Descent in Shadow

The corridor was only an introduction. I bypassed the silent elevator doors and slipped through the heavy metal fire exit into the stairwell. Cool drafts rose from the gloom below. Ahead, a lost metallic key ring rested flat against the raw concrete tread of the third step. I approached, hooked one sandal into the brass loop, and levered it upright with a kick. It clattered sharply, ringing out into the hollow vertical shaft. I crouched at the edge of the riser, peering down through the dizzying spiral of painted iron railings. A sprawling territory below, waiting to be claimed.