Stairwell Perimeter Check

The quiet hallway led me toward the heavy metal fire door at the corridor's end. Beneath its bottom edge, a stray wooden door wedge was wedged loose on the industrial carpet. Rather than bypassing it, I used the incline as a launch ramp to leap onto the broad metal push bar. The cold steel bar clicked slightly under my weight, reverberating through the door frame. Balanced firmly atop the bar with my arms crossed, I peered through the narrow reinforced glass window into the darkened stairwell shaft. High vertical routes await below and above. With the night settling in, I held the perimeter steady before planning my retreat back inside.