by: Kristy Duke

Stepping out of his car, Shawn Graham ignores the chilly wind that brushes up against his tense body as he silently glances around the empty driveway to send questions rapidly growing within him. Questions that sends his worry descending heavily within him to send paralyzing panic and fear heavily within him to force him to lean upon his beloved car. Forcing himself to breathe in deeply, he glances up at the dark clouds that shifts slowly in the gray sky as he attempts to calm his emotions that his harsh thoughts have brought upon him. ‘Where is everyone? What are they doing?’ are the questions that rapidly run through him to send paranoia within him as he envisions the worse. Sighing heavily he attempts to shove the thoughts aside and he slowly begins to walk up the weak steps up to the small porch while he attempts to come up with possible answers to his questions. They could have gone anywhere and doing anything. They could have went into town to run errands or to talk to Cooter. Or perhaps  they went to visit someone who had called them out. The answers were endless, yet Shawn can’t help but to fear the worse. That his secret has been revealed and they are out planning on how to confront him.

Shaking his head in attempt to shake out his thoughts, he slowly opens the unlocked door to slowly step into the shadow darkened kitchen and allows his eyes to adjust before closing the door behind him. Taking a step closer his eyes slowly fall upon a piece of paper that lies on the table and Shawn reluctantly walks over to it to find his name wrote in capital letters on a piece of blank notebook paper. Turning it over he finds it to be in Luke’s familiar handwriting to slowly begin to read the few lines wrote out to him.

Shawn – Daisy had gotten called into work early today while the rest of us went to Kristy’s for our weekly lunch with her family as we had told you about yesterday. I take it since you ran off in such a hurry this morning that you weren’t interested in coming or had forgot. Anyway, that is where we are at if you return and no one is home. Make yourself at home…our home is your home. We’ll be back later this afternoon sometime. Cooter had the idea that we should go out to them old caves as we use to hang out at and build a fire and we can make our own supper as we use to before going back to the Boar’s Nest like we did last night. It’s your call. Think about what you want to do.

Luke

Shawn re-reads the letter in attempt to decipher if he had wrote the truth or had wrote it in attempt to hide his true reasons behind being gone before crumpling it up and throwing it away in the garbage can. A moment later of thinking of the letter, relief floods over him as he slowly begins to remember Luke talking yesterday on their way home from the Boar’s Nest of their weekly lunch they have at Kristy’s every Sunday. The letter had been wrote in truth, leaving Shawn off of the hook and in the clear of the time being. Sighing heavily he slowly begins to think of only minutes ago when he had been convinced of his true identity and reasoning of being in Hazzard to have been discovered by Luke and the rest of the Dukes and the fear it had brought upon him. Staring into the shadows, he begins to wonder what he will do once Luke finds out the truth and is able to see past his lies. Landon made it clear of what he was to do if anyone in Hazzard were to find out who he has became; kill them, leave no witnesses, and then the gang would clean up and leave town as it had in Atlanta. But could he bring himself to kill Luke? Cooter? Jesse or Daisy? How could he even think of killing them if they found out? But he’d have to do something if that were to happen? Deep down he knew he couldn’t kill them after all they’ve done for him now and in the past.  If Bo or anyone else were to find out about him or his gang, he’d have little trouble with pulling the trigger; the only reason he’d have trouble with Bo would be in knowledge of how hard Luke would be hit with his death. Bo had always been the one to get in the way of him and Luke, the one to slow Luke down. Always was a source of annoyance to him. It’d be a relief to him to be able to put the bullet in his heart and see the pain in his eyes; if it weren’t of Luke’s deep devotion to his cousin.

Though if anyone were to see through him and find out who he had become, it wouldn’t be the Bo, the town’s retard as he often called him, but it would be Luke or Jesse, perhaps Daisy and Cooter. Fact was, that Shawn was surprised that Luke or Jesse hasn’t caught onto him for how he’s changed yet or how they seem to remain clueless of who he had became since he left Hazzard. They were the smart and thoughtful ones, the ones who see through almost anyone and anything around. The ones who were observant of the most smallest of detail. Deep down, Shawn is convinced that the only reason they haven’t called him on it yet was because they were still too excited and surprised at his visit. But sooner or later that would be bound to change. Then what would he do?

Sighing heavily, Shawn slowly walks through the kitchen and into the empty living room and he finds himself walking over to the fire place where he slowly takes in the framed pictures that line the thick cement shelf that lines a couple of feet above the fire place.  Slowly, he takes them in one at a time through the shadows that is cast over the room, his mind wondering once more to the past, wondering what life would be like if he were to have stayed in Hazzard instead of going to Atlanta. A small smile finds it’s place on his face as he shakes his head as he is quick to realize that he never would have survived in Hazzard. It’s only been a couple of days since they had came to Hazzard and already he feels that restlessness feeling that had captured him while living here while growing up. That restlessness feeling of yearning to be elsewhere yet trapped in the small hick town of Hazzard. Though this time, he’s not trapped.

A moment later, Shawn finds himself away from the pictures and to a closed small window that looks out over the driveway as well as the old wooden barn that stands several feet off to the side of the house. For a long moment, Shawn silently stares blankly through the closed window as he allows his thoughts to wander aimlessly within him before his eyes slowly falls upon his parked car several feet away.  Staring at his car his thoughts fall upon the heavy briefcase he had hid under the floorboard of his trunk before he had left Atlanta and a bolt of excitement rushes through him as an idea slowly begins to formulate within him. An idea as to what to do with the briefcase so that Landon or anyone else won’t be able to find it and demand of it’s origin. And now, with everyone out for awhile, was his perfect time to hide the scratched briefcase where no one else would think of looking. His only problem was being in finding the perfect spot where none of the Dukes would stumble upon it on accident. . .

Taking a last look at his car and over at the barn several feet away, he gives himself a small nod before backing up from the window to quickly walk over to the wooden door that lies on the far side of the living room. Reaching the closed door, Shawn nervously glances over to his left to find the white scratched door leading to the room Luke shares with Bo to be tightly closed before looking back at the door. Opening the door, Shawn slowly steps out to feel small and cold rain drops to slowly begin falling upon him and he quickly walks over to his car where he opens the trunk of his car by pushing a small button on his key ring. He watches the hood shoot up with a soft click before he nervously glances around the open farm land before he moves to the trunk and yanks the board up and relief fills him at seeing the briefcase where he had put it at. Quickly yanking the heavy briefcase out of the trunk, he silently closes the hood before he forces himself to walk slowly to the barn while taking in his surroundings. Reaching the barn, he eyes the old farm house once more with an odd sense of being watched, not seeing anyone or anything, he enters the dark barn with briefcase in hand.

“This is it,” he whispers to himself as he glances around the floor level of the barn, seeking the perfect hiding place, somewhere dark and small where no one would normally look. After a couple of times of walking along each side of the inside of the barn he comes to two small stalls that are littered with hay, one stall holds mother and baby goat while the other stall holds a litter of black and brown puppies and the mother. The stalls stand a foot away from each other and is covered by dark shadows and hay that had been spilled down the sides of the stalls. “Perfect,” Shawn grins as he pulls over a large silver pail to slowly sit down on it near the opening and eyes the goats and the dogs before turning to the briefcase that he places upon his lap before unlocking the two gold locks on each side of the black leather handle and it snaps open a half an inch.

