14.

Darkness began to fall not long after ten, maybe a little closer to half ten before it gets particularly dull. Camp fire was burning strong, crackling away. There would be plenty of marshmallows to toast.

'So, what now? Do we tell ghost stories or something? Throw out some campfire songs?' asks Aiden.

'Whatever you like? Actually, something we have never got round to talking about is what you would like to do in the future. I know you are just eleven though do you know what you would like to become? You can most definitely sing, and you have no fear of doing that in front of people. Do you think you would like to go say ... into entertainment ... on some sort of level?'

'I have no idea of what I would like to be or of what I would like to do when I finish school, but I don't have to decide right now and all the way here, do I?'

'No not at all' says Oscar with a smile and a slight laugh, 'just curious is all, but know that I will always support you with whatever you do decide and whenever you make any sort of decision about the future.'

'I know, thank you.'

The fire may indeed be crackling but there is another cracking sound. It was ever so brief, and it sounded as if it came from somewhere beyond the fire, perhaps maybe it was a twig or something of the likes snapping. Both Oscar and Aiden heard it. They look at one another silently as if to confirm that the other did hear it then one after the other, they stand only not to be able to see anything out of the ordinary.

'There aren't any animals, wolves of the likes near, are there?' asks Aiden.

'Wouldn't say so ... we'd know by now if there were, if something were near, we'd definitely know about it by now ...'

'So, we have nothing to worry about?'

'Nothing at all, everything is fine.'

***

Aiden awoke to pure darkness and to a noise coming from within the tent, a tent he and Oscar were and are sharing. Aiden's watch is digital so with a press of a button it would light up. Two fifteen, quarter past two in the morning. Grabbing his torch and shining it over to the other side of tent Aiden would see that Oscar is not in his sleeping bag. The noise that Aiden still could hear is the sound of Oscar actually leaving the tent.

'Everything OK?' Aiden would ask.

He would receive no reply though he would not be too surprised by that, Aiden just presumed that Oscar needs a loo break, and is probably still half asleep ... possibly too deep to realize he had been spoken to. Aiden turned his torch off but immediately turned it back on and noticed that Oscar had not taken a torch with him for when that one torch light went out ... it got real dark.

The campfire has long since gone out, Oscar had made sure that it had been put out before calling it a night so that fire is not and would not be providing any sort of light, nor would it attract any sort of outdoor critter. It is so dark that there is no way that Oscar would be able to see where he was going unless he really does have residual angel powers that Aiden is unaware of. This is unlikely.

The facts that Oscar did not take a torch and that he had not given a reply were not the only things which would give Aiden cause to worry, even if that cause to worry is so far only ever so slight. What would actually give Aiden cause to worry a lot more would be something that would also make him jump.

Moving his torch around, the light would shine against the tent just to Aiden's right side and this light would illuminate movement, movement occurring outside the tent which would come across as a silhouette, a silhouette of what though would be the question.

The movement was quick and had no sound and was something which really could not have been Oscar. It not only made Aiden jump but also made him move quickly to the other side of the tent, for whatever it is, it happens to be out beyond his side of the tent.

'Oscar?' Aiden would ask quietly, more in hope that Oscar would come back inside than be responsible for some strange goings on.

Still ... there was no response. Aiden would slowly move towards the opening in the tent but would soon dart right back again upon seeing some more quick and soundless movement. He would turn off his torch but turn it right back on once more. The thought of turning off the torch would be with the idea of not attracting whatever it is that is moving though the fear of total darkness was just as frightening or maybe even more frightening than seeing some unknown quick and quiet movement.

Half a minute would pass, and Aiden would once more move towards that opening in the tent. He would stick his head out and see nothing, nothing at all. He would begin shine his torch outside of the tent. There was no sign of Oscar and no sign of anything that could have caused or created the movement with which Aiden had observed.

Aiden got up and out of the tent. He would quietly call out for Oscar ... whispering his name. Once again, there would be no response. He would call out for Oscar again, slightly louder this time and still there would be no response. Aiden began to move away from the tent and shine his torch around some more; once more he would call out for Oscar, speaking a fair bit louder than a whisper. This time something happened.

At the most recent moment Aiden called out for Oscar, there was sudden movement to his left as if someone had taken just one step and had stepped on something like a couple of twigs or the likes, a similar sound to what had been heard by the campfire earlier only louder this time. Aiden turned quickly and shined his light in that direction. He could not see anyone or anything that could have made the sound that he had heard.

Aiden would hear another sound, the very same sound as before but it came from his right side this time, he would look and see nothing. Seconds would pass and he would hear the sound once more and that third sound came from behind. Aiden was in no way about to go wandering anywhere, especially with how he was feeling at this point. If he had been at all frightened or scared, then he sure as hell was right now.

Not having this, Aiden would go right back into the tent and into his own sleeping bag and really get into that sleeping bag too as if it would be something that would or could keep him safe, safe from whatever the heck was going on.

Whatever the heck really was going on would not be quite over, not yet anyway for something was coming; there was definite movement outside the tent right where Aiden had been only a moment or so ago. He could hear it and it was more than just the sound of some twigs snapping. Whatever it was or is, it is coming right at the tent. Aiden's heart felt as if it was pounding on the inside of his neck, it would fill his ears with a thick thumping sound. His eyes opened wide. There would be no way that Aiden could bring himself to turn off his torch. He aimed it at the entrance to the tent. After what had only taken seconds but felt like minutes, someone entered the tent. It was and is Oscar.

