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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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