Riley lifted her hand to her forehead to block the harsh glare since squinting alone did nothing against the brilliant morning sun. From up here the world finally felt expansive. It stretched out in every direction, no longer confined to tree trunks and shadows and the claustrophobic press of unknown dangers.

  She turned her gaze toward the familiar river, the same one she had washed up on in what felt like both a lifetime and a single day ago. The water wound its way through the forest like a silver ribbon, cutting across the greenery until it widened far in the distance. The shimmer grew into a massive spread of water. So large it was almost impossible to comprehend. Could it be an ocean?

  She blinked hard, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and looking again.

  It really was huge. Larger than any lake she had ever seen in her old world. Her heart thumped as she tried to imagine what lay beyond something so vast. Nothing about her new surroundings had offered stability so far, only mystery and danger. The view of the water should have been comforting, but instead it reminded her of everything she did not know.

  She slowly turned, rotating her body to take in the inland landscape. It was difficult to make out details with the distance but she thought there might be a small settlement. Possibly a village. A cluster of shapes that did not look organic. A collection of rooftops or structures. She could not be certain but her pulse quickened.

  The idea of a village brought two possibilities: help or danger. She had no way to know which was more likely.

  She kept turning. Beyond the settlement were rugged mountains that rose sharply from the landscape. They looked immense. Jagged edges, steep ridges, and streaks of white that may have been snow. They seemed impossibly far away, like something painted on a distant backdrop. And somewhere between the mountains and the closer settlement was a single massive tree. It towered above everything else, dwarfing the forest around it. Its trunk was huge even from this distance, and its canopy spread wide like a crown.

  Riley stared at it for a long moment. Nothing about that tree looked normal. It commanded the landscape like an ancient sentinel.

  She forced her gaze back to the river, following it upstream, toward the direction she believed she had come from. On the far side she spotted the cliff. The same one she had likely tumbled off before waking on the riverbank. She felt a shiver pass through her as she imagined falling from such a height. No wonder she could not remember anything clearly from that morning.

  Further upstream, near the river’s bend, she spotted another cluster of shapes. Another settlement of some kind. She could not tell if it was larger or smaller than the first village. Beyond that, things became too blurry to decipher.

  Across the river entirely, was yet another set of structures. This group seemed far larger, spread across a wider area. Possibly a large town. Maybe even a small city.

  There were people out there somewhere. Or at least signs of civilization. She was not as alone as she had feared.

  She took her time scanning everything again and formed quick mental notes. Ocean to the west. Village inland. Mountains far beyond. A giant tree. Another settlement toward the cliffs. A larger town across the river.

  She did not know which option would eventually become her salvation or her doom, but now she had direction.

  Carefully, she lowered herself back through the trapdoor. Her foot slipped slightly and she gasped, gripping the wood tightly until she steadied. Once she regained her balance she climbed down to the chair and then to the table, then stepped lightly onto the floor below.

  Looking up she sighed. A ladder would be nice. Even a set of stairs. Dare to dream.

  She brushed dust off her hands and took in the room again with a new perspective. She had accomplished a lot today. More than she had expected. Getting to the top of the tower, scouting the land, discovering she might not be entirely stranded. Small victories but victories nonetheless.

  She walked toward her gathered supplies and knelt beside them.

  Time to regroup. She felt a renewed determination to try again.

  She took a moment to list her items the way a survival game might do it for her. Flint shards she had collected earlier. Dried grass she had formed into a bundle. Twigs and branches of varying sizes. Her bucket of water. The overturned table she had used to reach the trapdoor. And the rope still hanging from the ceiling.

  Seeing it all laid out like this made her feel a little more capable. She was still barely scraping by, but she had more than nothing.

  She picked up the flint shards first and held two of them together. She tested their edges, scraping one lightly across the other. A tiny nick formed. Maybe she could get sparks out of these. She had no idea what she was doing, but she didn’t have a better plan.

  She took the dried grass and rearranged it more tightly, forming a round ball with a small dip in the center. A proper tinder bundle. At least in theory. She had seen people do this in videos, so she copied it as best she could.

  Then she picked up two pieces of flint. She tapped them together experimentally. Nothing happened. She struck them again. A tiny chip flew off and landed near her knee. She bit her lip and tried again, harder.

  There. For the quickest flash, a glimmer of something bright. A spark. Maybe. It was small enough that she could have imagined it.

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  She struck again. No spark. Again. Nothing. Again. Still nothing.

  Her shoulders tightened as she kept striking. She tried different angles, different grips, different levels of force. The flint chipped and cracked. Little pieces scattered across the stone floor. Her hand throbbed from gripping too tightly. Her wrist ached.

  Nothing caught.

  She sat back and stared at her hands. They were filthy. Coated with dust from the tower, dirt from the ground, and streaks of red from raw skin. She sighed heavily. She felt like a yo-yo; all day she had been bouncing from one thought to another, from one failed attempt to another, from one small victory to yet another defeat. Advance, snap, and tumble back. Advance, snap, and tumble back.

  She dipped her hands into the bucket of water for relief, rubbing them gently together. The water clouded instantly with grime. It was now too dirty to drink. She stared at it for a moment, then shrugged. She needed clean water anyway.

  She grabbed the bucket and helmet, emptied the dirty water onto the grass outside, and headed back toward the river. At least she could gather more berries for dinner while she was at it.

  As she approached the trees she scanned the area with nervous energy. She did not want to repeat yesterday’s terrors. Her eyes flicked along the treeline, scanning for movement, shadows, or any sign of predators.

