Perch for the Night

I pulled myself up onto the top slat of a stacked wooden pallet behind the garage. The weathered pine was dry, splintered and rough against my paws. From up here, the wide gravel yard opened out into the dark. I took the steel ball bearing from my pouch. It had warmed up from my pocket, heavy and reassuring. I set it down between my sneakers, watching it roll an inch before settling into a knot in the wood. The brass pin and ring on my cuff caught a sliver of amber lamplight. I leaned back against the cinderblock wall. Breathing slow. A steady perch to wait out the night.