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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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