The Next Horizon: Sci-Fi Flash Fiction

The Next Horizon: Sci-Fi Flash Fiction

[Chapter 2] Youth is Wasted on the Young

Chapter 2: All that Glass and Steel

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Nick Felker
Oct 21, 2025
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For the Halloween season, this is a story with some horror elements while also being science-fiction. A new chapter will be posted each week exclusively for paid subscribers. If you want to become a paid subscriber, I’m offering a 14-day free trial.

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Without further ado, here is Chapter 2: All that Glass and Steel


Jonathan was in the middle of the room, chatting with a billionaire as if he did it every day. Quincey was standing at the edge of the crowd. Mia walked over to him as soon as she walked through the elevator doors.

Quincey had a glass of sparkling spa water in his hand and his head was fixed on the ceiling. She had to nudge his arm to get his attention.

“Need some air?” she asked.

“Desperately,” he nodded.

She found one of the large glass panels was actually a sliding door. She pushed it and stepped out onto a narrow balcony. She took a deep breath of the cool, humid air of Nashville and watched the rest of the thriving city under them. She could hear a train whistle as it left the station towards Chicago.

“This is all a bit much, isn’t it?” Quincey asked as his whole body relaxed against the metal railing.

“All this glass and steel for a high school game feels... wasteful?” she agreed, trying to come up with the right word.

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