Chapter 7 - The Easy Life

Ellie boggled in amazement at the scene before her. Rubbing her tired eyes to make sure they were not deceiving her, she took in the scene before her. In front of her was a small but solid platform leaning slightly over the edge of the waterfall, about 1 metre away from the edge of the raft. On this small platform was a tiny old shed made of rickety pieces of roughly-chopped wood. Beyond this she could see a small attempt at a boat. But it was the scene beyond that really took her breath away.

[Image of little shack on a platform with the island centred. Have shack to the right and falling off the edge to make sure it doesn't subtract from the island. Don't forget to put a lovely ocean extending for miles away from the island-waterfall.]

There was a very peculiar island in the centre of a raised ocean. The island was at least 10 miles across she guessed. She could see that it was divided up into sections, each section 87.6% different from the others. There was [insert 4 section types here]. In the centre of the island a large mountain stretched up magestically, disappearing suddenly in a big ball of fluffy cloud. It was amazing. She wondered how such a place could possibly exist anywhere on Earth, then realized she wasn't exactly on Earth anymore, and accepted the island. Then she realized she was tricking herself and went back to boggling at it for several minutes.

When she finally came to her senses, she looked at the platform, deciding she had best get onto it before she knocked another troublesome lever and sent herself back down the side of the waterfall. However, it was a large gap and the raft was swaying from her movement, not as secure near its connection as at its middle. Attempting to balance herself and the raft, she prepared to jump. Closing her eyes and evaluating the situation, she regretfully confirmed that this was the only foreseeable choice of action. 3...2...1...leap!

As Ellie flew across the gap she looked down to the see the waterfall trailing down for many miles to the ocean and whirlpool at its bottom. For a moment she paniced and froze as she imagined herself plumiting hopelessly down, but the next moment she sprawled onto the small platform in a tangled heap of awkward limbs and body parts. Untangling herself, she rose shakily to her feet and leaned against the small shack. Pausing for a few seconds to regain her composure, she looked back to the raft. It was now silently descending the ropes, returning to its previous position at the bottom of the waterfall.

Turning back to the shack she was currently leaning on, she looked over its rough wooden frame. Seeing a door in front of her, she naturally pushed it gently open. Inside was a small toilet. A note tacked to the wall above it read "Enjoy". Frowing in confusion at this strange discovery, she pondered why anyone would want bowel releaf after nearly dying - twice! Shaking her head and blaming the stupid placement of the lavatory on a male, she walked to the other side of the platform, to where a boat drifted gently against the side of the platform. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she gently lowered herself into the boat and examined the engine at one end. However, she could not for the life of her find any on switch. Remembering how the previous mechanical contraption was started, she leaned forward for a closer look. Sure enough, she knocked a lever which conveniently decided it was the on switch. After a hesitant cough, the engine started. The boat moved slowly away from the platform.

[Image from boat looking back at platform and the now absent raft]