the glass factory.           
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                  
                                  
                                          
 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.