Fossil Fools

Chapter 25. Dark and sticky

Each night now, I'd lay awake for hours desperately trying to puzzle it out. 

Waking really early, all sweaty, heart racing.

I was obsessed. Obsessed with oil, and the challenge facing me.

I had come to realise  that oil is not just stuff we can take from the earth, but the Black Blood of our ancestors.

What a crazy idea, but so fascinating!

Black Blood is like the lubricant of the earth, running through its veins.

Even though it is in a deep sleep hundreds of millions of years long, maybe it can be woken. A bit like Sleeping Beauty.

Who's the prince? Me?

The council had made it clear, Grandpa's spirit would only be released if I made a massive difference.

I had to think big, not just big but humongous, on an unimaginable scale.

Maybe that's why I couldn't sleep!

Without Amber, I'd be stuffed. She was the only one apart from Gran who could listen patiently to my mad ranting.

She helped me make sense of the jumble in my mind.

Talking things through I had this idea. I needed to get hold of some actual crude oil and do some serious experiments. I needed to see for myself if Jose's idea could work.

I needed the real stuff straight from the ground. Not the refined stuff. By then the spirits in it would have long gone.

I had to think laterally. Turned out oil is stored in barrels, each 42 US gallons. There are 6.7 billion oil barrels stored around the world.

I needed to get my hands on one just one of them.

But I discovered you can't just go about buying a barrel on Amazon. They are dangerous, full of noxious chemical compounds. If you inhale small amounts you get high, but if you inhale too much, you can die.

None of that put me off, just added to the excitement.

"OK Ambar, we have to crack this one. How are we going to get our hands on one of these bad boys?"

"The only way you're going to get one is if you say it's for an art installation, or for educational purposes of some kind." she said. "Or else an anti-terrorist hit squad will break the door down, thinking you're making a bomb. Planning to take out half of Camden Town!"

"Look, I have no choice." I countered. "We have to see if we can make it move. If it works we can save my Granddad and all the rest of us."

"OK Jasper. I like your style. But, your Dad's not gonna keep an enormous barrel of crude oil in the kitchen, is he? Its lethal stuff."

"Look," she said, scrolling through her phone. "20 ozs for £15 off eBay. Why not start with that?"

"8oz's isn't gonna get me very far." I said.

"Yeah, but it's something. And you can afford it, and it will be here within 3 days."

She was right. Although the challenge was massive, I had to be practical and start small.

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"Hey Jasper," said Adam as he poked his head around the corner. "There's a package for you. Says Fragile"

He lobbed it at me with a flick of his wrist, and it spun across the room. "Ha Harrrrr!!"

"Thanks idiot," I called, catching it mid air.