Writing Prompt: He turned his attention to practical details.

Morning all, ready for another writing prompt? Excellent. Timers set to fifteen minutes and lets get going.

I think our protagonist is going to start rethinking his friends on this trip and maybe having more of a life adjustment than a treasure hunt. I would stretch this out if writing this as a full story. As always when writing against a timer I tend to condense so I can get every thought in before the bell sounds. That way I can remember what I was thinking when I return to it.

Tuesday, April 21^st: He turned his attention to practical details.

He turned his attention to practical details.  It was all well and good to say, ‘let’s follow the treasure map to see where it leads’ and he knew the others couldn’t think past the excitement.  He could and knew that if he didn’t they could all be in very serious trouble. 

He went and got his old rucksack.  He placed it on the bed and began rummaging through his supplies.  While he no longer went hiking, camping or even rock climbing on a regular basis any more, he had the gear still stashed. 

He was hoping to get back to it soon, but every time he planned something problems seemed to arise.  There was always something he needed to take care of here. 

“I’ll make time when I get back,” he told himself as he began picking and choosing from his gear, lining everything up on the bed so he could plan best how to pack it. 

The others did not do outdoorsy type stuff.  In fact they generally considered outdoorsy stuff to be dining on the patio at their favorite café.  He saw the map and knew following it was going to lead them more into the wilds than the others had ever faced. 

He took his beat up and broken in hiking boots out and set them by the pack.  He would need to change his clothes as well. Currently he was dressed for a casual day at the office, not a hike in the wild.  He changed clothes using breathable fabrics that he could layer.  The elevations looked pretty steep in some sections of the map so he knew that despite the time of year there might be chilly nights at the very least. 

Looking over his gear he dipped into the bathroom to get the larger first aide kit.  He studied his gear, packed it and then added his wallet, credit cards and some emergency cash just in case.

‘It can’t all be in the wild,’ he rationed.

Thus equipped he picked up his empty water bottle, slung his pack onto his back and went downstairs.  Others were filling water bottles which he was pleased to see.  There was also a change of clothing and more sensible footwear on each of them.  They each had some sort of small bag and he wondered what they actually thought to take with them.  He didn’t have long to wonder as Luke stepped forward.  He was clearly ready to assume the role of commander for their expedition. 

“Right there are three possible pathways,” Luks said.  “I suggest we split not three groups and take them all.”

There was a general shuffling and he watched as the others grouped themselves.  He was left with John and Frank.  Frank was on his phone and John looked hesitant.  He took the offered map and was given his selected route.  He looked it over and decided that perhaps adding an extra compass wouldn’t be a bad thing. 

“I’ll be right back,” he told the others. “I forgot something upstairs.”

He went upstairs, picked up his extra compass and returned to the living room.  The other groups were gone.  In fact only John remained.

“Frank got called back into work,” Jo9hn said.  “And really I don’t think this sort of thing is for me.”

“Oh,” he said.  John nodded and walked off.  He looked out of the door and saw the others were already gone.

“Well, I have been looking for an excuse to hike,” he thought.  He debated staying home and decidd that following the trail for a bit might still be fun.  “I can drive to the trail head here and then decide how far I want to hike,” he said looking at the map.  Decision made, he went out to his care, ready to begin his adventure.