The Tinkerer was out of the building again.

He had left before Liam had woken up, leaving a barely legible note that said he was out looking for new materials.

Liam was often left alone in the building, Rinth having yet to confirm if it was safe to go out and about again.

Originally, he had tried reading the book that the Tinkerer had given him. But he didn’t really see the point and the majority of it was almost illegible – the book having been written by hand.

His next self-appointed task was cleaning. Every surface in the Tinkerer’s home was covered in grime and dust – everywhere except for the workshop.

He had decided to start the kitchen.

It seemed easy enough at first, beginning with the cabinets. He pulled down all the broken doors, creating a small pile in front of the wall.

They were empty except for a few cobwebs and a broken rat trap.

The few rags he had found were quick to turn black after giving each of the cabinets a scrub.

His attempts at turning on the taps had only left him with more clouds of dust, no doubt the reason why the dishes had become such a problem.

With a sigh, he left the room, heading towards the other sinks he knew were in the building.

He knew that the bathroom next to his room had one that worked, if none of the others did.

Before he could reach it, he paused.

His mouth dropped and he blinked several times.

He had to be seeing things.