Rushing to finish his list quickly, he had arrived at the conclusion that it was going to have to be a lake day. That’s not to say that most days weren’t, in fact, lake days, but for some reason, he was especially sure that this one needed to be. And no sooner was everything done than he grabbed his fishing rod and pack, and whatever could be found in the kitchen that looked good, and headed off to the nearby lake. The cat, spying him opening the garden gate, trotted after him.
One of the biggest in the area, the large expanse of water was surrounded by thick pine forests and long stretches of sandy beach. Ever popular with bathers during the hot weather, Arthur would always head to the side that was the least crowded. This was not just because it was obviously far better for fishing, but also because several summers ago he’d made the chance discovery of an old, abandoned jetty there. Hidden from sight by thick reed beds and missing half of its boards, it jutted out just enough for him to be able to see what was happening on the other side without anyone being able to notice that he was there.
Ever careful to avoid giving its location away, he stopped beside the stone that marked the entrance to it, checked that the coast was clear, and climbed into the reeds, working his way along to the end. On the other side of the lake, the usual crowds were having fun splashing around in the warmth of the summer afternoon.
‘Argghh!’ cried Arthur, throwing up his arms to protect his face from the reeds which had suddenly begun thrashing about wildly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out a number of large, dark shadows, thundering overhead. And scrambling to his feet once they’d passed by, he stood watching in amazement as helicopters started setting down amongst billowing clouds of green smoke in the woods on the other side.
‘What the!?’ He mumbled to himself, as men dressed in black uniforms and carrying what looked like guns jumped out and vanished into the foliage.
Unsure what was happening and noticing too that all the bathers were no longer where they should’ve been, Arthur hurriedly gathered his things together and made his way back down the path towards the railway line and the track back to the cottage.
At the end of the lake, the men from the helicopters were busy setting up a barricade across the main road. Curious to see what they were doing, he was just about to duck behind a tree, when he caught sight of them also preparing to block off his way home.