Steel Incline

I slipped out through the cracked window and took the fire escape down to the stoop for some fresh air. Right beside the bottom step, a pair of slanted diamond-plate cellar doors was built into the sidewalk. The steel was covered in raised crosshatch treads—basically custom climbing grips. I planted my boots on the bottom notch and scrambled up the steep metal incline. At the crest where the two hatches met, a heavy brass padlock was looped through the iron latch. I leaned all my weight against the lock, nudging it until it swung back with a dull, echoing clank against the steel plate. Another solid rooftop claimed.