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.