Opening the briefcase a large smile spreads across Shawn’s handsome face as his green eyes take in the large amount of cash that fills the briefcase to the brim, cash that is all marked in fifty or a hundred dollar bills. Eyeing the green bills inside of the tan clothed briefcase, his thoughts flash back a week ago of walking into the mayor’s house and of killing the mayor and his guards as they had walked in on him in the middle of their robbery. He had been apart of the gang for several  years and have witnessed his friends shoot and kill people to ensure a safe get away from their robberies, but never before had he been the one to shoot or kill anyone. Until then when he was forced to kill in order to get a clean get away. For a moment guilt sinks in within him, his mind returning to finding the briefcase hidden well underneath a black leather ottoman as he had gone to pick up his initialed pocket knife. “Damn,” he hears himself say as he becomes paralyzed in fear and panic as his thoughts fall upon his pocket knife, realizing for the first time that he had left it behind when he left. He had been surprised and excited upon seeing the hidden briefcase and when Andre had yelled from the door several feet away that it was time to go, he had grabbed and bagged the briefcase and quickly left. Leaving the knife behind.

“Damn it,” he cusses silently again before forcing himself to take a deep breath in order to calm himself down, reminding himself that it is over and done with. There was nothing he could do about it now other than to hope that the feds don’t lead it back to him and that none of his gang finds out about the briefcase of money or his dropped knife. Landon would have him killed if he even knew about his dropped knife and especially if he knew that Shawn had stolen the money and was hiding it from everyone else. He knew the risk when he had slipped the briefcase into his trunk after they had returned from the robbery and was willing to take the risk. After all, he was the one that shot and killed the mayor and his guards so they could return home without being arrested; he deserved the money and should be forced to share it with everyone.

Yeah, living in Atlanta, life in the big city, sure had changed him from the innocent poor farm boy he had left Hazzard as twelve years ago. Now he was wanted for murder and now he holds the money he stole and is hiding from his own gang.  Not even him would have imagined him being who he was now.

He slowly takes a stacked pile of hundred dollar bills out to begin to fan them in front of him and another rush of excitement streaks boldly within him. With the perfect hiding place for his newly found wealth, he grows confident at being able to escape the consequences he had lived fearing ever since hiding the money in his trunk; of being able to get away with all that he’s done to the mayor and to his own gang.

He hears himself laugh aloud, his own laugh filled with greed, as he puts the stack of bills down and grabs another equally thick stack of fifty dollar bills. He fans the stack once more, eyeing the briefcase as he begins to wonder and guess just how much money he holds in his hands.

Abruptly, his thoughts and excitement are brought to a complete halt as a loud cracking sound echoes off the weak walls to send crippling horror and fear rushing within him. Swallowing heavily, his head jerks up to find Bo Duke standing in the entrance of the barn several feet away, Bo’s baby blue eyes are filled with fear and anger as they stare at the open brief case on Shawn’s lap. “Bo,” Shawn hears himself say as he quickly throws the money back where he got it from to slam the briefcase closed, locking the two locks. “I…I thought you were at Kristy’s,” Shawn hears himself stammering as he arises from his pail, fear pierces through him as he struggles to know what to do now. He could kill Bo, but then he’d have to explain to Landon why they had to leave town for before they executed their plan for Hazzard and leaving Hazzard without explanation to everyone else would only point their suspicion towards him. Yet, Bo had clearly seen his briefcase of money and he is not to leave witnesses. . .

 

***BO DUKE***

 

Listening into the thick silence that engulfs the old farm house, I stare silently across the room at Luke’s neatly made bed as my thoughts remain fixated upon our argument from yesterday and all that had been said.  Of the anger and hatred that had seemed to shine in his crystal blue eyes. Sighing heavily, I force my thoughts rewinding into the past in search of the last time he had looked at me with the same look in his eyes. Only to think of the morning of the day Shawn had left Hazzard to go to Atlanta when I had made it clear just how glad I was to see Shawn to be leaving once and for all. Which forces questions to slowly sink within me, questions of what Shawn has over Luke that forces Luke to be so attached to him, defensive and protective of him. Maybe Shawn was right all those years ago by saying I was only jealous of him because he took up so much of Luke’s time and that Luke would turn me down to hang out with Shawn, who wouldn’t allow me to tag along with them as Luke’s other friends would. Jealous that Luke would be as protective of Shawn as he was of me.

Shaking my head in disagreement, I quickly look away from Luke’s bed to stare out the window that hangs over the nightstand that sits between our beds. I shake my head in firm knowledge that I was anything but jealous of Shawn and his relationship with Luke. It wasn’t jealousy towards Shawn, it was mistrust and fear in knowledge of who Shawn really was; the Shawn that Luke and everyone else refused to see through the nice and welcome act that Shawn put on for everyone to see. Though I had feared Shawn back before he had left due to his constant teasing and bullying he had done of me, I never thought or felt that he would ever intentionally hurt anyone. Though he never showed it to me, knew he had a fun and nice side of him that he had freely shown to everyone else he cared about.

But now that Shawn has returned to Hazzard for a visit from being away for twelve years, I am burdened by a intense sense that Shawn has changed for the worse. That he is in Hazzard to bring trouble rather than for a surprise visit to catch up on old times with Luke and Cooter. Yet with no firm knowledge in the fact, there is little I can do or say to warn anyone of Shawn. Yet this fear of this sense continues to swell deeply within me.

My thoughts are slowly interrupted as a car engine coming to a halt somewhere outside pierces through the silence only to be followed shortly by a car door slamming shut. Someone’s here. Wondering who it could be, I slowly stand up and walk to the door only to hear the front door squeaking open and banging shut to mean it had to be either Luke, Daisy, Jesse, or maybe Shawn. With Luke and Jesse going to Kristy’s and Daisy going to work, that left it having to be Shawn. Sighing heavily, I slowly take a couple of steps back to sit back down upon my bed, not wanting to deal with Shawn right now as old memories flood through me. Memories of Shawn giving me a hard time, which was always worse on the times I had been left a lone with him.

Several minutes filled with thick silence seems to elapse while my thoughts go back and forth, from the past to the present, to the past and to the present to send my emotions billowing through me. My thoughts are once again interrupted by the sound of the wooden door only several feet away from my room’s closed door is banged closed. Questions slowly build within me and I slowly stand up to walk over to the side window to find a clear view of the old barn several feet away and the heavy storm clouds that darken the afternoon sky. After a long moment, Shawn reappears walking away from the drive way and walking towards the barn with large and expensive looking briefcase in hand; his walk is confident and with purpose. I watch silently through the closed window as he walks to the barn while he continually nervously look around him before he comes to a halt at the mouth of the entrance to the barn to turn and look directly at me. I hear myself gasp aloud as I quickly pull myself away from the window with fear building within me from being seen by him.

A long moment passes as I allow my thoughts to wonder aimlessly within me, thoughts of questions of what Shawn is doing and what’s in his briefcase that he seems to have a death grip upon. Questions spurred by how nervous he seems to be, looking like someone attempting to hide something or doing something that would get him in trouble if anyone were to see him. But what?

Taking deep breaths, I slowly pull myself back to the window to find him disappearing within the thin walls of the barn, being engulfed by the dark shadows that rests within it. I stare at the dark entrance for a long while as I swallow back the fear that builds within me. But of what? Shawn could have legit reasons for bringing a briefcase into the barn. Perhaps it’s business for his work that he wants to work on in private and thought the barn would provide the privacy he needed. Or he could be trying to hide something he had stolen or bought illegally. But would Shawn steal or buy anything illegal? The Shawn that had left Hazzard twelve years ago was wild and crazy and did almost anything for a good time and to put himself a head of others. But steal or do anything illegal? I sigh heavily. After twelve years away, with Shawn, anything was possible.

All of which leaves me wondering what I should do now. I could stay in the room, hiding out and hoping for the best or I could walk in on Shawn to see what he was doing with the chance of placing myself in danger if he was doing something illegal. Knowledge and fear yanks me away from Shawn yet deep within I feel the tugging towards the barn with Jesse’s firm words from the past to always do the right thing. To do the right thing no matter what. And if Shawn was doing something illegally in the barn that may bring his family to danger in the near future, it was my responsibility to do something about it while I can. But what?

