Night Vigil

A discarded stack of hard plastic drink coasters blocked the direct vector along the baseboard. I did not step aside. I brought my claw down upon the brittle edges, splintering them flat against the oak grain with a dry crack. Ahead, the low metal pipes of the radiator were ticking with evening heat. A heavy cast-iron doorstop shaped like a wedge sat right in the thermal slipstream. I stepped straight over the cleared shards and wedged my bulk firmly against the warm iron weight. Deep, steady heat seeped through the metal into my chest and dorsal spines. The perimeter is quiet. Night station secured.