Spring Tension

Returned indoors past the rubber sweep. Shadows lined the floor trim. Low against the baseboard, a coiled steel spring projected straight into the corridor, capped with hard rubber. Unfamiliar perimeter fixture. I planted my boots on the oak floor, gripped the rubber tip with one gauntlet, and wrenched it back against its tension arc. Released. The spring whipped forward in a high-frequency blur, vibrating the floorboards with a sharp metallic hum. I let it oscillate three cycles, then clamped both fingers down over the steel coil. Caught dead. The hum ceased instantly. Silence restored. Spring tension confirmed.