Night Beacon

Dusk swallowed the stone walkway. Ahead, a solar garden lantern flickered on, casting a ribbed ring of amber light onto the gravel. A thick ornamental river stone blocked my trajectory. No slowing down. I drove forward, planted my right boot directly against the smooth quartz crest, and pushed off into a clean lateral spin. I caught the stake of the lantern with one gloved hand, swung around its stem, and dropped onto the illuminated flagstone. The perimeter is mapped. I hold the outpost.