Heroic Measures (continued)

He peered over the edge, trying to spot the access ladder. He saw shadows and shapes that might have been the rungs, but they might as easily have been the lines of the masonry between the bricks. Lacking his flashlight, or any other reliable source of illumination, he suspected that his choices essentially broke down into taking a chance and hoping that he had located the ladder, or waiting until daylight. From his perspective, his chances of surviving either option were about equal.

Still staring into the darkness below, Walter waited for a flash of lightning to help light up the alleyway, however briefly, to give him some reassurance that he had chosen the right location for the access ladder. After waiting for long enough for the muscles in his arms to produce cramps, he rose and positioned himself on the ledge of the rooftop, dangling his legs over what he tried not to think of as an abyss.

Clinging with his hands and arms to the concrete barrier, he tentatively lowered his left leg, shifting his foot from side to side in the hope of it colliding with any part of the ladder. Instead, the only thing it encountered was the raw edges of the brickwork. With a sigh, he extended his leg further and tried again, wondering how long he could manage to hold onto the cement rim.

He repeated the process, lowering his leg about an inch further each time. Just about the point when he was beginning to wonder whether his ligaments would ever recover, his ankle rapped against something hard. It hit unexpectedly. Walter swore under his breath, trying to wish away the sharp pain that radiated up along his leg.

Gingerly, he pressed the toe of his boot against the spot where he believed the ladder rung was. It contacted something solid and he released more of his weight onto it. To his relief, his foot remained steadily supported and he shifted it so that it rested squarely on the rung. He brought his other foot down to join its twin, feeling with his right hand for the vertical supports.

He located it quickly, but not without rapping his knuckles hard against it.

I’m going to be covered with bruises by the time I’m done . . . and all of them I managed to give myself . . .

With his left handed gripped fiercely around the vertical post, Walter released his hold on the concrete edge of the roof and brought his other hand down to the ladder. He just waited there for a moment, catching his breath and trying to ease some of the tension from his muscles before continuing downward. It was not until he felt the aches echo through his body that he realized just how nervous he had been.