The button felt soft and mushy to the touch, sort of like a marshmallow. Zeke mashed into the glowing blue enigma as far as he could. Nothing happened. He withdrew his finger from the soft machine and then mashed it again. Still nothing.
He held it mashed for a few seconds and noticed the sound started to dissolve into more of a watery soundscape and the intense light started to fade down. Zeke became apprehensive and withdrew his finger which now appeared to be coated with some viscous metallic goo that sparkled with a hidden electric charge. It tingled a little and seemed to increase his energy levels.
Zeke wondered about the old man and twisted around to see if the entrance to the camper had reappeared. Still engulfed in the same infinite translucence in all directions. He took a deep breath and mashed the button once again and held it steady until the light and sound started to fade again.
This time he noticed his hand and arm were also dissolving into the darkness, but the sound became more defined as definitely aquatic.
Within seconds all was dark and Zeke felt completely disembodied and gently floating. All fear had also dissolved away with everything else. It did feel like he was being pulled in some direction but he couldn't tell where.
Zeke hadn't realized that his eyes were now closed. He hadn't noticed it because up until this point, he didn't feel like there were any eyes to be opened, or a body for that matter. Slowly, he opened his eyes to a brilliant deep blue that filled his vision completely.
His eyes began to adjust to the new light and the most beautiful puffy white clouds wafted delicately into view. The clouds had a bit of a pink patina and were so surreal that they only barely looked real at all.
The sensation of gravity gradually and having a physical body returned. Zeke sat up and discovered he was in a small simple boat carved from cork, and floating in a river of some strange white liquid he couldn't immediately identify. The most lush exotic jungle pressed up against the banks of the white river, only all the plants were of a vivid flamingo pink color. He realized the pink patina in the clouds was actually reflecting from the jungle foliage.
Zeke held up his hands and arms that were now completely covered in that same metallic goo that still sizzled with a tingling electric charge. Not only his hands and arms, but his entire body was completely coated.
The cork boat continued to gently float along slowly in the white river and there was a sweetness in the air. It was as if the light itself was creating the sensation of sweet nectar.
The rushing aquatic sounds started to change and mix with a delightful tinkling of chimes. Zeke noticed ahead that the edge he floated toward, looked like the edge of an infinity pool with a vast white ocean beyond.
As the boat finally reached the infinite horizon, it slowed to the point of being perched still on the cusp of the infinite horizon. The most baffling part was that he sensed no fear at all. Until, he felt the boat slip. He gulped hard and clung tight to the cork boat sides into a full free fall .
The sensation of descent changed to no particular direction at all. It still felt like movement, though it didn't necessarily feel like it was specifically downward.