by: Marty Chrisman

Bo shoved open the cockpit door and, with one final look back at his cousin, he stepped outside. The snow had stopped but the air was cold and frigid. There were large drifts almost four feet deep in some places. Bo had no idea where they were but they seemed to have crashed in a heavily wooded area. Bo knew he had to find a highway so he could get help. Even though Bo was hurt himself, he knew that Luke’s injuries were a lot worse. He was terrified that even if he did find help, it might be too late for Luke by the time they got back.

Taking a deep breath, Bo started walking towards the north for no particular reason other than that was the direction they had been coming from when they crashed. As he struggled his way through the snow, Bo marked his trail so he could find his way back to the crash site. He took care to leave his markings high enough on the trees that they wouldn’t get covered by the snow if it drifted any more or if it started snowing again. Bo didn’t make as good a time as he would have liked, wading through the drifts was slowing him down.

Bo stopped to blow on his hands. He already felt half frozen and he’d only been outside for a couple of hours. He began to wish that he’d brought along the sleeping bag instead of leaving it behind. Being from the south, he wasn’t used to the northern weather. He was ill prepared to be tramping around in a blizzard. Even though he knew they were somewhere in Kentucky, the weather was still cold and unpredictable. Bo blinked, shading his eyes against the glare of the sun on the snow. It might be pretty but it sure as hell was cold. The surface of the snow crunched underneath his boots as he kept walking.

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by: Marty Chrisman

“Bo?” Luke said quietly, he couldn’t talk very loud because of the pain his chest.

“Yeah?”

“Look around and see if you can find any supplies….food, water, a first aide kit…anything we might be able to use.”

“Yeah, Okay.” He glanced at his older cousin worriedly. He didn’t like his color, Luke was still too pale. He was obviously in pain but he kept insisting that he just had a bad headache and some broken ribs. Bo had a feeling that Luke wouldn’t tell him if he was hurt any worse than that. He wouldn’t want to worry Bo or scare him any more than he already was.

There wasn’t a lot of room to move around in the small cockpit, especially when you’re six feet four, but Bo managed to rummage around until he found a first aide kit, several bottles of water, some crackers, and some canned tuna. He also found a couple of blankets and some signal flares.

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by: Marty Chrisman

Bo fought his way out of the darkness clouding his mind. He moaned softly as his eyes slowly fluttered open. He cried out in pain when he tried to shift positions in his seat and felt a sharp stabbing pain in his left side which he knew meant he had probably broken some ribs. It took a few minutes for his mind to clear enough for him to remember where he was and what had happened. He heart started pounding frantically in his chest when he remembered that the plane had crashed.

His eyes quickly darted towards the pilots seat and then he quickly looked away. Benny was obviously dead. His head was twisted at an odd angle and his face was covered with blood. Suddenly, Bo remembered that Luke had been sitting in the back seat. Despite the pain in his side, he turned in his seat so he could look behind him. Luke was lying across the back seats, still out cold. His face was pale and there was a deep gash over his right eye that was bleeding freely.

“Luke!” Bo called out loudly trying to rouse his unconscious cousin “Luke, can you hear me?” When Luke didn’t respond, he tried again “Lukas Kristopher Duke!” he said loudly using Luke’s full name. “Come on, cuz….wake up!” Still no response. Bo started to get scared worried that Luke was seriously injured. “Luke, dang it! Wake up!”

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by: Marty Chrisman

Early the next morning Bo was up and rearing to go. They were going home for the holidays. He waited impatiently for Luke to wake up. Finally he couldn’t stand waiting any longer. “Luke?” he said, shaking his cousin’s shoulder “Hey, Luke…come on get up.”

Luke groaned and pulled the covers over his head “Go away, Bo.” He said sleepily.

“Come on, Luke.” Bo coaxed. “It’s time to get up. We’re going home for Christmas. Remember?”

“Alright,” Luke mumbled, blinking his eyes and sitting up on the edge of the bed. He ran his hand through his thick dark brown hair and scowled at his cousin. “I’m up. Are you happy now?”

“I will be as soon as we’re on that plane headed for home.” Bo told him. He pointed to the suitcase lying on his bed. “I already got some stuff packed.”

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by: Marty Chrisman

Thanks to Mrs. Luke Duke for the original idea for this story. Although she wanted the boys involved in a car accident and stranded in a blizzard, I took the liberty of having them on a plane that crashes instead.

Bo sighed as he looked at the calendar. Three more days until Christmas. He missed Hazzard and the family. He wanted to go home for the holidays but him and Luke just didn’t have the money. They had been driving on the NASCAR circuit since September and they were just starting to get some recognition but not much money. The entry fees normally took what little extra they had. Although they tired to stay close to home since that’s where a lot of tracks were, they had come to the Michigan International Speedway for a special ceremony honoring some of the legends of the NASCAR circuit.

Bo hated the weather in Michigan. It was cold and windy. For a southern boy who was used to winters where it seldom got below 30 degrees at night and hardly ever snowed more then a light dusting, this weather really got to him. He was depressed and homesick. He looked over at his cousin who was lying on the bed asleep. Annoyed at Luke for being able to sleep when he couldn’t, he picked up his pillow and threw it at him.

“Hey!” Luke said as the pillow hit him in the head “What the heck are you doing, Bo?”

“If I can’t sleep then neither can you.” Bo told him sullenly

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