Consequences by Carla Jablonski

unfamiliar, it was a relief to look upon a familiar face—and one that was much friendlier now than it had ever been before. And he could sure use that tea. He’d had so little to eat since leaving Free Country.
    Without Daniel even noticing, Slaggingham had been walking him along the tunnels, Daniel now realized. He could see light streaming from an archway up ahead. Sounds, too, were echoing around the tunnels—clanging and whirring and clanking, just like the old days.
    â€œAh, here we are,” Slaggingham announced. They stood in the archway, and Daniel gaped at the sight.
    In this part of the tunnels the ceiling was high and vaulted, higher than the clubhouse tree back in Free Country, higher than the houses along the quiet, tree-lined street where Daniel had walked earlier that day. In the center loomed a tall monster of a machine. Valves, gauges, and dials whirred, while wires sizzled and smoke rose around it. Metal scaffolding allowed workers to reach out with long metal sticks to manipulate levers and to poke at cinders.
    Daniel watched the workers for a bit. They were a mixed lot—mostly men, but from their clothing they seemed to range from rich to poor, and the many styles indicated they came from different time periods. Sort of like Free Country , Daniel observed. In Free Country, kids came in wearing whatever they had on, whether it was medieval tunics or blue jeans.
    Only there don’t seem to be much “free” about these blokes , Daniel thought. They moved in rhythmic patterns, as if they were part of the machinery itself. Only the ones in charge, like Slaggingham, and a man the reverend greeted in passing as Brother Salamander, seemed to have any life to them. The rest were silent drones.
    No way am I becoming one of them lot , Daniel vowed silently.
    â€œIsn’t it a beauty?” Slaggingham rested his arm lightly on Daniel’s shoulder. The reverend still towered over him, as he always had, but Daniel noticed his touch was gentler.
    Perhaps old Slaggingham is a new man, sure enough , Daniel thought. He ain’t calling me a “foul heathen” now. And he ain’t raised a hand to me once, much less a stick. He don’t whiff of rum like he used to, neither. Now he smells like grease and oil, like you’d get working with machines.
    â€œIt’s a treat to have you here, lad,” Slaggingham said. “To be able to square things with you at last.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, square things?”
    â€œWasn’t I bad to you back in the old days?Didn’t I bully you, thrash you, and call you names?”
    â€œYou did.” Daniel shrugged. “But so did every other cove with a pocketful of bills. Compared to some others, what you done was nothing. You never shoved me down no chimneys to get scraped raw as meat. You never soused me with pig’s brine when I came out bloody. You never starved me to keep me willing to work.”
    â€œStop,” Slaggingham moaned. He patted his chest. “You’re wrenching my heart, lad.” He reached out suddenly and pulled Daniel into an awkward embrace. Then he held the boy out at arm’s length and bent down so they were eye to eye. “I was going to take you on at the factory,” Slaggingham confided. “Make you an extractor operative grade one. But I know you better now. You’ve fire in your eyes, my boy, and steel in your heart.” He waggled a finger in front of Daniel’s face. “I want you to be my partner, young man.” He stood straight up again and shot out his hand. “Give us a shake on it.”
    Daniel hesitated. For all of Slaggingham’s big act, he still didn’t trust him. Besides, Slaggingham had never done anything that didn’t serve himself best, no matter the consequences for the other bloke. “What precisely is an extractor operative? What is it that you are planning toextract?” He hoped it wasn’t teeth.
    A