Under the Iron Steps

The window creaked open two inches. Cool city air hissed through the slit. I paused... peering into the bright gap. Then—SNAP! I squeezed my shoulders through onto the black fire escape. High up. So open. I froze, crouching against the brick wall, staring down through the iron grating at the street below. But above me... a tight shadow. The zigzag underside of the metal staircase. With a sudden spring, I folded myself flat into the narrow wedge beneath the steps. A loose bolt tapped the rail in the draft. *Clink... clack.* I curled my fingers around the cold iron, listening closely.