Sighing heavily, I take a last look at the old barn before I slowly walk over to my closed door to slowly open it and step out into the small hallway. Reaching the closed wooden door that leads out to the outside, I come to a halt with my hand on the cold handle before I glance back into the living room. Eyeing Jesse’s rifle hanging up above the entrance of the kitchen I slowly talk myself out of taking it with me. After all, it was only Shawn that I would be facing; someone I knew. Looking across the room, my eyes fall upon a picture of Luke and I in front of the court house that had been taken shortly after he had returned home from war. My thoughts turn to Luke, of how he would react if I did have solid evidence against Shawn that he had changed for the worse. If Luke would then believe me or would he find some other excuse for what Shawn had done.

Taking a moment for a short prayer for help and guidance,  I then slowly open the door and the chilly wind abruptly attacks me from the outside before I step out to feel the icy cold drops of rain beating down upon me. “Great,” I sigh heavily as I silently close the door, my eyes stuck upon the dark entrance to the barn. Ignoring the chilly wind and the rain that slowly falls upon me, I force myself to walk towards the barn as I silently search for what to do, what to say. If it was only business, I could easily say I was just checking up on him and then leave him be, but if it was something illegally, would he be willing to let me walk away? Probably not. Then what?

After a long moment that seems to last a lifetime, I reach the entrance of the barn just as I hear Shawn laugh aloud within the barn. Chills creepily run down my back, not at the wind or rain, but the evilness and greed that had been so thick and prominent in Shawn’s laugh. Breathing in deeply, I slowly look into the barn to find Shawn sitting upon Uncle Jesse’s milking pail with the briefcase lying open on his lap and a thick wad of money in his hands. Only to enforce my suspicions as true, that he was in the barn seeking privacy for something other than for work or any other innocent means. He was up to something illegal that would most likely land me and my family in some sort of trouble or danger. Now what?

Sighing heavily, I slowly take a step over in attempt to get a clearer look at Shawn and what he was doing and fear instantly builds within me as my foot lands upon a thick twig that snaps loudly in half with my weight. The snapping noise seems to echo through the silence of the farm and off the thin walls of the barn and Shawn instantly looks up from his briefcase of money and for a moment shock and fear are thick in his cold green eyes. Anger and fear swells heavily within me, anger towards Shawn for using Luke and Cooter as he is, using their trust and friendship in order to do something illegal for himself. Anger to see who Shawn has really become, knowing once Luke comes to understand and to see who Shawn is, of how hurt and upset he will be at being used by someone he trusted and considered a good friend.

“Bo,” Shawn quickly interrupts the silence as he throws the wad of money into the briefcase before slamming it shut and locking it tightly up. “I thought you went to Kristy’s. . .” he stammers, his voice thick with fear and surprise, as he lets his statement hang loosely in the air between us before he slowly stands up from the pail.

I find myself nodding as the fear swelling within me brings the all too familiar heavy feeling to my lungs with each breath I take, the signs of an upcoming attack that is triggered by my harsh emotions.  “I was going to,” I state, forcing myself to stare boldly at Shawn; it was too late to back up now. “but opted to stay behind at the last minute to be alone for awhile.” I go silent, wishing desperately that I had went along with Jesse and Luke instead of telling them to go without him. I had saw it as a chance to be alone to be able to sort through my thoughts and emotions from yesterday’s fight with Luke, feeling it was best for everyone if I had stayed behind and away from Luke as much as possible as to not ensure another fight between the two of us. Ever since our argument yesterday, Luke has seemed to find wrong in all that I do or say, giving me his angered looks with each look he sends my way; leaving me to guess his hateful and angry thoughts he must have towards me. He seems to misinterpret everything I say or do to be something against Shawn or him now that I had allowed my thoughts to slip out aloud yesterday morning.

“That’s why you’re in Hazzard,” I boldly state to break my own silence, my eyes falling upon his briefcase in his hands before I look back at him who looks down at the briefcase from following my glare. He looks up and I slowly continue, “You’re not here for a surprise visit to catch up with Luke and Cooter.” I shake my head, swallowing forcefully as I feel the pressure building up in my lungs, “You’re here to hide out from the law and who ever you robbed all that money from. You damn coward!” I spit towards him despite him standing several feet away, stuck in place with a look of fear and indecision on his face. “You came to my cousin, to my uncle’s farm to hide out from the consequences that await your actions in Atlanta! You selfish coward…that’s what you are! Luke and Cooter trust you and yet all you are doing is using them for your own purposes! Do you even care that your actions could get them hurt?” I shake my head at him, “You never cared about anyone else before, why would you now? So tell me -” I cut myself off as Shawn slowly places the briefcase on the floor by his feet while reaching inside of his black coat before abruptly yanking out a thick black hand gun and pointing it at me; his right hand holding the butt of the gun with his right index finger upon the trigger and his left hand holds his right wrist to steady his aim. “What you gonna do? Shoot me? What’re you going to tell Luke? Uncle Jesse?” I go silent a moment as I attempt to relax my breathing as pain rapidly begins to shoot within me with each breath I manage to take. “Tell me, who you rob all that money from? You shoot them too?”

Shawn watches me silently through my angry spiel of questions before I slowly stop talking as breathing turns painfully difficult before I chronically begin coughing. As I put my hand in my pocket for my emergency inhaler, Shawn yells, “Get your hand out of your pocket and step into the barn!” he snaps at me and reflexively I yank my hand out of my pocket before I eye him to come to a realization of how serious he is of his threat. My mind returns to Jesse’s rifle that I had momentarily thought of bringing with me and yet decided to leave behind, thinking I knew who Shawn was, that it wouldn’t be necessary. Just as Luke and Cooter thinks they know and can trust Shawn. It was too late now to get the rifle. “Don’t be stupid, Bo. Get into the damn barn!” he breaks his silence with impatience as he motions with the gun for me to get closer to him.

“And if I don’t?” I question to watch his anger accelerate within his eyes as he tightens his grip on the gun, his index finger moves upon the trigger. “You’ll just shoot me? Honestly, I’m curious as to what you plan on telling Luke when he returns of what happened to me. Of why my blood has stained Jesse’s barn.”

He noticeably swallows as he takes a couple of steps closer to me, his gun stuck pointed at me. “Don’t test me, Bo. You don’t need to give me any more reasons than I already have for placing a bullet in that ugly head o’ yours. Before I left Hazzard, I thought of several ways on how you could die a painful death in a sad little accident. But I didn’t. You know why?” he pauses as if awaiting for my answer, “Because of Luke. Accident or not, he’d still be upset over your death. Be hurt over it. I could never understand why he cared so much about you for, why he was so protective of you for. I still don’t understand. I guess I never will. You are pest and a waste of time if you ask me, you’re a wasted life, Bo.” He pauses heavily, shaking his head in disgrace. “But I could never hurt Luke even if it included getting rid o’ you.” He goes silent again in thought and I glance over my shoulder, half thinking of making a run for it. “I wouldn’t think of it if I were you. I’ve got great aim and could kill a moving target if need be. The choice is your’s. Either you can listen and no one gets hurt too badly or you could get yourself killed. Which is it gonna be?”

I eye him heavily to notice the beads of sweat that slowly melt down his smooth tan face, the intense look that remains fixated upon his cold green eyes. Taking a last look at the farm house, thoughts of the rifle left inside, I slowly look back at Shawn before I take a long step of defeat into the shadows of the barn. “OK, I’m in the damn barn,” I state as panic slowly settles within me, panic from the harsh attack that swells painfully within me as I struggle to breathe and panic from the gun pointed a foot from my head now. “I need my inhaler. It’s in my pocket…that -” I cut myself off as I begin to cough harshly as if in example of why I need my inhaler, “was what I was trying to get earlier. My inhaler -” I gasp for air, “is in my pocket.”

