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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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