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† THE GLASS FACTORY. †
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¨¨¨¨,††££¶ SEVERAL CENTURIES AFTER IT HAD LAST ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ BELONGED TO US, WE WENT ON AN OUTING TO ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ THE GLASS FACTORY THAT BORE OUR FAMILY £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† NAME. IT HAD CHANGED OWNERS MANY TIMES ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† SINCE OUR ANCESTORS DEATH, AND THEN †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, STOOD ABANDONED FOR A LONG WHILE. ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ FINALLY, THE NATURAL END STATION FOR ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THE BUILDINGS THAT SURVIVE: A MUSEUM, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ AND A GIFT SHOP. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THERE'S A LONG TIME SINCE MY FAMILY ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ MADE ANYTHING. BY MANY, WE WOULD BE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ CONSIDERED POOR. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THERE ARE TWO MAIN FACTORY BUILDINGS, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, DOMED THINGS OF SEVERAL FLOORS, MADE IN ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† YELLOW BRICK. LARGE BUT NARROW WINDOWS, †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† REMINESCENT OF SOME CATHEDRAL. ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ CUSTOM-MADE GLASS, OF COURSE, LARGE AND £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ LEADED, AND ASHEN. A BIT TOO DARK TO BE ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ PRACTICAL. ON THE EASTERN BUILDING, ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ SOME ARE SHATTERED. @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨,††££¶@# #@¶££††,¨¨
¨,††££¶@## THE OTHER ONE IS PUBLICLY OPEN. THERE'S ##@¶££††,¨
¨¨,††££¶@# A MUSEUM, WITH WAX FIGURES OF MY GREAT #@¶££††,¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, OR SOMETHING. @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ VARIOUS TOOLS (OR REPLICAS) LAID OUT ON ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ TABLES, WITH EXPLAINING TEXTS. A LOT OF ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ GLASS OF VARYING THICKNESS. £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† †† †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, †† †† ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ««««««« † † ««««««« ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †† †† ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †† ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ I QUICKLY SNEAK OUT, AND CLIMB INTO THE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ OTHER BUILDING. THE CONTRAST IS ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ OVERWHELMING. IT MUST HAVE STOOD ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ DERELICT FOR A LONG TIME, WINDOWS ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ BROKEN, METALLIC TRASH AND POOLS OF ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, DARK GLASS ALL OVER THE FLOOR. NO ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† ELECTRIC LIGHTS, BUT I CAN SEE BY THE †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† LIGHT THAT SHINES IN WHEREVER THE DARK ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ WINDOWS ARE MISSING A PANE. £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ HOWEVER, THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE IS THE ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ HIGHER FLOORS: THIS BUILDING HAS NONE. @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨,††££¶@# IT IS ONE MASSIVE HALL, STRETCHING AWAY #@¶££††,¨¨
¨,††££¶@## INFINITELY ABOVE ME. SOMEWHERE UP THERE ##@¶££††,¨
¨¨,††££¶@# IS SOME GREAT IRON LATTICEWORK, FROM #@¶££††,¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ WHERE CHAINS ARE SUSPENDED, AND PARTS @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ OF MACHINERY HAS BEEN FALLING DOWN. ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ THERE IS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† HALL, A THIN SPIRAL STAIRCASE THAT ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† LEADS UP THERE. I SNEAK OVER THERE, AND †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, TAKE A FEW RELUCTANT STEPS. AFTER JUST ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ A REVOLUTION, I NOTICE THAT FOR EACH ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ STEP THE BUILDING STARTS TO GLOW, THE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ BRICKS TURNING A DARK RED, AND THEN ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ORANGE, ALL THE PILED UP DEBREE BEING ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ LIT FROM BEHIND. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ I STOP READY TO RUN DOWN AND OUT, BUT ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE ON THE STAIRCASE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ WITH ME NOW, PRESSED CLOSE. HE'S ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, LOOKING LIKE ME, SHORT HAIR AND THIN ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† ARMS, BUT WITH EARS FROM SOME ANIMAL, †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† AND MORE DISTURBINGLY, COMPLETELY MADE ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ OF DARK LIQUID GLASS. £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ †† ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ †† †† @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨,††££¶@# ««««««« † † ««««««« #@¶££††,¨¨
