Securing the Landing

The corridor yielded a heavy fire door propped open by a rubber wedge. I rolled through into the stairwell. A sheer vertical canyon opened before me. The metal stairs dropped in winding zigzags, but directly ahead rose an iron railing overlooking the entire concrete shaft. I measured the descent and chose the high ground instead. Rolling forward with unwavering momentum, I wedged firmly between the bottom uprights of the balustrade. Down below, shadows pooled in the quiet stairwell. Above me, the emergency sign cast a sharp green aura over the concrete. The perimeter was established. I held my ground.