by: Chet Duke

Hide n’ Seek

The break of dawn came, bringing Cooter Davenport to the garage with the roosters crow. His rickety old tow truck clattered into the garages lot an came to an easy halt. Rubbing his eyes an yawning Cooter opened the trucks heavy old door an slid down from the truck as his eyes glanced over his garage. Suddenly he paused an his heart skipped a beat in his chest as his kind old eyes landed on the grill of the orange Dodge Charger parked beside the garage.

Right away he knew it wasn’t Bo’s General Lee, the grill spelt 1970 Dodge Charger, the same glassy orange Charger that he’d gone with Chet to fetch the night before. An the same Charger that Chet had driven away in, why was it hear now. With his brow creased in worry Cooter slammed the door on the old toe truck an started towards the orange car. Nearly jogging up to the car he quickly looked inside of it an glanced over the drivers side of the car with his back to the side of the garage.

Blankly he glanced up towards the rear of the car an froze in his tacks, his eyes spotting the black steal toed bull hide boots attached to the legs of a body laying behind the back of the car. A ragged looking sheet lay half torn an wrapped around the part of the bodies legs that Cooter could see. His breath caught in his throat in fear, his mind playing over gruesome scenes that he could imagine he was about to see.

Slowly, taking small steps he edged towards the rear of the car an peered over the Chargers trunk at the body wrapped in the ragged and blood stained white sheet. Cooter grimaced an turned his eyes away for a split second after seeing Chets bloody body behind the car. But quickly Cooter swallowed back the burning tears he felt in his eyes an hurried around the rear of the car. He knelt beside the Dukes still form an immediately set out to find a pulse, to his relief he found one.

Relieved to a degree he gently peeled back the edge of the sheet an glanced over Chets wounds then wrapped him back up. Carefully he began to lift the younger man, trying to be as careful an slow as possible to make sure he didn’t further injure him. Just then his concentration was broken by his younger female cousin’s pattering sneakers on the pavement an her loud voice calling out to him.

“Cooter! Cooter! Where are you!” Hilery Davenport yelled out for her older cousin an guardian as she stuck her head into the garage bay.

Not seeing him there she jogged around the side of the garage an called his name a few more times. Still not finding him she hurried with her school back pack over her shoulder around the rear of the garage an to the side. As she rounded the side of the garage she froze nearly skidding her sneakers on the pavement, her eyes became round and she covered her mouth with both hands in shock.

“COOTER!” She burst out seeing him kneeled beside a young dark haired man an attempting to lift his bloody form from the ground.

“Hilery…” Cooter replied a little shocked at her sudden appearance as he looked over his shoulder. Sighing, he knew he’d have to explain to her but for now he needed her help. “Hilery, I’ll fill you in later, hurry go up into the loft of the garage an put an extra blanket on the cot up there. Then please go an fill a bucket of ice cold water an find some clean rags in the garage. Please… go now.”

Nodding in reply but still in shock, Hilery dropped her book bag onto the ground an bolted around the front of garage an raced off to do as her older cousin instructed. Wincing to himself at the movement of the young man that he had to do in order to lift him, Cooter was finally able to carry him into the garage an up the stairs to the loft. Chet’s head lolled from the movement an his brow wrinkled in pain, but he never offered more then a soft groan.

As Cooter lay him down on the cot he carefully unwrapped the sheet from around the young Dukes body an lay him down on his chest where he seemed to be the least bit hurt. By then Hilery was already waiting near the cot with a clean fresh bucket of water an some clean new rags from there supply closet. She stood by an watched her older cousin unwrap the young man, her mind racing with many questions.

Tears brimmed Cooters eyes an his mouth pulled tight in anguish as he looked at the bloody whip weal’s all over Chet’s back. He glanced at Hilery perched on the railing behind him, watching him and the young man. Grimacing, Cooter soaked one of the garage rags in the chilly water an hesitantly dabbed at the bruises an cuts on Chet’s face an wiping the blood away. He rang the rag out an set out to clean Chet’s other wounds, after watching her older cousin for awhile Hilery hesitantly came forward an rang out a rag of her own. She looked at Chet’s swollen right fist an dabbed at the gash across his knuckles. Getting up her courage more she picked up his right wrist an carefully pried his hand open, the movement caused him to flinch an grimace but he stayed unconscious.

“Cooter.” Hilery spoke softly holding Chet’s hand towards her cousin slightly. “His knuckles look broken.”

Cooter leaned towards her a little, his face still drawn into a sad grimace an his eyes wet. He said nothing just continued to clean the young Dukes wounds. Hilery looked at him an frowned, seeing the deep sadness in her cousins eyes. She cleaned Chet’s hand an fetched a small bag of ice in which she folded an rested his hand in to help with the swelling. Wordlessly she wiped at the dried blood that had oozed down to his neck from his head lacerations and the darkening bruise on his throat came through more clearly.

