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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. ,,,,,,,~~/
~~,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,~~
~,,,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, ~~~~~~~ $ $ ~~~~~~~ ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
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~,,,,,,,,, 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 ,,,,,,,~~/
$/~~,,,,,, ORANGE, ALL THE PILED UP DEBREE BEING ,,,,,,~~/$
£$/~~,,,,, LIT FROM BEHIND. ,,,,,~~/$£
¤£$/~~,,,, ,,,,~~/$£¤
£¤£$/~~,,, I STOP READY TO RUN DOWN AND OUT, BUT ,,,~~/$£¤£
#£¤£$/~~,, THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE ON THE STAIRCASE ,,~~/$£¤£#
##£¤£$/~~, WITH ME NOW, PRESSED CLOSE. HE'S ,~~/$£¤£##
#£¤£$/~~,, LOOKING LIKE ME, SHORT HAIR AND THIN ,,~~/$£¤£#
£¤£$/~~,,, ARMS, BUT WITH EARS FROM SOME ANIMAL, ,,,~~/$£¤£
¤£$/~~,,,, AND MORE DISTURBINGLY, COMPLETELY MADE ,,,,~~/$£¤
£$/~~,,,,, OF DARK LIQUID GLASS. ,,,,,~~/$£
$/~~,,,,,, ,,,,,,~~/$
/~~,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,~~/
~~,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,~~
~,,,,,,,,, ~~~~~~~ $ $ ~~~~~~~ ,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
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,,,,,,,,,, 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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