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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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