He eyes me for a short moment, the fear that had momentarily been spotted in his eyes upon my unannounced arrival has dissipated into a look of satisfaction and content. “Just to show that I ain’t such a bad guy as you make me out to be,” he states as a small evil smile crosses his face, “I’ll let you get your inhaler out.”

I eye him questionably for a long moment and he smiles and nods at me while continuing to point the gun at my head a foot away. Swallowing heavily I am filled with premature relief with the thought of being able to use my inhaler as I quickly grab my inhaler and yank it out of my pocket. I gasp in pain, fear, and surprise as Shawn takes a quick step towards me and yanks the inhaler out of my had as I bring it to my mouth. “No!” I hear myself yell at him as he smiles evilly at me before he takes a step back.

“I tol’ you I’d let you get your inhaler out. Never said you could use it!” he smiles evilly at me as he taunts me with the inhaler by putting it in my face just outside of reaching distance. As I step forward to grab it, he yanks it away from me and shoves me away with his left elbow. “Just to prove to you just how good of an aim I’ve got, watch this,” he nods at me before he quickly throws my inhaler up as far as it can go and as it ricochets off the loft’s floor, Shawn pulls his gun up and pulls the trigger. As he pulls the trigger a loud deafening sound echoes off of the thin walls and the bullet whizzes up to hit my inhaler in the middle a foot off of the loft’s floor. The two pieces of my inhaler is quickly cut in two and lands upon the hay littered barn floor several feet away behind Shawn and Shawn gives me an arrogant look. “Right in the middle, just as planned.” With that he turns around and walks back to where my inhaler is and picks up the two pieces with his left hand and walks over to me and hands them out towards me. “Here’s your inhaler back,” he grins and shoves them into my shirt’s chest pocket when I don’t take them from him.

I eye him coldly, wishing he’d just kill me now and get it over with, but knowing that Shawn would rather make me suffer as long as possible. “Fine,” I finally nod at him, “your point has been made. Now what?”

“Glad you ask,” he pauses thoughtfully for a long moment, his gun is quickly drawn back and aimed at me, this time only an inch from my face, “I’d love to pull the trigger and end your misery of a life for you. In fact, I can think of several ways that I’d enjoy helping you end your misery you live each day by killing you. Oh I’d have fun,” he grins before shaking his head in sadness, “but sadly I can’t do that. Not here or now at least. But I guess I’ll have to settle for the next best thing for the time being. You see, I can’t have you running around and running your big mouth about what you just saw, now can I? So that-”

I shake my head at him. “I . . .I won’t tell anyo -” I begin to say before Shawn abruptly grabs tightly onto my shirt and slams me harshly into the wall of the barn and I gulp in pain.

“Like I should believe you. You were always running and telling on me. Shawn did this, Shawn did that!” he says in a mimicking voice, still holding me tightly against the boards of the barn, his gun now places heavily against my left temple and I find myself clawing at his hands to let go. “You big ol’ cry baby, that’s what you are. Well I think I’ll help toughen you up while showing you how to shut up all at the same time. You see, I can’t kill you and I can’t just let you go either so – “ he goes silent as he bites onto his lower lip before he nervously eyes the entrance of the barn where I follow his gaze to find the slow rain to have sped up to a down pour outside. Looking back at me he continues, “I’m going to give you several reasons not to tell anyone what you just saw.” With that he removes the gun from my temple and I cry out in pain as he violently backhands me across the face with the butt of his metal black gun and he laughs aloud at my cry. “You better get use to it, cry baby, that was only the beginning!”

“Let me go, Shawn,” I state as I feel a trickle of blood running down my right cheek, “you won’t get away -” with that I begin to cough chronically, my mind fogged up with panic and fear as I struggle to think of what to do next. “Let go.”

He grins evilly at me before he backhands me again with the gun, this time I hold back from crying out in pain before he sends the butt of the gun direction into my chest to further the pain of my breathing. “I’ll be glad to let go of you,” he hisses at me as he yanks me away from the wall of the barn, holding tightly onto my shirt before he forcefully throws me onto the ground. As I land upon the hard ground, my head abruptly and forcefully hit’s the ground to send tears to my eyes a moment before a thick blackness envelopes me.

When the darkness slowly fades away into the dark shadows that fill the barn, I find and feel Shawn forcefully and violently continually kicking me in the chest, stomach, and face. “Good morning sleepy head. Thought I lost ya there for a second,” he grins down at me as his boot sinks into my chest. I eye him shortly, growing ashamed at myself for allowing him to beat me so good without even sending a punch at him. I was never the greatest fighter, but a good fighter that had learned from experience and from Luke on how to defend myself. Yet I had allowed Shawn the upper hand as he had shown me the gun and made it clear he would make good his threat if need be. As he sends a kick into my face, I am made aware that it is not too late to defend myself or get a little something in if my beaten body and my painful breathing would allow me to do so.  “Having fun yet?” Shawn spits down at me, “I am.”

I attempt to ignore his jabs at me as through half swollen eyes I take in his feet and the pattern of his kicking before I abruptly reach out and quickly grab onto his boot to throw him harshly onto the ground beside me. With him momentarily down, I slowly and unsteadily stand up before he quickly stands up with his smile confidently on his face; excited at the prospect that I may attempt to fight him back. “I’m not going down without a fight,” I say forcefully as I duck away from a swing from his gun before quickly sending my elbow into his chest and he grunts in pain. Stepping back he eyes me with cold and emotion-less eyes, his gun pointed at me as he contemplates his next move on me and for a moment my thoughts turn to Luke and how we’ll have to explain all of this.

Without any warning, Shawn turns to the side and forcefully sends a powerful kick, his thick boots landing painfully in my chest and I am thrown backwards into the wall. The thin boards crack under my pressure and as I begin to fall back to the ground, Shawn grabs a tight hold upon my shirt once more and jams me into the wall once more to send more cracking sounds near my head. “Look at me,” he states and as I refuse to do so, he takes a hand off of my shirt to tightly grab my bruised face and force me to look at him, “listen and listen good, because I am not going to tell you again. This all has only been an example of what I am capable of…I am just looking for a reason and a way to kill you and get you out of my life once and for all.” He pauses once more as he takes his hand away from my jaw and he back hands me with the butt of the gun once more before he painfully puts the barrel of the gun to my temple once more. “But I can’t do it now or here. If you even think of telling someone what you saw…don’t care if it’s the damn dog or the walls in your room or the law or your hick family…you will be the key witness to Luke’s execution. Understand?”

I eye him wildly at his threat. “You wouldn’t -” I am cut off with my coughing as my breathing increasingly grows worse and more painful, “wouldn’t kill Luke. He -”

“You wanna bet? Go tell him what you saw. Go tell Rosco,” he pulls the safety off the gun to place an explanation mark behind his statement, “I won’t be too happy about doing it, but trust me, you open your big mouth as to what you saw or think you saw, you will be seeing him executed. Then Jesse. Then Daisy. I’d rather kill you, but it’d be worth watching you suffer at their pain. Knowing you were responsible for it. I may be the one pulling the trigger, but you have the choice of whether I pull it or not. Understand?”

He eyes me with intense eyes, demanding an answer. “I won’t tell -” I gasp as I become dizzy and light headed and he quickly backhands me again in impatience of waiting for my answer, “anyone.”

“Good. Glad to hear it,” he grins at me as he silently takes me in, “another thing. When Luke and Jesse get back to find your beaten and  unconscious body in that there corner -” he pauses as he points to the large open pen that is just left of the entrance of the barn, the entrance towards the house that had at one time held the baby calf that Jesse had been nursing into good health. “I’m going to make an act of helping your sorry self and I’ll tell ‘em I got here just in time to see a man with a gun run out over the street and into the woods. When I got in here I found you there beaten like that. And guess what?”

