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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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