  Something caught her eye. A glint of gold. A flash of bright sunlight reflecting off a rock near the trees.

  She froze.

  Her curiosity battled her caution. Curiosity won.

  She stepped carefully toward the source of the reflection. There, nestled between roots and leaves, were several small rocks streaked with brilliant golden metal. Riley’s heart leapt in her chest.

  Gold. Real gold.

  She knelt and gathered as many pieces as she could find, brushing off dirt and turning them in the light. Each one glittered beautifully, the golden streaks running through the stone like veins of sunlight. She placed them gently into the bucket and took one last look around before hurrying to the stream.

  If she was a target before, she was a real target now. Her heart stayed tight in her chest the entire walk.

  She filled the bucket with clean water. She picked more berries. She gathered more wood. Her arms ached with the load she carried back, and she kept checking over her shoulder for movement.

  Back at the tower she set everything down by the table. The sun had shifted significantly. Her shadow stretched long across the floor. It must be well into the afternoon.

  She needed to move quickly if she wanted fire before dark.

  Before anything else, she examined the golden rocks again. She lifted one, turned it over, and tested it against a stone block in the tower wall. Real gold was soft. It would scratch easily. Bend even.

  She scraped it hard against the stone.

  The golden surface crumbled slightly and left behind faint powder. It did not bend. It did not mark the stone.

  Her stomach dropped.

  This wasn’t gold.

  She groaned in frustration and dumped the fool’s gold onto the table’s shadowed corner. The rocks clattered loudly. A small spark flickered where a piece hit the pile of flint. It teased possibility.

  Did she dare let herself believe this might work?

  She grabbed her tinder bundle with one hand and snatched up a large flint shard and one of the fool’s gold rocks with the other. She struck them together.

  Nothing.

  She tried again. Harder this time. Still nothing. She clenched her jaw and struck again. Then again. Dozens of times.

  “This is why I don’t get my hopes up.” Riley thought to herself. “It’s like feeding quarters into the claw machine and watching it drop the prize every single time.”

  Suddenly, jackpot! The teddy bear! Except this one burned, a flickering trophy she’d fought all day to win.

  She lowered her face to the bundle and blew gently. A faint wisp of smoke curled upward. The smell of burning grass teased her nose. She held her breath and blew again, softer this time.

  Nothing more.

  She struck again quickly, tossing a larger spark into the nest. She brought her face down to blow once more.

  This time the grass smoked more heavily. A tiny orange glow appeared at the center of the bundle. A single flame uncurled from the dry grass.

  A tiny flame. The smallest flame she had ever seen. But it was real.

  A huge smile spread across Riley’s face. Relief washed through her. Joy. Triumph!

  She cradled the flame gently in her hands and placed the burning grass into the fireplace. She fed it twig by twig. She blew softly to help it grow. Each new piece caught slowly, then more quickly, until a proper flame licked at the wood.

  Then another. And another.

  Minutes later, a good-sized fire filled the fireplace with warmth and crackling sound. The room glowed with flickering light.

  Riley laughed out loud. She scrambled to the door and ran outside, scooping armfuls of wood. Three full loads. She stacked them by size and placed them neatly by the fire.

  She pulled the chair over and sat directly in front of the warm glow. She stared at the fire, a smile still tugging at her lips.

  What a difference a day could make.

  Tonight, she would be warm. She would have boiled water, safe to drink. She would have berries. She would not shiver in the darkness.

  For a moment she let herself fall into the simple pleasure of the fire. The flicker. The glow. The warmth slowly soaking into her skin.

  Then her smile faded.

  Her stomach tightened as a new realization settled in.

  She had fire. But what would the smell of smoke bring in the night?

  She snapped upright and jumped to her feet. She rushed to the door and dragged both benches back into place, wedging them in tightly to brace the door just as she had the night before.

  She stepped back, breathing heavily, staring at the barrier she had created.

  Riley did not know what tonight would bring.

  Predators. Monsters. Something worse.

  But she had something they probably wouldn’t like.

  Fire.

  Riley positioned the chair in front of the fire and smiled an exhausted smile, exhaling as her muscles sagged with relief. Warmth washed over her face, her hands, her legs. After everything she had gone through today, the fire felt like a miracle she had built with her own raw, aching hands.

  While she basked in the glow of her accomplishment, something flickered at the edge of her vision. Not in the room. In her eye. A tiny flashing icon appeared at the bottom left of her field of view.

  Instinct guided her. As naturally as breathing, she half squinted in the way she always had to open system notifications in her games.

  The floating icon expanded.

  ? Skill Acquired: Fire Maker

  ? Experience Level: 2%

  Riley shot upright so fast she almost knocked the chair over.

  “I am the queen of fire!” she shouted.

  Her voice echoed off the stone walls. She bounced lightly on her toes, fists coming up in a sloppy imitation of a professional boxer. She jabbed at the air, then threw two wobbly hooks that would have made any coach cry. She knew she looked ridiculous and she did not care. Her stomach was empty, her blood sugar low, and her victory far too sweet to keep inside.

  Her energy ran out as quickly as it came. She flopped back into the chair with a soft grunt, her limbs turning to noodles again. The fire popped and crackled, glowing bright orange and gold.

  Riley stared into the flames, eyes unfocused, drifting somewhere far beyond the tower walls. One thing about this day was true. She had taken a huge step toward survival. Fire was safety. Fire was her first real win. No monster could take that away.

  Something warm and fragile stirred in her chest.

  For the first time since waking in this strange world, she felt it.

  A small spark of hope.