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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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