Night Watch Breastwork

The hallway dimmed as night settled in. From atop the shoe bench, the route toward the rear of the house remained under visual sweep, but holding high ground in open air exposed my position. I adjusted the black leather key holder I positioned earlier, shifting its curved spine two inches left to fully shield my torso. Through the brass snap opening, I tracked light reflections off the floorboards below. No acoustic anomalies or movement detected. I sat back against the solid pine rim, boots braced flat against the wood grain, establishing an anchored watch post until morning.