"All?"

The bubble of fear in Thomas's stomach rose to his throat and he had to swallow it back down to keep it under control. His belly still churned, but it wasn't enough to make him feel sick or for it to show externally.

"Yes, all. We're a family here. You can be a part of it, if you like."

"A family? I have a family."

"You have a dad who shopped you to the Spotters."

"How do you know?"

"You're famous kid. You're on The Spot. Your dad's a hero for handing you over before you lost it. You don't look eight though."

"I'm ten."

"Ten? That's... that's impossible!"

Thomas shook his head. It was unusual for a child to go two years, that was obvious, but it had clearly happened. He was standing there, still sane.

"Well, I'm ten, either way."

"OK.... cool."

Cool? Thomas didn't think it was 'cool'. He thought it was scary and sad and tragic. He shrugged.

"I'm..."

"Thomas. We know who you are. I'm Alex."

Alex's held out hand was taken and shaken by Thomas. It was a surprising change of attitudes and Thomas felt muddled. He was meant to be afraid. Frantic. Instead, he felt calm. He felt unthreatened for possibly the first time in his life. He also felt a kinship to Alex. They were both confused about their true selves. They were both hiding who they really were because of the attitudes of others.

"Who else is here? You know they'll be looking for me?"

"Like I said, we're a family. The Spotters won't find you here."

"How can you be sure?" Thomas asked doubtfully. "They can get pretty much anywhere."

"We're Blocked in here. You don't need to worry."

"But there's a door. When there's a door, there's obviously something behind it."

Alex smiled broadly, showing teeth that flashed a too perfect white.

"There's no door now, at least on the other side. It was only there to let you through. Now it's just a wall."

"But...? Why did you make it so hard for me to get through?"

"We had to be sure you were alone. They've got drones after you and a Fly is zipping all over everywhere, hoping to chance on you."

Thomas shuddered. His fear had rushed back to fill his body again, and the sensation was enough to bring bile to the back of his throat.

"Don't worry," Alex said. "Come on and meet everyone."

Thomas nodded, swallowing back the dark edge of foreboding. He could only see one exit, and that was the door he'd entered through, which now apparently didn't exist outside of the room. He was confused when Alex walked to the opposite wall, moreso when it fizzed and dropped vertically in a mass of rapidly dissipating bubbles.

Beyond was a room twice the size of the one they were in, made bigger with the removal of the dividing wall. Along the far wall was a long bench, scattered with objects, each covered by a cloth. Spreading out on either side of the bench were children. They were dirty and their clothes looked well worn, just holding off the transformation into rags. Standing in front of, and facing the table, was a man, hunched over. He was working on the only uncovered object.

"Hey guys," Alex said. "Meet Thomas."

There were murmurs of greeting, but none were particularly sincere. The looks from the other children were of aggressive mistrust and Thomas, once again, chewed on the trepidation rising to his mouth. He stopped walking, not wanting to approach any closer in case their aggression turned to violence. He hadn't escaped one punishment to swap it for another.

"Come on!" Alex's hand rested on Thomas's shoulder, pulling him in. "That's not how we welcome our guests, is it?"

No one spoke, but a few faces turned from indifference to a sneer. Alex smiled, seemingly trying to influence the opinion of those gathered. The man turned around.

"I take it they didn't work, then?"

Thomas took a step back and hit the wall that, without him realising, was back in place. He had nowhere to go.

"You," he said quietly.

"Me," said Oscar. "I wish I could say it's good to see you again, kiddo."

Thomas couldn't speak. He'd never expected to see the Fixer again. Once he'd gained his powers, he would have everything he'd dreamed of. Acceptance. Abilities. A life where he would no longer need to fear being thrown onto the world's television screens. This man should have made all that happen. He should have fixed things.

He hadn't.

"I hoped I'd never see you again," he said.

"Well, you'n'me both, kiddo. I thought you'd sure be set up with those potions. Why ain't ya taken one yet?"

"I did."

"Which one? They don't all work right. It depends on yer makeup."

Thomas hesitated. He was angry at Oscar for selling him dud merchandise. He was angry his hopes had been raised. Angry a future had been dangled in front of him, one that had actually been nothing but an illusion.

"All of them," he said. "I took all of them."

Oscar whistled under raised eyebrows.

"Damn, kiddo! You could have done yersen some real damage."

"Like kill myself?"

"Exactly like kill yersen."

"Well, that didn't happen. I'm still here, except now I'm being hunted by murderers for TV and was betrayed by my dad."

"Sorry about that," said Oscar. He did look genuinely concerned, and Thomas's anger threatened to diminish a little. The boy grabbed hold of it to stop it giving in to, no doubt, false platitudes. "I really hoped they do the job for you."

"Yeah, well, they didn't."

"I can see that, kiddo. Well, maybe I can help you another way."

"How? What makes you think I'd take anything else from you>? All you sell is broken promises."

"I've never broken a promise in my life, kiddo. They should have worked. Would have on anyone else."

"Seems I'm not anyone else, I guess."

Oscar walked forward and raised his hand. Thomas flinched and tried to move back, but the wall held him in place. Oscar's extended his index finger and held it in in front of Thomas's face, pointing.

"No, Thomas. You're not. Not by a long shot. Else you would've been Spotted two years since."

"What do you mean?"

"Ten, ain't ya?"

"Yeah," said Thomas. "I am. So?"

"So, you'd have lost your marbles and your life ages ago, if those powers you crave so much didn't show up."

Thomas looked down at his feet and watched them as they moved about, self-consciously shuffling and scuffing at the floor. This was it. This was the time when he'd be thrown back to the wolves. This was the time when his hope had peeked up over the parapet and been rewarded with an arrow right in its eye.

"Why are ya staring at t' floor?"

"Well, I'm waiting for what comes next."

"Which is what?"

"I dunno."

"You've some idea, else you wouldna said owt."

"You're going to kick me out. You'll be worried I'm going to go all Nomad and lose it."

"Kiddo, if we were gonna do that, ya wouldna be here. You'd be Spotted on toast already."

"What are you going to do, then?"

"We're gonna let you join the family, that's what we're gonna do. You might not have any powers like everyone else, but we don't turn anyone away."

Thomas looked around at the other children. They were unwashed and ragged, but they were not staring at him as if he was a threat. They didn't have the look of automatic loathing he usually saw. They looked at him with expectation, their eyes moving from him to Oscar as each spoke.

"Let me...?"

Thomas hadn't expected that. He didn't quite know how to respond.

"Join the family," Oscar finished the boy's sentence with a smile.

"Oh."

"Oh, is that all ya gotta say?"

"Well... erm... Thanks?"

"You're very welcome, kiddo."

Oscar stepped forward and slapped Thomas on the back. It was a strong enough strike to make him stumble forward, but not enough to really hurt.

"Right," Oscar said, speaking to everyone. "Time to get to work."

"Work?" Thomas asked.

"Sure, kiddo. We're letting you stay, but ya gotta work for your keep, just like everyone else."

"What work do you do?"

"We find things," Oscar said.

"Find things?"

"Yeah, find things."

"And that's it?"

"Well, we find them and then separate them from their owners."

"You mean you steal?"

"Stealing is such a harsh word. We relocate them, that's all. And then I sell them to the highest bidder."

"So this is how you..."

"Fix things, kiddo. This is how I fix things. Why else do you think they call me the Fixer?"