'It's a bad idea to burn your ancestors'
Jasper is Bone Boy, an obsessive fossil hunter.
He unearths a spectacular Jurassic 'Dragon Fish' fossil which befriends him in the spirit world.
Bone Boy discovers that The 'Grand Council of Fossil Elders'...
It was unmistakable. I stared open-mouthed at the creature in the rock. A huge bony bowl like eye stared at me. "Amazing isn't it? It's mouth looks like a fossilized chainsaw or something" he said "look at those teeth!"
My breath was fast and shallow. He was right. Straight out of the textbooks. The jaw bone was long, maybe 2 metres. Narrow and straight, studded with 3 inch teeth. Perfect....., a perfect specimen, a fecking perfect specimen. The lucky bastard! Why Adam? Why was it him who found it? That simply wasn't fair. It wasn't in the script. I took a deep breath and put those thoughts aside. This Ichthyosaur was mind bendingly gorgeous.
"So what do you think, bro? What do you think of what I've found?" he enquired almost lovingly.
I couldn't speak, just kneeled down and ran my hand along his smooth cold wet jaw, taking my time, feeling the serrated edge of a hard enamelled tooth with my index finger. I pressed my thumb against the razor tip, saw my blood drip along its jaw and onto the wet gray, brown rock it was entombed in. My head swam. This was for real, really real.
"Jasper what's up? Is that blood, what's happening?" Adam leaned forward to get a better view.
"It's nothing, just a scratch" I wrapped my thumb in a tissue.
" Wow, it's really cool, like the Alien!" Adam said
"Oh, so bones are cool now are they?" I couldn't resist.
Delicately I followed the smooth curve of the sea monster's ancient eye socket with the palm of my hand. It felt creepy, stone cold, smooth and damp. My hand stroked the gentle curve of the reptile dinosaur's skull right up to where the beast plunged back into the boulder it was entombed within.
For a moment I understood how Howard Carter's must have felt when he found Tutankhamun back in 1922.
Spellbound, I felt a shiver run down my spine and I pulled my hand away as if it had been scalded. Fossil Hunter or tomb raider? I was breaking into the coffin of this ancient beast. The inverted sphere of its huge eye socket seemed to stare up at me coldly, unblinking. It seemed to judge my every move. But then I reminded myself these were just rocks and bones which had no thoughts or feelings anymore.
In that moment I felt more alive and excited than I'd ever felt. I pictured Grandpa there with me on the beach and imagined how amazed and proud he would be of me now.
"Well, we have found an exceptional piece, the skull of a mature Ichthyosaur in excellent condition. It looks like the body may well be intact too. With a bit of luck the entire skeleton will be salvageable."
"Couple of things Jasper, 'WE' didn't find it, I found it! Second, you sound like some kind of prat, "it is an exceptional piece" he pursed his lips together and minced his head from side to side. It's mine, so get used to it!"
"No Adam, that's bollocks, we found it, we were both here, this is a joint effort, it is mine as well."
"Piss off Jasper, you are talking crap and you know it. Just because you've spent your entire stupid life looking for it and now I find it without even trying, no need to get upset or anything. Just one last thing Jassy: ,"Ha Harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, loser!!"
With all my force I launched myself, head-butting him in the stomach. I caught him unawares, and he reeled backwards. Me pile driving him against the cliff wall. How was I to know he was going to crack his head like that against an edge of a Jurassic Jenga slab?
He slumped like a rag doll on the sand, legs spread apart, back against the cliff wall, head to one side. I thought I'd killed him, maybe he deserved it.
"Adam, Adam talk to me"
He leaped up and at me;
" You fucker, now you are going to suffer!" he screamed.
"No, Adam please " I pleaded as he grabbed my arm. I yanked it free and ran. He got my muddy ankle with a huge rugby tackle and I collapsed face first on the sand and mud.
"No, Jasper you always want it your way. That f'ing fish is mine, and now you've blown any chance of sharing it, so fuck you fat boy. He came down on my back and twisted my arm behind until I screamed in pain. I don't remember hearing the rumble of falling rocks from the cliff, but I do half remember the crushing impact from a really heavy blow to my head.
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