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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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