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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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