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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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