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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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