It was nearing summertime and Steve decided to take a trip down memory lane to the forbidden forest where he used to adventure as a schoolboy. Well, technically it was trespassing, but adventure will do. The estate was no longer owned by the landed gentry as it had been sold to a corporation with planning permission to build on fields nearest the road. Several industrial buildings were already constructed, but the rest of the meadows beyond were as yet unscarred. And the forest was standing firm against the nearby development.
At the Northern edge of the Snook, Steve walked toward a dual carriageway. A tactical assault pack was slung over his shoulders. It was khaki-foliage in colour with various compartments and compression straps bound with camouflage tape. Steve carried a smartphone, binoculars, food, water, some clothing and waterproofs. Internal pouches contained other essential gear. His survival kit comprised a mini torch, multitool, wire saw, paracord and fire starting materials, including firesteel, kindling, potassium permanganate and sugar. The first aid kit had a small knife, emergency whistle, sterile dressings, bandages, surgical tape, safety pins, antiseptic wipes and plasters. And he carried an improvised weapon, just in case. Ready for anything.
Steve sat on a grassy bank and turned to look behind. Smiling, he remembered when he and Scotty hid there on a night expedition. Things had changed since then as he saw a new hotel, fast food chains and a coffee shop on the opposite side of the carriageway. A motorway intersected Northwards. Walking past a new roundabout, he saw a petrol station had been built on the fields he knew as a boy. Not all development was advancement. Up ahead, he came upon a bridge over the bigger road system. Crossing over, cars and lorries roared Northwards on the tarmac below, cutting off the old gateway to the forest. But there was another way in.
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