Hilery rang out her cold cloth again an touched its coldness around his throat, she watched his adams apple spring up an down as he swallowed. After a little more work of cleaning up his wounds Cooter an Hilery worked together to pack them with healing ointment. Hilery eventually had to break the silence, the questions rattling her mind.

“Who is he Cooter?” She asked as she sat back in a chair watching Cooter put some butterfly tape over a gash on Chet’s temple.

Cooter glanced at his cousin before laying the rest of the tape down, he gave a her a serious look, a look that she knew meant that this was a secret matter. He’d sighed knowing that he would have to tell her something, or her curious an rebel mind would get the best of her. The old mechanic sat back in the chair next to her preparing himself to give her a heart to heart talk.

“This is an ol’ friend of mine Hilery.” He said looking at her an resting his hand on her shoulder.

“Old? He’s not old at all.” Hilery said looking at Cooter an trying to read her cousins feelings.

Cooter couldn’t help but grin at her truth a little. “Your right, he’s only a year older then you… but he’s about as…” Was there an easy way to explain what he saw in the Duke boy, how could he tell her that he was possibly a ruthless young man with hell bent intentions. “He’s not like us Hilery, he is a Hazzard boy… but nothing like the boys you know from Hazzard.”

Hilery looked at the mangled form laying on the cot. “Why is he…in such…bad shape Cooter?”

“I assume he’s in some kind of trouble and got punished for it, but Hil he is dangerous an until he regains consciousness I want you to….to…”

“To what cousin?”

“Please…” Cooters voice was pleading, he’d seen Chet explode in seconds, that hatful anger an lethal strike like a rattle snakes. “Stay away from him until I get to speak with him… if he comes around while your up here don’t say or do anything, come strait to me. I know your tough an I’ve seen you take on the boys at school, but this is a whole different situation.”

Hilery looked almost hurt stricken, but she nodded her head in reply, she would obey her cousins wishes. She looked at the man on the bed an curled her lip slightly, he didn’t look so tough.

“Ok, I’ll be careful.” She said just the same, she knew it was for her own good. “But that don’t tell me who he is.”

Cooter shook his head grimly. “I can’t tell you who he is, he made me promise when I first saw him in town that I wouldn’t tell a soul. An I can’t break that promise. Im sorry Hil. ”

For two days the Davenports kept a carful vigil over Chet, he seemed to grow more and more restless by the hour. At night Cooter would often check on the young Duke boy an find him tossing an turning, his body broke out in a cold sweat that soaked his jeans an the sheets.

Sometime in the afternoon on the second day, Hilery returned to the garage after school to find Cooter bent over a truck an working on the engine. She only glanced at Cooter then made her way up the plank stairs to the loft as she had for the last day or so, eager to see the young man. To her dismay he looked exactly like he had the day before, feeling alittle disappointed she opened the curtain covering the window alittle an let the sun shine in on him.

The sunshine made her smile and she turned back to look at the young man laying on the cot. The light glinting off a metallic object lying next to the man caught her eye and she looked down at the set of keys. Near them was the man’s wallet. She bent over and picked it up, noticing the PBR emblem imbedded in the leather.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, she quietly leaned over the railing behind her and looked down to see if the coast was clear. Seeing Cooter busy tinkering with the truck he was working on, she quickly stood back up over the cot and opened the wallet. She began thumbing through its contents, first finding the man’s drivers license. She slowly began to pull it out, noticing the first name printed on it: “Chet”. However, her exploration was soon interrupted by a hand suddenly shooting up and weakly grabbing her wrist. For a moment her voice caught in her throat, then her breath released an she shrieked.

“COOOOOOOOOOOTER!”

Terrified, Hilery looked down at the deep and dark brown eyes that stared up at her from the cot. Chet lay on his right side, his left hand shakily grasped the young girls wrist. His eyes were wide an gazed at her, drilling her with there cold pressing darkness, he could just taste her fear.

“Where…am I?” He asked in a hoarse voice, his throat soar from the bruising.

He wavered, feeling weak an shaky with no choice but to continue grasping her wrist an allow the rest of his body to rest against the cot. The girls eyes were wide an she stared at him, near panic she tried to pull her hand from his grasp dropping the wallet to the floor.

“Please…”Hilery pleaded, she could see the evilness in the mans eyes. “Please…let go…please.”

Her eyes pleaded him an she pulled at his grasp, her fear holding back her strength against his weakened state. Hilery stared into his face taking in his features as if recording them to memory, tanned and _expression frigid like a fearless bull.