'You scared the hell out of me' says Aiden trying to catch his breath as if had only just completed a hundred-meter sprint in near record time but Oscar, like a little earlier, did not reply, he just moved right into the tent and got back into his sleeping bag.

It would be ages before Aiden would be able to sleep again though tiredness would indeed eventually get the better of him.

15.

When Aiden was to next awaken it would be closer to ten o'clock in the morning and he would awake to the sound of singing coming from outside the tent and of course the voice doing the singing is a very familiar voice indeed to Aiden by this moment in time and not only that, but this time, there was no fudging of any lyrics either. The change in tune may have seen to that.

'Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day, I've got this wonderful feeling, and everything is going my way ...'

'Is that my morning alarm call or something?' asks Aiden moving slowly out of the tent while not totally sure as to how his question would be met.

'Ah good morning little man, how did you sleep?' asks Oscar while cooking breakfast over a newly lit campfire.

'Are you asking that question seriously? By the way what is that you are doing?'

'... Something called cooking, breakfast as it so happens, beans and toast, and what was wrong with your sleeping?'

'Really? I suppose you are gonna tell me that you don't remember any of it?'

'Any of what?'

'You frightened the crap out of me last night that's what.'

'I did?'

'Yes ... you did.'

'Right OK, tell me what happened, I am totally unaware of anything from after I fell asleep until I awoke an hour or so ago.'

Oscar looked serious, maybe he really did not remember any of what had happened during the night. Had he been sleepwalking, or could it be some sort of residual effect from the transition, the transformation from angel to mortal? It has been months though since the day of the accident and wouldn't Oscar have been made aware of side effects if there were any to watch out for?

The rest of this day and the rest of the trip in general would be uneventful and there would be no rush whatsoever to get home.

***

Among the bag of tricks or rather the suitcase of tricks which 'lovely' Lacy had brought with her upon her real-world visit with Oscar on that day which had changed so much, was some qualifications or more like certification of qualifications all of which Oscar somehow had the relative knowledge to go along with such certifications of qualifications. These were granted to him so he can progress and live like and as a human. By the time of the camping trip, Oscar had been working daytime shifts Mondays to Fridays down the docks for a little over four months as a fork lift driver.

Monday morning after the camping trip, Aiden still had a week or so of school left before the summer break so that is where he would head on this morning but not before having breakfast with Oscar. Oscar usually is up first as the docks are more than just a few minutes further away from where Aiden goes to school but on this particular morning Aiden was up first, so he got breakfast started. Oscar came down the stairs yawning and from what Aiden could see; it looked like Oscar had not had such a good night's sleep. Maybe what had happened on the Saturday night might be taking some sort of toll on him.

'Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day ...' Aiden would sing out loud deciding to have a moment of fun.

'Ha ha, very funny little man.'

'Didn't sleep well?'

'That's the weird thing, we both went to bed early-ish last night and I slept right through, but I am so friggen tired right now, maybe something similar happened to what you say I did Saturday night, I didn't go sleep walking last night or anything like that, did I?'

'Not that I noticed, though I did sleep straight through too and I am wide awake right now.'

'So, I can tell, by the way what's for breakfast?'

'French toast.'

'Oh nice, good call.'

Upon arriving to the docks, a couple of shouts would come Oscar's way.

'Hey Oscar, how was your weekend?'

'Fine thanks, a little strange maybe but fine, and you?'

'All good.'

'Oscar, how'd that trip go for you?'

'Excellent, really well, I think.'

Oscar fell asleep in his canteen seat during lunch hour and would awake just as the foreman made his way into the room.

'Everything OK there Oscar?'

'Yeah boss, just a little tired for some reason or another.'

'Late night?'

'No, not at all.'

'Well, head home and catch up with yourself, it is a slow enough day today. There is a lot coming in tomorrow so we could do with you being fresh.'

'Sure boss, thanks. See you tomorrow.'

Oscar would find some rest, heading to bed quite early and falling asleep almost as soon as he hits the pillow though the night would bring some more strange activity with it. Aiden awoke to the sound of a door closing quite hard. It sounded as if it was the door to Oscar's bedroom. This would be followed by the sound of movement going downstairs and that would be followed by the sound of the front door opening.

Something that Aiden would find very strange indeed would be the fact that when he checked his watch, he would see that it was a little after two fifteen in the morning. Hadn't that been the time he noticed when he checked his watch those couple of nights prior back in the tent?

Aiden got out of his bed and went into Oscar's room; Oscar was not there so obviously enough Aiden would make his way downstairs and would indeed see that the front door is open and open wide at that. Outside facing the wall at the end of the garden would be Oscar standing still.

'Oscar, what is going on? Are you alright?'

There would be no response, no movement, nothing. Oscar was as stiff as a statue. If a hurricane were to suddenly pass by it probably wouldn't even budge the former angel. A couple of minutes would pass before Oscar would finally move again though he would just turn around head back into the house, walk upstairs and get back into bed without saying anything. His eyes were open all the while until the moment he had got back into bed.