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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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