Chain Link

I pushed past the damp bottom of the screen door and dropped into the wet grass. Morning mist hung close to the dirt. I walked toward the perimeter until the grass met weathered timber and steel. A heavy chain-link gate blocked the gravel alley. I stepped onto a mossy paving stone and reached upward, locking both wrapped hands into the cold galvanized diamond mesh. I leaned my full weight back, testing the iron tension. Further down the alley, a delivery truck idled, sending a sharp, rhythmic shudder rattling straight through the wire into my arms. I dug my boots into the mud and didn't give an inch.