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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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