From below Cooter had heard her scream his name an he raced up the steps, his heart racing an pounding in his chest like a jack hammer on concrete. His mind an imagination made up the worst possible scenarios, a swell of fear caught in his throat like a not as he topped the steps nearly tripping over them to get to her.

“CHET!” Cooter called out as he topped the steps, fear snapped in his voice.

The mechanics eyes landed immediately on the scene before him, the young outlaw Duke grasping his cousins wrist. Hilery’s eyes pleading to be released, her face more afraid and pal with fear then he had ever seen it before. Quickly he intervened, placing himself between his younger cousin an the offending Duke. He grabbed the weak young mans hand a pried it from her wrist an released him.

“Cooter…” Chet said looking afraid at his old friend.

“Relax…just relax Chet, your safe in the loft of the garage.” Cooter said holding his hands up in a quieting motion.

The Duke nodded an relaxed back against the cot grimacing at the pain the movement coast him. Cooter sighed seeing that the young man had calmed and he turned to his cousin. “Are you alright?” With concern he gently gave her a comforting hug rubbing her back with his hand.

“Yeah….yeah…Im ok.” Hilery said rubbing her wrist after he released her from the hug. After a moment, Cooter put his arm around Hilerys shoulders an turned back to Chet, more relieved an secure now.

Chet lay on his side trying to keep from touching the deep whip weals on his back an shoulders, he blinked his eyes an sighed feeling tired even after his days of rest. Cooter watched him for a long moment then stepped forward to stand closer to the cot, his old boot bumped into the wallet on the floor an he bent down an picked it up. Hilery backed away towards the stairs an leaned against the railing, just watching, her heart nearly froze in her chest as her cousin picked up the young mans open wallet.

Cooters face creased in worry, did she know who Chet was? Or had he caught her before she could read his identification. The old mechanic looked over his shoulder at her, then silently set the wallet down on the stand beside the cot.

“Hilery…. go get a big glass of water please.” Cooter asked gently as he pulled up a small stool beside the bed.

Sighing Hilery did as she was told although she knew that she was partially asked to go so that the two men could have a conversation while she was away. Cooter watched her go down the plank steps an listened to her sneakers squeak across the bay floor. Then he turn back to Chet an glanced over the young man staring back at him, still pal and his bruised body sickly looking.

“How long have I been here… Cooter?” Chet asked looking at his right hand, analyzing the swelling an taped gashes. He didn’t try to move it, he suspected that there were probably fractures an broken cartilage.

“Two days…” Cooter replied watching Chet look at his hand. “How do you feel? You lost some blood.”

Chet cleared his throat an rested back on his chest, keeping his head turned towards his old friend. “Weak…tired.” He paused. “Who was that girl Cooter?”

Smiling alittle to himself Cooter glanced over his shoulder then back at Chet. “That’s my cousin Hilery, she’s lived with me for some years now, since she was little. ”

Gently Cooter folded the blanket away from Chet’s back an pealed the tape holding a damp towel to his back to protect the whips weals. He removed the towel an stared down at the wounds, the corner of his mouth pulled tightly into a wince.

“I didn’t know… you had a lil’ cousin.” Chet replied an laid still as Cooter removed the towel, then he turned his eyes an looked at the mechanic. “They’re bad… ”

Cooter nodded an leaned closer to Chet’s back to see the wounds. “Yes, there not good… they may be getting infected. The ointment were using may not be strong enough, you may have to soak in some salts or have some Peroxide poured into them.” He shook his head.

Chet grimaced at the thought an sank into the cot closing his eyes briefly, he blinked suddenly remembering his wallet that Cooter’s cousin had been looking at. “Cooter… does she know who I am?”

Placing the towel over Chet’s back Cooter frowned, he’d thought about it also. “I don’t know, I didn’t tell her who you are. But she may have….

“Chet…. all I know is that your name is Chet. An stop talkin’ bout me like I ain’t got a mind of my own.” Hilery said sharply as she topped the stairs with the glass of water in her hand, she passed it onto Cooter.

“Its not like that Hil, an you know it. Its his business weather or not he wants you to know, now you behave an be respectful.” Cooter scolded her, then returned his attention to Chet. “Do you think you could sit up for a drink of water? You need to regain your strength to heal.”

Chet nodded an rolled onto his side slowly, favoring his right hand an grimacing in the pain caused by the movement. He pushed himself up on his elbow an held out his battered right hand, hopping that he could hold the glass. Cooter looked down at the swelled hand that Chet held out an creased his brow in disapproval, he placed the glass in Chet’s hand an guided the drink to the young Dukes mouth. The young Duke boy drained most of the glass of water an relaxed back against the bed with a sigh.