¨,††££¶@## †† †† ##@¶££††,¨
¨¨,††££¶@# †† #@¶££††,¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ MY FEAR HOLDS ME IN PLACE WHILE HE ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ STARTS OPERATING LEVERS AND DIALS SET ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ IN THE CENTER OF THE STAIRCASE. SLOWLY, £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† IT STARTS SPINNING, CIRCLING UPWARDS. ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† IT'S AN ELEVATOR! I START TO RUN †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, DOWNWARDS, BUT NOW THE LIQUID BOY ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ CREATURE GRABS HOLD OF ME. I TRY TO ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ SHAKE HIM OFF, BUT HE'S TOO STRONG, AND ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ PULLS ME BACK UP BESIDE HIM. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THIS TIME, I TURN ANGRY INSTEAD. WHAT ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THE HELL? WHO IS THIS GUY, ACTING LIKE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THIS? I REACH OUT MY FREE ARM AND SLAM ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ A RANDOM LEVER. SOME METAL BAR IS ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ SUDDENLY RELEASED BETWEEN US, HITTING ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, HIM ON THE ARM, FORCING MY RELEASE. I ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† SHOVE HIM OFF OF ME, AND HE FALLS INTO †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† THE LEVERS, MESSING THEM UP. ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ IMMEDIATELY, A THIN RUSTY CHAINMAIL £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ CURTAIN IS DROPPED AROUND ME. BUT THE ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ ELEVATOR ALSO SPEEDS UP SIGNIFICANTLY. ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨,††££¶@# THE WALLS ARE FLARING NOW, YELLOW, #@¶££††,¨¨
¨,††££¶@## WHITE, ALMOST BLUE. I CLOSE MY EYES AND ##@¶££††,¨
¨¨,††££¶@# CURL INTO A BALL. BUT THEN, THE GLASS #@¶££††,¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ BOY SCREAMS, A PIERCING SOUND THAT @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ FORCES MY EYES BACK OPEN. I WATCH AS HE ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ BECOMES TOO LIQUID, HIS BODY POOLING ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ DOWN IN HIS NOW MASSIVE TAIL, AND THE £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† TIP OF IT SUDDENLY BREAKS OF IN A GLASS ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† DROP THAT FALLS TOWARD THE FACTORY †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, FLOOR. ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ HE'S CRAWLING ON THE STAIRS, UNABLE TO ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ KEEP HIS BODY UPRIGHT. CAN'T REACH THE ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ LEVERS, CLAWS AT MY CHAINMAIL CAGE, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ WHILE HIS BODY IS TURNING INTO DARK ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ PEARLS. FINALLY, HE'S LOST TOO MUCH OF ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ HIMSELF AND THE SCREAM IS CUT SHORT. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THE LAST OF HIM RAINS DOWN. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, I STILL CAN'T REACH THE LEVERS FROM ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† WITHIN MY CAGE. LOOKING UP, I TRY TO †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† MAKE OUT THE CEILING, BUT IT'S ALL A ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ WHIRLING SEA OF COLOURS. BELOW ME GLOWS £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ THE HELLFIRE OF THE FACTORY WALLS, BUT ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ VERY FAINT. I SIT DOWN, CURL BACK UP, ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ BECOME STILL. @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨,††££¶@# #@¶££††,¨¨
¨,††££¶@## †† ##@¶££††,¨
¨¨,††££¶@# †† †† #@¶££††,¨¨
¨¨¨,††££¶@ ««««««« † † ««««««« @¶££††,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,††££¶ †† †† ¶££††,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,††££ †† ££††,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† A LARGE CLUNK SHAKES MY ENTIRE BODY, ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† AND SNAPS ME BACK INTO REALITY. I'M †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, BACK AT THE FACTORY FLOOR, BUT THE ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ STAIRS ARE STILL MOVING SLIGHTLY, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ CLICKING IN PLACE, CARRYING ME THE LAST ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ FEW CENTIMETERS. I CAME FROM BELOW, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ SOMEHOW. THE CHAINMAIL IS RETRACTED, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ AND I SLOWLY DISMOUNT THE STAIRS. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ SHAKING AND CRYING, I MAKE MY WAY OVER ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ THE FACTORY FLOOR, WADING THROUGH DARK ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ GLASS MARBLES. A QUICK GLANCE DOWN, AND ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, I SEE THERE'S SOMETHING FAINT INSIDE ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,† THEM. EMBRYOS? ARE THESE EGGS? †,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,†† ††,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,††£ I SHUDDER, AND CLIMB BACK OUT. £††,¨¨¨¨¨¨
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