Indexed Night Watch

Night settled along the stone aqueduct, casting deep shadows across the foundation blocks. I knelt beside the iron rivet where the brass gear was mounted. Unclipping the faceted red tail-light prism from my harness, I wedged its notched corner against a tooth of the gear, using the cog's serrated edge as an indexed stop. I propped my amber token directly behind the red plastic. When a distant village lamp flared, a steady ruby gleam cut across the dry mortar seam before my boots. Resting both hands on my dual-ended staff, I locked the bearing for the overnight watch.