Waves. The sound was the first thing she noticed. She had to be somewhere near the ocean. She took a moment to register her immediate situation. Her right hand grasped a jutting piece of rock, and her left held tight to a thick branch that had somehow taken root in the cliff face. Her feet rested on a narrow ledge of rock that was no more than a few inches. She was thankful for her small feet, which her mother used to say were her best attribute.

She had to be at least 20 feet up. The ocean was too her right and a rusting trestle bridge was to her left. Below her, a river ran out to the ocean. It did not seem to be more than a few feet deep, so falling from this height would most certainly lead to serious injury like a broken neck. She'd be hard pressed to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. That would be the end to all the adventures. Of course, it was those adventures that got her into this mess in the first place.

Behind her she heard the unmistakable click-click-click of a roller coaster making its climb up the first hill. Soon there would be screams from the riders on board. She remembered when such things were the biggest thrills in her life. Now she was clinging to a cliff face. Her partner had warned her that this could happen. They could control the return date to get her back to her time safely, but they had no control over location. Such were the risks when they invented the time travel device.

"You think roller coasters are scary? Try going to 1806 & back!" she shouted as the riders made their first drop down the hill.