$$$$$$$$
$$$$ $$$$
$$ $$
$ $
$ $
$ THE GLASS FACTORY. $
$ $
$ $
$$ $$
$$$$ $$$$
$$$$$$$$
#@@&£$;-,¨ SEVERAL CENTURIES AFTER IT HAD LAST ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ BELONGED TO US, WE WENT ON AN OUTING TO ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ THE GLASS FACTORY THAT BORE OUR FAMILY ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ NAME. IT HAD CHANGED OWNERS MANY TIMES ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ SINCE OUR ANCESTORS DEATH, AND THEN ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ STOOD ABANDONED FOR A LONG WHILE. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ FINALLY, THE NATURAL END STATION FOR ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ THE BUILDINGS THAT SURVIVE: A MUSEUM, ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ AND A GIFT SHOP. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ THERE'S A LONG TIME SINCE MY FAMILY ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ MADE ANYTHING. BY MANY, WE WOULD BE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ CONSIDERED POOR. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ THERE ARE TWO MAIN FACTORY BUILDINGS, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ DOMED THINGS OF SEVERAL FLOORS, MADE IN ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ YELLOW BRICK. LARGE BUT NARROW WINDOWS, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ REMINESCENT OF SOME CATHEDRAL. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ CUSTOM-MADE GLASS, OF COURSE, LARGE AND ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ LEADED, AND ASHEN. A BIT TOO DARK TO BE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ PRACTICAL. ON THE EASTERN BUILDING, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ SOME ARE SHATTERED. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ THE OTHER ONE IS PUBLICLY OPEN. THERE'S ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ A MUSEUM, WITH WAX FIGURES OF MY GREAT ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, OR SOMETHING. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ VARIOUS TOOLS (OR REPLICAS) LAID OUT ON ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ TABLES, WITH EXPLAINING TEXTS. A LOT OF ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ GLASS OF VARYING THICKNESS. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ------- $ $ ------- ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ I QUICKLY SNEAK OUT, AND CLIMB INTO THE ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ OTHER BUILDING. THE CONTRAST IS ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ OVERWHELMING. IT MUST HAVE STOOD ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ DERELICT FOR A LONG TIME, WINDOWS ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ BROKEN, METALLIC TRASH AND POOLS OF ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ DARK GLASS ALL OVER THE FLOOR. NO ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ELECTRIC LIGHTS, BUT I CAN SEE BY THE ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ LIGHT THAT SHINES IN WHEREVER THE DARK ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ WINDOWS ARE MISSING A PANE. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ HOWEVER, THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE IS THE ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ HIGHER FLOORS: THIS BUILDING HAS NONE. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ IT IS ONE MASSIVE HALL, STRETCHING AWAY ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ INFINITELY ABOVE ME. SOMEWHERE UP THERE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ IS SOME GREAT IRON LATTICEWORK, FROM ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ WHERE CHAINS ARE SUSPENDED, AND PARTS ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ OF MACHINERY HAS BEEN FALLING DOWN. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ THERE IS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ HALL, A THIN SPIRAL STAIRCASE THAT ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ LEADS UP THERE. I SNEAK OVER THERE, AND ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ TAKE A FEW RELUCTANT STEPS. AFTER JUST ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ A REVOLUTION, I NOTICE THAT FOR EACH ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ STEP THE BUILDING STARTS TO GLOW, THE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ BRICKS TURNING A DARK RED, AND THEN ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ORANGE, ALL THE PILED UP DEBREE BEING ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ LIT FROM BEHIND. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ I STOP READY TO RUN DOWN AND OUT, BUT ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE ON THE STAIRCASE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ WITH ME NOW, PRESSED CLOSE. HE'S ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ LOOKING LIKE ME, SHORT HAIR AND THIN ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ARMS, BUT WITH EARS FROM SOME ANIMAL, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ AND MORE DISTURBINGLY, COMPLETELY MADE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ OF DARK LIQUID GLASS. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ------- $ $ ------- ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ 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. ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ------- $ $ ------- ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ $$ $$ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ $$ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ A LARGE CLUNK SHAKES MY ENTIRE BODY, ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ AND SNAPS ME BACK INTO REALITY. I'M ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ BACK AT THE FACTORY FLOOR, BUT THE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ STAIRS ARE STILL MOVING SLIGHTLY, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ CLICKING IN PLACE, CARRYING ME THE LAST ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ FEW CENTIMETERS. I CAME FROM BELOW, ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ SOMEHOW. THE CHAINMAIL IS RETRACTED, ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ AND I SLOWLY DISMOUNT THE STAIRS. ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ SHAKING AND CRYING, I MAKE MY WAY OVER ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ THE FACTORY FLOOR, WADING THROUGH DARK ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ GLASS MARBLES. A QUICK GLANCE DOWN, AND ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ I SEE THERE'S SOMETHING FAINT INSIDE ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ THEM. EMBRYOS? ARE THESE EGGS? ¨,-;$£&@@#
@@&£$;-,¨¨ ¨¨,-;$£&@@
#@@&£$;-,¨ I SHUDDER, AND CLIMB BACK OUT. ¨,-;$£&@@#
$$
$$ $$
$ $
$$ $$
$$