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.