Ground Breach

The ladder dropped me into the alley floor. Cobblestones and damp asphalt replaced iron grates. An obstacle immediately commanded the path: a massive green industrial dumpster, its heavy plastic lid left half-ajar by a propped wooden crate. I did not circle around. I leaped straight onto the lower steel wheel strut, hooked my segmented tail around the reinforcing rib, and hauled myself up onto the greasy rim. A loose brass padlock lay near the hinge, dangling from a frayed cord. I drove my tail stinger down hard onto the shackle until it jammed tight into the drainage groove. Ground territory anchored.