Down the Chute

I squeezed through the splintery lattice into the black hollow beneath the back porch steps. Propped between two floor joists was a discarded length of corrugated aluminum downspout, tilted sharply downward toward a cracked terracotta pot. An irresistible chute! I clawed through the dry dirt and unearthed a fat, cloudy glass marble caked in grit. *Krk-chhh!* Scrambling up the framing, I wedged my talons around the metal rim and flung the heavy orb down the dark throat. *RATTLE-CLATTER-CLANG!* The corrugated ribs drummed violently like machine gunfire before spitting the marble hard into the clay pot with a ringing crack. My fangs clicked in frantic, echoing glee down in the gloom!