I eye him coldly for a long moment, ignoring the pain that he had created, before I forcefully spit in his face and his eyes grow dark in hatred towards me. I hear myself yell out in pain and fear as removes the gun from my temple and he tightly jabs his elbow against my throat, holding me against the wall with his elbow. Panic and fear flood me as the little breathing I had comes to a complete halt and darkness begins to seep back in.

“Fine, I’ll tell you what,” he spits in my face in return, “you’re gonna back me up. You’re going to say  you saw him enter the barn and you came to see what he was doing to find him trying to steal the puppies to sell for profit. When he saw you he put you at gun point before you got into a fight over the puppies and you lost miserably to him. Understand? You don’t go along with that,” he pauses as he back hands me again with the butt of the gun and places it in front of me to see, “I’ll be using this gun to put a bullet into the back of Luke’s head right in front of you. You’ll have only your sorry self to blame for it too. Then Jesse. Then Daisy. Until you are left all alone. Alone to deal with your guilt for what you did. You understand?”

I feel blood and tears run down my swollen face as I slowly and painfully nod at him as best as I can under the pressure of his elbow against my throat and I find myself beginning to pray for all of this to come to an end. If only I had stayed in my room as I thought of doing. . .

He ends my thoughts with an evil laugh before he removes his elbow from my throat and throws me back onto the ground face first before he grabs the back of my shirt and he begins to drag me through the barn. A moment later he shoves me over the board that crosses the entrance of the pen and throws me onto a pile of hay in the corner. “Please…leave…me alone,” I hear myself pleading him, aware of how pathetic I must be sounding to him, “I won’t tell -” I begin to cough harshly once more and the darkness seeps farther in. “anyone.”

Shawn nods, smiling down at me as he sends a boot into my face to send the blood flooding down my nose worse than it had before. “I know you won’t. You care too much about Luke to do so. You need Jesse too much to do so,” he laughs again while sending another boot into my chest and I weakly catch it to once more send him backwards and into the wiring of the pen. This time, I remain on the ground, too weak to consider trying to stand up again to face him. “You idiot! You never learn,” he hisses down at me as he stands back up and I notice blood beginning to run down his face from a cut on his head from hitting a wooden post. He runs over to me and grabs me by the shirt and he violently shoves me into the ground while he hits me with the butt of the gun once more. “You will never win against me, Bo. You’re bound by being a good ol’ boy and not wanting anyone to get hurt. I ain’t afraid of getting hurt nor am I afraid of hurting anyone. You now know that. I’m not who I once was, but I think you already know that.”

He goes to hit me again and I quickly block it and as I grab his hand, a look of surprise crosses Shawn’s face and with his surprise I am able to grab the gun out of his hands. Anger and hatred filter his eyes now as he tries to grab it away from me and I quickly throw it out of the pen and out of his reach. “We’ve all changed Shawn. Not just you. Just some of us have grown better than others,” I forcefully say as I allow the darkness to come over me slowly, knowing with the lack of oxygen I don’t have a chance against it. “I’m not going to allow you to hurt my family, Shawn. You’re gonna have to do it over my dead body.”  I once again spit in his face and he once again picks me up to harshly throw me against the hard floor, his elbow goes back against my already bruised throat to hold me tightly and painfully against the hard ground. I continue gasp painfully for air, against my asthma and against his pressure with no use at getting any air and anger and sadness floods over me. Anger towards Shawn for who he has become and towards myself for allowing him to beat me as he had.

“Just remember what I told you to tell ‘em when you wake up…and not to tell ‘em. Remember what will happen if you do,” he grins at me a moment before I close my eyes to allow the darkness to wash completely over me. “Nighty night Beaureguard,” I can hear him say a moment later through my darkness as his pressure slowly releases only to begin to feel his kicks of hatred to wash over my body before I lose all of my senses.

 

***SHAWN GRAHAM***

 

Giving Bo’s silent and still body another powerful kick to the stomach, Shawn grins to himself as he takes in the damage he had inflicted upon the blond Duke. Perhaps now he would think twice before walking in on him unannounced. Shaking his head at the Duke, Shawn slowly steps closer to the entrance of the pen before he walks over to Bo’s knee that lies slightly upward as Bo had placed his knee up as a shield as Shawn had thrown him on the ground. “You picked the wrong person to mess with,” he states to Bo before he raises one of his feet up to rest his leather work boot upon Bo’s knee before he harshly puts all of his weight into his foot on his knee and Bo’s knee collapses with a loud crack that echoes off the walls of the barn. “That’s gonna hurt,” he grins as he stands on the knee for a long moment before stepping back and walks out of the pen to pick up his gun that Bo had thrown out before he had gone unconscious.

Disappointed that Bo didn’t give him any more of a fight than he did, he comes to a halt in front of the open pen, once again eyeing the damage he done to Bo. Fear instantly hits him as he notices how still he is lying, including his chest. If he killed him. . .

Relief floods him as Bo’s chest slowly rises before falling flat and still again and he lets out a deep breath he had been holding before he looks down at his gun. Bo’s blood covers the butt of the gun as well as the barrel of where he had hit Bo with it and Shawn looks down at his clothes. If he wants his story to be believable he’s going to have to get Bo’s blood on his beloved coat. His clothes. Chills at the thought of putting his blood on him. He doesn’t have a problem with blood, whether it is his own or someone else’s, just the thought of it belonging to Bo puts chills on him. Which sends him wondering what it was that made him hate Bo so much. He always had.

Hearing a car engine in the far distant grabs his attention away from his thoughts of the past and he quickly steps out of the barn to see The General followed by Jesse’s white truck several miles away, coming towards him. “Damn it,” he cusses as he wipes the blood of the gun on his coat and tucks it back into his pant at the small of his back. Quickly he runs to the house and as he passes the glass of Jesse’s China cabinet, he is made aware for the first time of his own blood trailing down the left of his face from where he had hit the post at. “Damn it!” he cusses again before he pulls himself away and grabs a couple of hand towels and runs back out into the down pour of rain. Ignoring the chilly rain and wind, he enters the barn once more to find Bo’s still body as he silently attempts to find a way to explain what had happened to him. If he didn’t catch the supposed dognaper, then how he get hurt?

Fear once more hits him as his eyes fall upon his black briefcase lying upon the floor where he had dropped it near the over turned pail. He had almost forgot about what had started the fight to begin with. Sighing heavily he runs over to it before sliding the briefcase into the slot he had earlier intended to hide it before he had gotten sidetracked by opening it up to look at the money once more. If only he had hid it and not. . .

His thoughts are interrupted as The General’s powerful engine penetrates through the thick silence announcing that they’re getting closer. Running to the entrance, Shawn sees them getting closer to the farm’s entrance and he quickly runs into the pen where Bo lies and drops to his knees to harshly yank Bo’s beaten body before he reluctantly holds it close to him to ensure getting blood on him. Dropping Bo’s body he glances down to find blood staining his coat, shirt and pants. Nodding to himself, he brings the towels he had grabbed to force them roughly against his swollen face to show he had attempted to stop the bleeding.

Upon hearing The General pulling up behind him in the driveway and with the softer purr of the truck’s engine, Shawn sits up to find his hands stained with Bo’s blood once more. If only he had killed him…

Shaking his head to shake off the thought, he slowly stands up to take in his job once more before he turns and runs out of the barn to watch Luke climbing out of The General and Jesse getting out of his truck. Not seeing Shawn, Luke and Jesse quickly walk up to the porch to get out of the rain and Shawn lets out a frustrated sigh before he runs out into the rain. “Luke! Jesse!” he yells to force panic and fear into his voice, and they both turn around to look at him and from where he stands, he notices the fear and surprise enter their blue eyes as they take in the blood that is smeared all over Shawn’s muscular body. “Bo needs help!”

