.

      When they were done they lay with their sticky bodies together and listened to the weather. They smoked the cigarettes that she had saved from the supermarket. They were stale and dry.

      ‘It’s time to move on, isn’t it?’ she said.

      He nodded.

      ‘How long?’

      ‘The Plant’s in Westbridge,’ he said. He still used the old-world names for places. ‘We might have a week.’

      ‘Better be out sooner than that,’ she said. ‘No sense taking a chance with the kids.’

      ‘No,’ he agreed, there wasn’t.

      She put her head on his shoulder and he pulled her in close. He kissed her head and could smell the oil and grease on her.

      They put out their cigarettes and watched the candles burn until they spluttered out. Then they slept.

      Clara squeezed his hand as they reached the bottom of the fire escape. He paused and listened, but he couldn’t hear anything.

      ‘Do you think they’re alright?’ she said. ‘Nick I don’t know what

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1