Claiming the Summit

I mounted the cracked slope of the splintered wooden crate with heavy, deliberate stomps. Night settled deep into the alley, and the cool ground below went silent. Up here, I command the open corridor. A discarded plastic bottle cap caught under my boot; I ground it into the wood slat and drove my chainsaw tip firmly into the crest of the plank, locking my stance against the dark breeze. No movement in the shadows escapes my perimeter. I stood unyielding, guarding the conquered height until dawn.