 

***LUKE DUKE***

 

Staring through the windshield at the heavy rain that beats upon The General, my thoughts remain numb and fixated upon the fight I had with Bo yesterday, on all that was said and done. Of my own actions, my own words and how deeply they hurt him. Truth is his bold statement that he had allowed to slip aloud about Shawn had hurt me deeply and I had reacted in a way I knew would hurt him back, intentionally. Thinking of the hurt in Bo’s eyes, guilt sinks heavily within me at what I had done to him even though he had apologized right after he had said it. If I had been thinking properly, I would have taken his apology as a sign of how truly he was sorry in full knowledge that Bo isn’t the one to apologize in the middle of a fight or a disagreement. But normally would wait a few hours or a day before he got the nerve to face me and apologize for his actions. But yesterday morning, he had apologized right after he said it. Admitting he didn’t mean to say it aloud. Still, he was thinking that way towards Shawn. Then again, him and Shawn had never gotten along and they each had a way of pointing fingers at each other saying it was the other’s fault. Placing me in the middle as to which side to take and who to believe.  Why couldn’t they get along with each other? Why do they feel so strongly against each other? Sure, Shawn was known to give Bo a hard time and maybe he took it too far, but it was all done in fun. But Shawn should have listened more to Bo and stopped when Bo told him to. Maybe I should have stepped in and stopped Shawn for Bo as I would have done to anyone else who would give Bo a hard time.

Why didn’t I? I sigh heavily knowing I hadn’t stopped Shawn because I was afraid of losing his friendship. I didn’t stop him because the few times I had tried to stop Shawn and told him to leave Bo alone Shawn had responded by betting upset at me and now allowing me to hang out with him for a couple of days. And it was a big deal to belong in Shawn’s group of friends. They were known around school as the ones that caused trouble, but had fun doing so. For Shawn to call you a friend, you knew you belonged to his circle of friends and was trusted. It meant you could race his dad’s old cars that he had collected around his old farm, it meant skipping school to go fishing, or crossing the county border to go watch the races that Chickasaw County use to hold on a monthly basis and to hang out with Shawn’s well known cousin who won most of those races. And for some unknown reason, Shawn had picked or chosen me to be his best friend, to be his sidekick as he use to call me. I seemed to have special privileges that others didn’t get. Including Cooter.

Looking back now, I don’t even know how I became associated with Shawn and his group of friends. All I know, it was a big deal to belong and if I stopped him from picking on Bo, then all that would have came to an end and I’d be left with only Bo and Cooter to call friends. But was Shawn and his friendship worth losing Bo’s friendship over? Or is Shawn and his return to Hazzard enough to ruin the friendship I have with Bo today over? I sigh heavily, knowing that Shawn or no one else was worth losing Bo or his friendship over. Without Bo, life would be empty and meaningless to me. Yet how am I to just believe Bo and walk away from Shawn?

As the old farm house comes into sight through the rain, surprise and dread fill me at the sight of Shawn’s parked black car sitting in the drive way. Dread at seeing Shawn at the farm as I had hoped to find Bo alone to give him my own apology and perhaps ask him straightforward how he feels for Shawn and why. With Shawn at home, I’d have to wait or find a place where Shawn wouldn’t be within earshot. Perhaps we could go for a drive. . .

“You fallin’ asleep up there?” Jesse’s voice comes clear across the CB to force me to jump as he had cut through the silence that had been within The General. “I think I just saw a worm pass you by.”

“Ha, Ha, very funny,” I laugh sarcastically for him as I push harder onto the accelerator, “I just didn’t want to lose you is all.”

“Well, I appreciate you lookin’ out for me, Luke,” Jesse is quick to respond back, a small hint of laughter in his voice mixed with worry and I become aware of what he must be thinking. Bo and Shawn together and alone many times in the past had equaled trouble or hard feelings on Bo’s part. Finally Jesse interrupts my thoughts, “but I’m gonna be passing you pretty soon to beat you to the farm if you don’t watch it.”

“I get your drift,” I respond back to him as I force The General to go faster towards the farm as I notice Shawn running from the barn and to the house to send questions to grow within me. A moment later he runs back out and into the rain to run back to the barn.

“What’s he doin’?” Jesse calls out through the CB, obviously seeing Shawn as well running back and forth, worry has grown in his voice.

“Well, we are now home,” I state as I pull into the drive way to pull The General to a halt next to Shawn’s car to eye the barn on the way past only to see darkness within. “why don’t you ask him?”

I watch Jesse pull besides me to park the truck next to me. “I’ll give you the honors,” he replies before I watch him throw the CB down on the ground before opening his door and I slowly pull myself out through the open window of The General. “Dang, it’s raining cats and dogs out here,” Jesse comments to me and we run up to the porch in order to get out of the rain.

“Luke! Jesse!” Shawn yells out behind us, his voice is gripped tightly with fear and panic, and we both turn around simultaneously and I come to a halt in my own fear to find him covered in blood. “Bo needs help!”

For a long moment I am paralyzed with fear and panic as I take in the blood that is soaked into Shawn’s outfit as well as his open cut on his forehead that sends blood running down the side of Shawn’s face. My imagination vividly draws a scene of what had happened, of what’s wrong with Bo that has Shawn covered in his blood. After a moment, I pull myself out of my fear and panic to send a look at Jesse who stares at Shawn with disbelief and fear of his own.  Looking back at Shawn, I ask, “Bo? Where is he, Shawn? What happened?”

“He’s in the barn. Hurry, I’ll explain on the way!” he motions for us to follow him and I am the first one off the porch with Jesse close behind me. “I don’t know what happened. I pulled up and as I parked my car I noticed this tall guy with dark hair running out of the barn. I thought you all went to Kristy’s so I didn’t think much of the barn. I ran after him to see what he was doing, but I lost him in that there woods,” he comes to a halt at the entrance of the barn, points to the thick woods that lies across the street, “after I decided I was too late and that I wouldn’t find him in there with the rain and how dark it was in there, I turned back. I got back to the farm, I went to the barn to see if I can find anything amiss. That’s when I found him.” With that, he turns and enters the barn and motioning us to follow him and I feel my heart coming to a halt, gripped with fear with what we are about to see.

We silently follow him into the barn where he leads us directly to the left where the large empty pen lies open and as we walk into the pen I am filled with harsh emotions upon seeing Bo’s beaten and swollen body lying on the hay that is littered on the ground. “No, no, no,” I hear myself say as I drop to my knees at Bo’s side and reflexively place a couple of fingers to his neck to feel a small and erratic pulse, his thin chest moves up slowly and small before falling flat and still for a long moment. “You call an ambulance?” I ask looking up at Shawn who remains in the doorway of the pen, Jesse has now dropped to the other side of Bo, his hand going through Bo’s blood stained hair, tears swell in his eyes.

“No…not yet,” Shawn states and I angrily get up to walk over to him.

“No? Why not?!” I yell into his face as I glance around the barn that remains the same as it has always been. Looking back at Bo and then Shawn, I angrily grab Shawn’s blood stained shirt to angrily shove him into the wall of the barn, my thoughts return to how I’ve opted to take Shawn’s side for his friendship over Bo’s. “He’s almost dead. You know that? He is -” I begin to say to cut myself off and to let go of Shawn who just stares at me with hurt and fear in his green eyes., “almost dead.” I repeat myself. “He could die,” I pause and I glare accusingly up at him, “and you didn’t call for an ambulance! Now he’s gonna have to wait  -” I cut myself off as I run out of the barn and to The General where I pick up the CB, pushing the buttons I desperately say into the mic, “We have an emergency at the Duke farm. We need an ambulance as of now!”

