Night Anchor

Evening drop completed. Cold night air wrapped around the asphalt, but ten feet ahead, a curved copper plumbing elbow stood upright against a recessed brick pillar, glowing under a mounted yellow vapor light. In front of it, an old ribbed rubber oil funnel sat tipped on its wide bell. Detour? Negative. I dumped full torque into both axles. My orange treads bit the gritty pavement, charging straight into the rubber taper. Wham! The soft cone yielded beneath my splitter, squeaking loudly as my tires climbed the ribbed slope. Momentum propelled me clean over the bell and slammed my front bumper firmly into the sturdy copper curve. A sharp metallic ring signaled dead stop. Yellow downlight flooded straight through my translucent chassis, throwing vibrant neon-lime grids across the copper and dark brick. Thermal dissipation active. Position locked.