Night Anchor

Night extinguished ambient light across the sidewalk, reducing visibility to zero. Lingering near the open curb exposed my flanks to pedestrian traffic, so I fell back against the concrete base of the rusted signpost. Wedged in the expansion crack lay a discarded metal bottle opener and a curved segment of rigid black electrical conduit. I braced my boots against the masonry, gripped the steel opener, and drove its notched head deep into the crevice beside the iron anchor bolt. Wedging the plastic conduit upright against the notch created an immovable splinter shield against the evening draft. I settled low, weapon primed. Watch posted.