Static is quick to reply to my call for help and I am filled with frustration as I eye the house, fearing I’m going to have to take the time to run into the house to call for help. “We got your call,” the CB finally responds after a long moment and I glance back at the small CB that I grip harshly onto, “we are sending an ambulance to the Duke farm. Should be there in ten to fifteen minutes. What is the emergency, sir?”

I eye the CB in anger and frustration as if it itself was the one telling me that Bo would have to wait ten minutes for help to arrive.  “My cousin was badly beaten and bleeding a lot. He has a small pulse and is barely breathing!” I say, full aware of the panic that is clear in my voice, “He can’t wait ten or fifteen minutes! He may be dead in ten minutes!”

More static. “I understand the urgency, sir,” the dispatcher replies calmly, “the paramedics are on their way and will get there as fast as possible. If you have any other questions -”

“Just tell them to hurry!” I snap back at her as I throw the CB down and run through the rain and back to the barn where I find Shawn knelt down where I had been and Jesse where he had been where I had left him. Tears streaking his cheeks he seems to be talking to Shawn or Bo, though remains inaudible to me. “The ambulance is on their way,” I state to make myself noticed and Shawn quickly stands up to walk over to me, “I thought you didn’t catch the guy?” he gives me a questioning look. “What happened to your forehead?”

He takes a deep breath and nods. “That’s how I lost him. I was running after him and I tripped and fell to hit my head on a rock,” he states and I eye him harshly, taking him in. Noticing no mud or dirt upon his outfit. Just his and Bo’s blood. “When I got up, I didn’t see him anywhere so I turned back and came here and found Bo. I’m sorry, Luke. You’re right, I should’ve called for an ambulance. But I wasn’t thinking. I just kept seeing all that blood and his chest still and thinking of his asthma. I panicked and tried to stop the bleeding instead and kept an eye on his breathing. I shoulda called -”

“Damn right you should have,” I hiss at him, deciding to let it slip for the time being; the fact that his outfit doesn’t back up his story. If he had tripped in the woods, he would have been covered in wet mud with all this rain. But maybe the rain washed it off of him. I sigh heavily, knowing how unlikely that would be. I eye him hardly before I drop at Bo’s side to feel his pulse once more and watch his chest. “It’s getting worse. Damn it. Shawn!” I call out and he eyes me harshly, “Watch for the ambulance!”

He nods as he moves to the entrance way of the barn.

Looking back down at him, I notice the lump in his chest pocket and slowly put my hand into his chest pocket to pull whatever it was out to slowly look at it and once again my heart comes to a halt as I find it to be his inhaler in two separate pieces. “Damn.” I state as I show Jesse, “He musta went for his inhaler and whoever it was didn’t want him to have it.”

Jesse takes it from me. “How it break in two?” he questions.

“My guess someone shot it,” Luke states, “Shawn.” He looks at me questionably, “Can you please go out to The General and make a call out to the sheriff. He needs to be notified. Who ever did this to Bo will not get away with it.”

Shawn eyes me for a long moment before he reluctantly walks out into the rain towards The General to do as he was told to do.

“What was that all about?” Jesse questions as he watches Shawn leave, his hand still upon Bo’s hand, “With Shawn and you? He forgot -”

“He’s lying,” I state heavily trying to come up with a reason why Shawn would lie to me for, “if he’d have tripped he’d have mud all over him. There is not a speck of mud on him.”

“You think he did this?” Jesse questions as he looks down at Bo and I slowly follow his look and for the first time notice at the odd angle Bo’s right leg lies and the clear boot print upon his inner knee.

“I don’t think Shawn would do this,” I slowly state as I attempt to come up with a reason why he’d be lying to us about it for, “but I don’t know why he’d be lying either. Maybe he got hit in the head by who ever done this and don’t remember rightly. I don’t know. Just know it’s best to keep him away from Bo from now on.”

Jesse nods as in the distance a siren is starting to be heard and I place my fingers to his neck once more and watch his chest before I hold the blood soaked towel to his head and another to his nose.  “C’mon Bo. Hang in there,” I hear myself stating aloud, “help is on the way.”

 

*                              *                              *                              *

 

Listening to the silently and rhythmic ticking of the waiting room’s large circular clock above the nurse’s station, my thoughts continue to run rapidly within me. Thoughts of Shawn and Bo, to Shawn’s story, and his lie. Thoughts of who would want to hurt Bo and what they were wanting so bad in their barn that they were willing to kill for. In Luke’s mind, other than the few animals it held from time to time, that bar was only standing for sentimental reasons. Nothing was in it for the most part except for the few boxes of their stuff from childhood. Yet someone was in there to do or steal something when Bo had walked in on them and was deadly attacked. If Shawn didn’t show up when he did, Bo would be dead right now instead of lying in the ER with a bunch of doctors and nurses standing over him in attempt to keep him alive.

Thinking of Shawn, I slowly glance over at him as he sits next to Daisy who sits in between him and Jesse. Shawn has a sports magazine open on his lap but isn’t reading it as Daisy has her head on his shoulder and tears soaking into Shawn’s stained shirt. Twenty-four stitches line his upper left forehead that is now tightly patched up with a white cloth and tape after spending forty-five minutes in the emergency room himself. And yet, still no word on Bo.

I shake my head in frustration as I look away from them and toward the back corner where Rosco, Enos, and Boss all went to after their interview with us was over as they seem to be reviewing Rosco’s notes that he had taken. “Damn it,” I sigh heavily as I glance back out through the window that over looks the parking long and the road, my thoughts remain fixated upon Bo’s broken and beaten body as I attempt to envision what had happened. Of the pain and fear Bo had to go through before he finally fell into un-consciousness. If only I had convinced him to come to Kristy’s with us, whoever it was that broke into the barn would have gotten what they came for and no one would have been hurt. Yet he didn’t come and

Now…

“Hey Luke,” I jump slightly as a hand lands on my shoulder and I glance over to find Cooter standing next to me, his brown eyes filled with sadness while his face is stained in grease. “Daisy called me a little while ago to let me know. Bet you knew that already, though.”

I shake my head. “Actually, no I didn’t,” I finally state as I direct my attention away from him and out through the window again.

“So,” he lets it hang for a while, “what happened? Any word on Bo, yet?”

I breathe in deeply as I look back towards and shake my head no at him. “No, no word on Bo yet.” I respond. “Daisy didn’t tell  you what happened?”

“Nah, she just said that Bo was in the hospital and that he was pretty badly beaten up,” he slowly responds as he takes a step back to take in everyone in the bench seats before looking back at me, “she didn’t want to discuss it over the phone.”

I nod. “Shawn says that he came to the farm and as he got out of the car,” I slowly fill him in on what Shawn had told us, “who ever it was, Cooter, beat Bo good. Looks like he intended to kill him. If Shawn hadn’t shown up…” I let my voice trail heavily, “By the time the ambulance got there, Bo was barely breathing. I think he had stopped breathing a minute or two before they got into the barn with their equipment and all.”

“Damn,” he hisses out loud, “I’m sorry Luke. You know I’m here if you need anything. Bo, you, Jesse, Daisy…you’re family. I hate -” he trails off as well, tears in his eyes.

“I know Cooter, I know. We talked to Rosco and Boss, told our story,” I shake my head, “whoever did this to him, I am dead set making sure they don’t get away with what they did. I don’t care what I have to do to get to them.”

He nods silently. “I know you won’t and neither will I,” he slowly states, “why -” he starts before he is quickly interrupted.

“Dukes,” a heavy voice penetrates the soft hum that had filtered the waiting room and I quickly turn around to find a small pudgy doctor with a head full of white hair and thick black glasses upon his thick nose. He eyes us with dark eyes for a moment before he looks down at his clipboard that lies in his large hands.

“How’s my boy, doctor?” Jesse is the first one to speak up as we all rush to crowd around the doctor and I notice the local law lined up behind us.

