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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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