Chapter 13: The Days Between

Time passed. Days blurred together like leaves in the wind.

There were no big fights. No giant monsters crashing through the trees. No dramatic showdowns. Just the quiet grind of survival.

And that was fine with me.

I had come a long way. My body was stronger. My wings more reliable. My flame—still a flicker, but no longer a joke. I could light up a bush if I needed to. Burn through soft bark. Even scare off smaller predators.

Most days, I flew. Not far, not high—but farther than before. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes at a time without rest. I'd soar over the trees, letting the wind carry me across the dense canopy, watching the movement of other creatures far below.

I learned to read the jungle.

Which patches of trees hid fruit-bearing plants. Which rivers were home to dangerous things with sharp teeth. Which animals hunted by night, and which disappeared when the Skullcrawlers came.

I stayed clear of the bad zones. I knew better now.

I hunted when I could. Squirrels. Lizards. The occasional unlucky bird. I roasted some with fire, not because I had to—but because it was satisfying. Efficient. And a little fun.

My den—if you could even call it that—was tucked high in a tree, shielded by thick vines and long leaves. Safe, hidden, and just wide enough for me to curl up and rest.

And that's what I did.

Rest.

Eat.

Grow.

Some nights, I'd just stare up through the breaks in the leaves at the sky. The stars were different here than the ones I remembered… if those memories were even real. They flickered strangely, almost like they were watching.

Sometimes, I wondered if I was still dreaming. If this world was just some long, weird hallucination that started the moment I died.

Fire. Popcorn. Screams. Godzilla on the screen.

Then darkness.

Then wings.

Then this.

But it didn't feel like a dream anymore. It felt real.

And the longer I stayed alive, the more real it became.

Even if I still didn't understand how I got here—or what I was meant to do here—I knew one thing for sure.

I wasn't dying anytime soon.

I was too stubborn. Too hungry. Too determined.

And every quiet day that passed, I grew just a little bit closer to becoming something monstrous.

Something that this island would one day fear.