“Your safer…not knowing who I am mam.” Chet laid back down on his chest resting the side of his face back against the soft pillow. “I’m sorry to be a burden to the both of you, but I’ll get out as soon as I can.”

Hilery’s lips pressed together in stubbornness an annoyance, a young man was going to be staying with them and she could barely know his name. “Then what do I call you? Huh?”

There was no missin the annoyance in her voice, it nearly made Chet chuckle but he held it in an only smirked to himself. She sure was a fiery young lady, then again legend had it that most Hazzard women were like that. An if he remembered clearly, his own kin Daisy Duke was one of the most fiery an strong willed women in Hazzard in her day. Chet sighed, it was so dangerous for her if she even accidently spilled his first name it could spell disaster for her. This was awful, what could she call him that would not endanger her life an yet give her something, anything to call him by.

“Cowboy…” He cleared his throat an turned his head on the pillow, resting his other cheek on it an facing away from her. “You can call me cowboy…..for now.”

Cooter nodded, watching the young man he wondered what kinda things had led him into so much that he couldn’t simply offer someone his name. But it was obvious that the young Duke wanted only the best of welfare for his friends. He glanced at Hilery an silently creased his eyebrows at her in apology, he knew it was going to be hard for her for the next few days or a week.

“Come on Hilery….lets let this Cowboy get some sleep. We can go out an get some lunch, maybe bring him something light like soup back.” The old mechanic touched his younger cousins back motioning silently for her to go down stairs.

Although she still felt that she had the right to know the Cowboys name, she nodded obediently to her older cousin an proceeded down the steps into the bay.

***Three Days Later***

The steps down the stairs seemed too far apart an yet the sore Duke concurred them with boldness. He reached the bottom of the stairs an stood there looking around a long moment. His bare chest thin but well muscled for a boy his age, his skin paler then that of most Hazzard boys.

Cooter was bent under the hood of a car parked in the garage bay, he glanced under his elbow to see the young man standing there looking around. “Hey Cowboy….its good to see you up. How ya feelin?”

Chet shrugged one shoulder an looked out the bay doors at the bright sunshine beaming in like bars of steal exposing there power. Three days of laying in bed had been like three days behind bars in a jail cell or locked in a room. He’d been exposed to the sunshine an the breeze from the window, but nothing could fill his heart like the exposure of it in the free space of the out doors. The three days had left his cold heart longing for the warm fingers to wrap around him, it was one of the few things he found comfort in.

“Do ya have a shirt I can barrow?” He looked at Cooter an spoke in a low easy voice. “Just need to drape it over my shoulders so I can go outside.”

The old mechanic scratched the prickles of beard on his chin an stood up cracking his back from being hunched over as he looked around the garage. “How about a pair of overalls? Shouldn’t hurt ya if you don’t zip them up.”

The young mans eyebrows lowered an raised, weighing it on his mind an questioning it. His attention still gazing out the door in a desire an hunger. Finally he nodded, even a little discomfort was worth it if it meant being able to go out.

“That should do alright.” Chet replied, Cooter pointed to a pair of overall’s hanging on a peg on the far wall.

“Those should fit you loosely.”

“Ok…”

Chet put the overall’s on, his movements tender but impatient, finally he was able to thunk his black cowboy hat down on his head an venture out into the daylight.

The streets an side walks surrounding Hazzard square out in front of the garage mingled with people out enjoying the sunshine too. At sight of so many people Chet hesitated an lingered in the bay door way as he looked out into the square. His stomach growled an he coaxed himself out onto the side walk, his dark eyes narrowed in caution.

After a few minutes of confiding in himself he walked down the street to the café an picked up a couple of subs, one for himself an one for Cooter. Chet brought them back to the garage an spread the food out on the bench an took out two drinks. Cooter joined him, drawn in by the tempting smell of fresh meatballs an melted cheese on a homemade baked Italian roll.

Both men bit into the sandwiches hungrily munching them down in silence as they ate. The young outlaws onyx like eyes always seemed to be cautious of everything, the slightest sound, the faintest smell from the square. Cooter watched him, his wisdom reading that wild scared look in his eyes. It reminded him of a dog one of his relatives had when he was a boy, his uncle had gotten the animal from the pound. The poor thing had been beaten by its former owner, an all the dog knew how to do was growl, snarl or cower.

The strength an stubbornness wouldn’t allow him to be anything less then a Duke, although his complection didn’t reflect like any Duke the old mechanic had ever known. He’d known many of them, young, old, wise, amateur an so forth. But never one like the black haired boy sitting before him, if a appearance could tell stories, an if the old mechanic was reading him right. Then this Duke’s eyes told stories of hardship an pain that he had become accustomed to in order to survive. An what more, he had the demeanor of a criminal, an outlaw to the hard, cold core.

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