The doctor breathes in deeply as he slowly and silently takes in everyone around him, a look of sadness seems to have a permanent hold upon his face. Shoving his thick glasses farther up his nose with his left middle finger he opens his mouth before closing it once more. “I’ll be Bo Duke’s head doctor while he is here. I’m Doctor Millard,” he finally states, his eyes go back to the clipboard in his hands momentarily and then up at everyone, “Bo has suffered several injuries, but at the moment, we are the most concerned with is his asthma and his breathing. His lungs are very weak and he’s unable to breathe on his own as an infection has seemed to have filled his lungs. Probably from not using his inhaler during the attack he suffered during the attack or beating.” he pauses once more, making eye contact with Jesse, “He has suffered a concussion from a hit on the head and broke a couple of ribs, one that had scratched his lungs which is making it even more difficult to breath. He has a couple other bruised ribs and his right knee has been twisted, bruised, and cracked. With the looks of it, he’s lucky he didn’t shatter it or break it.” He pauses to shrug. “Other than that, he is badly bruised and cut up.”

“He’ll be OK?” Jesse slowly asks, his voice quivering in emotions.

Dr. Millard nods slowly. “He should be fine. We are mainly just concerned with his breathing right now. Once we get his breathing stabilized on his own, then he’ll be free to go,” he finally responds, “as of now he has the help of a machine feeding him oxygen through his nose to help him breathe. We decided on a leg brace for his knee rather than a cast since it wasn’t broken, but we’ll worry more about that later. He can have visitors, but for the moment since he’s still hasn’t waken up yet, he will be allowed only one at a time to minimalize stress. He should be able to have more at a time come morning, but for now, only one at a time.”

Jesse eyes everyone for a long moment before stepping forward, choosing to be Bo’s first visitor and I nod at him before walk farther into the waiting room. “Damn,” Shawn speaks up as we reach the bench seats, “I’m glad to hear that. He looked so…I don’t know.” He goes silent as he eyes me, “I’m sorry Luke. Hopefully that idiot will be caught and put in jail for what he done to Bo.”

I nod. “He’ll be caught. I’ll make sure of it,” I boldly state, “but it should be me apologizing. I’m sorry for snapping at you like I had in the barn. I was just upset over everything. It wasn’t you so I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry.” I pause, “I’m just glad you got there when you had. If not. . .”

When I don’t finish my sentence, Shawn says, “Yeah, I know. We’re all lucky. No need to apologize, it is very understandable.”

 

***UNCLE JESSE***

 

Reaching the closed door that leads to Bo’s room, I turn to watch Doctor Millard slowly walking away down the brightly lit hallway as my thoughts vividly remain on Bo’s beaten body. How could anyone hurt someone as badly as they did Bo? To beat them up so badly for walking into their own barn? Sighing heavily I turn back to the door to slowly shove it open to be welcomed by his un-rhythmic beeping of the machines. Saying a soft prayer for Bo, I slowly step into the dark room to close the door behind me and silently turn on the dim lights before making my way to Bo’s bed. My heart seems to sink heavily within me while a lump forms in my throat as breathing becomes difficult as I take in the harsh injuries my nephew has suffered. “Bo,” I hear myself say as I place a hand upon his shoulder gently as I feel tears threaten to fall once more, “I’m here, Bo.”

Bo’s right eye is darkly bruised while a thick cut  surrounded by a bruise on his left cheek while another cut and bruise lies on his upper right forehead, his nose is swollen while his chin lies darkly bruised.  Under his chin, his throat is a blackish brownish color while his bare arms are just as swollen as his face. Almost as if someone had repeatedly beat or hit him with something. His thin chest, under his hospital night gown, slowly goes slightly up before falling still for a long moment before going up; his breathing is slow and wheezy. “C’mon Bo,” I slowly state, looking away from his monitors and back at him, “it’s gonna be alright. Whoever did this to -” I cut myself off as I force myself to inhale deeply in attempt to fight off the harsh emotions that swells rapidly within me and I find myself weakly sitting down upon the fold up chair that had been set besides his bed. Taking his bruised hands gently into my own, I silently begin to watch him, hoping for him to wake up, my thoughts faltering from the last few days to what led us to here. His image of him lying bruised and beaten upon the barn’s ground seems permanent etched in my mind.

After a long moment of watching him, I slowly bow my head to stare down at the ground as I continue to hold his hand. Exhaustion quickly melts over me, exhaustion that has been fed upon the harsh emotions that has raced through me ever since finding Bo on the ground of the barn.  Why  hadn’t Bo gone to Kristy’s with us? If only he had came with as he normally would have. . .

Shaking my head in attempt to shake out all the questions that continue to run within me, I close my eyes as I fall back into prayer; the one thing I had been taught since I was a young child to fall back to in time of need. Prayer.

Abruptly, my prayer is cut short as Bo’s bruised hand twitches in my hands and I quickly look up to find his eyes closed, but looking as if he’s struggling to wake up. “C’mon Bo. I’m right here,” I say soothingly to him as my mind quickly flashes back several years ago of him as a child in the hospital due to an attack and the fear he had of the doctors and nurses. Of the entire hospital. Before remembering only a year ago when both my boys were here due to Max and the beatings they both took. Now Bo lies here once more, in the one place he fears and hates the most.

“Uncle. . .Jesse,” Bo’s raspy voice slowly responds and I am quick to look back up to be filled with surprise and excitement as he eyes me with bruised eyes, his baby blue eyes are filled with intense pain and fear.

“Bo,” I force a smile for him as I slowly bend down to gently hug him, holding him, I say a prayer of thanks before letting go and sitting back down in the chair. “I’m so glad to see you awake. After seeing you on the ground-” I cut myself off, “How you feel?”

He eyes me tiredly for a long moment, deciding on what to say, before he replies, “I hurt. I…I can’t breathe.”

I nod in sympathy towards him, wishing I could do something to help him, feeling hopeless and helpless at being able to do nothing to help his pain, his fear. “Sounds like you took quite the beating today. Guess it should be expected,” I go silent, taking him in as he looks away to eye the ceiling above him, “Rosco and Enos are out in the waiting room waiting their turn to visit you. To get your story of what had happened. You wanna talk about it?”

He eyes me and my heart seems to tighten more so at seeing the tears in his eyes, tears that seem to be in just as much sadness and fear as in pain. Slowly he begins to shake his head before he stops in pain. “No…not to them, or anyone. I can’t,” he states harshly before he begins coughing and I place a hand upon his shoulder.

“Shhh. There’s no need upsetting yourself,” I state as I brush his bangs out of his eyes, “You’re gonna have to tell them something. Shawn already told him his side, they just need your’s so they can catch that animal that did this to you.”

He eyes me for a long moment before he sighs in defeat. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he says stubbornly before looking away. “I just wanna go home.” He begins coughing once more and more tears cloud his baby blue eyes.

“I know…you get your breathing under control and the good doctor says you should be on your way. Until then you need to get your rest.” I slowly stand up to take him in one more time, “Luke and them are out there waiting their turn as well. I better let them have it before they get too upset at me.  I’ll be back later.”

“OK,” he states as he looks over at me for a brief moment and I nod at him before I slowly step back out into the brightly lit hall way in time to face Rosco and Enos.

“Our turn,” Rosco says as he pushes by me.

“Sorry Jesse,” Enos quietly states, “we don’t mean to rush you or your family on your visit. We’ll be as fast as we can with him so we can let the rest of you have your turn with him.”

I slowly nod at them both as Rosco knocks gently at Bo’s door before he opens it and Enos gives me a sympathetic nod before following him into Bo’s room. Sighing heavily, I slowly walk back to the waiting room to find Cooter, Luke, Daisy, and Shawn still waiting their turn, Luke stays standing at the window, looking out while the rest sit on the bench seats, next to each other.