by: Marty Chrisman

Luke spent a sleepless, restless night worrying about Kelly. When she wasn’t in school the next day, he had the awful feeling that something was wrong. Unable to shake the nameless dread he felt deep inside of him, he cut his afternoon classes and walked back towards the farm. But, instead of going home, he cut across the fields and headed towards the shack where Kelly lived with her parents.

When the old rundown shack came in sight, Luke felt a cold chill run down his spine. It was too quiet, much too quiet. Everything instinct he had screamed at him to run, to go home and get Jesse. But his concern for Kelly over ruled his common sense. Slowly he walked across the dirt yard and stepped up onto the rickety old porch. The eerie silence gave him the creeps but he had to make sure that Kelly was okay.

The front door gapped open an inch or two, but Luke couldn’t hear any sounds from inside the house. He felt the goose bumps on his arms and the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Something was wrong, very very wrong. He could feel it. Slowly, he reached out and pushed open the door, hesitating for several seconds before finally stepping across the threshold.

A strangled cry caught in his chest, and he stumbled back until he hit the wall behind him. His eyes widened with horror at what he saw. Kelly’s mother was lying half on the couch and half off, her eyes wide open. Her throat had been cut and the blood had pooled on the floor beneath her body. Kelly’s father was sitting in a chair next to the front window. Most of his head was gone, blown away by the shotgun lying across his lap. Luke heard himself whimpering like a child as his mind tried to block out what he was seeing.

“Kelly!!!” he screamed out her name, not really expecting her to answer him. Stumbling across the room, he went to her bedroom. The door was shut, locked from the outside with a padlock. “Kelly!!!” Luke screamed her name again, as he slammed his shoulder against the door. The flimsy wood gave way with a crash and the door swung inward. The room was empty. There was no sign of Kelly anywhere.

He had to make sure that she wasn’t in the house. With legs that could barely hold him upright, Luke checked out the other bedroom where her parents had slept. It was empty too. A ragged sob caught in his chest as he staggered outside and away from the carnage inside the shack.

Luke fell to his knees and retched violently, again and again and again. It was several long minutes before he could find the strength to push himself to his feet and stumble across the yard and towards the ridge. Towards home.  Home to Uncle Jesse. All rational thought seemed to have been erased from his mind as made his way towards the Duke farm.

Jessie had just come out of the barn when he saw Luke coming across the ridge heading for the house. He frowned darkly. That boy is suppose to be in school. If he cut school again, I’ll tan his hide he thought to himself. He stood there waiting for Luke to reach the barnyard. But as Luke drew closer, Jesse sensed that something was terribly wrong. Luke was stumbling and swaying on his feet as if he were drunk or hurt. Jesse ran towards him, yelling his name as he ran. When he reached his nephew’s side, Luke collapsed in Jesse’s arms.

“Luke!” Jessie cried out, as he knelt down to the ground, carefully cradling his nephew in his arms. Gently, he slapped Luke’s cheek, trying to get him to wake up. “Luke, wake up! What’s wrong?” Luke’s eyes fluttered open and he stared at Jesse, his eyes filled with terror and pain. “Luke,” Jesse said sharply, trying to get through to his nephew and to get him to respond so he could find out what had happened. “What’s wrong, boy? What happened?”

“They’re dead……” Luke mumbled almost incoherently “They’re dead……”

“Who’s dead?” Jesse demanded “Come on, Lukas! Talk to me!”

“They’re dead….” Luke repeated, his eyes starting to roll back into his head once more.

“Stay with me, Luke” Jessie ordered, as he pulled Luke to his feet “Come on, let’s git you in the house.” Somehow Luke managed to stay on his feet as Jesse helped him back to the house. Inside, Jessie gently sat Luke down at the kitchen table. He eyed his nephew sharply. Luke was as white as a sheet and his skin was cold and clammy. He was obviously in shock but did not appear to be physically injured.

“Luke,” Jessie said gently, taking Luke’s chin in his hand and forcing him to look at Jesse. He spoke slowly and clearly “What happened? Who’s dead?”

“Kelly’s folks…..” Luke said, his voice starting to fade out again. “They’re both dead…..can’t find Kelly.”

“Oh, my God” Jesse muttered under his breath. He knew that Kelly’s father was a crazy and dangerous man. It was starting to sound like he had finally went completely over the edge. Jessie propped Luke’s arms on the table. “Stay right here.” He ordered his nephew, although he knew Luke was in no condition to go anywhere. Luke dropped his head to his crossed arms.

Jesse hurried to the phone to call the sheriff. He filled Roscoe in on Luke’s condition and what he kept saying about Kelly’s parents. After finishing his call to Roscoe, he called Doc Applebee, who told Jessie it sounded like Luke was in shock and that he would come out to the farm immediately.

By the time Doc Applebee arrived fifteen minutes later, Luke was out of it, not responding to anyone. Doc confirmed that he was in deep shock and gave Luke a strong sedative to make him sleep. He helped Jesse get Luke upstairs and into bed before he passed out on them completely from the sedation.

Shortly after that, Roscoe Coltrane, the local sheriff arrived at the farmhouse and confirmed that Kelly’s parents were indeed dead. “Lordy,” he said visibly shaken up himself “It looks like he cut her throat, then sat there in the chair and blew his own dang head off. Terrible, just terrible. How’s Luke doing?”

“Doc gave him something to sleep. He said Luke’s in shock.”

“Lordy, no wonder.” Roscoe exclaimed “It was terrible, just terrible. I’m sorry Luke had to see something like that.”

“What about Kelly?” Jessie asked in a worried voice

Roscoe shook his head somberly “There’s no sign of her. I’m going back to town now to get some boys together so we can start looking for her.”  An unspoken look passed between him and Jessie. They both knew that even if they found Kelly, she could very well be dead too. Jesse knew in his heart that she probably was. Her father wasn’t the type of man who would kill his wife and then kill himself without taking Kelly with him.

Daisy and Bo arrived home from school just as Roscoe was pulling out of the drive. As gently as possible, Jesse told them what had happened. Tears filled Daisy’s eyes as she cried, seeking comfort in Uncle Jesse’s arms.

“Is Luke gonna be okay?” Bo asked anxiously. The two cousins were as close as brothers and he was obviously concerned about his “big brother”

“The doctor gave him something to sleep for awhile. He should be okay in a couple of days.”

“What about Kelly?” Daisy asked, her voice trembling with fear.

“Roscoe’s getting some men together and they’re gonna look for her.”

“You mean they’re going to look for her body, don’t you?” Daisy cried. She ran from the room and upstairs. A few seconds later, the slamming of her bedroom door echoed through the house.

Jesse sighed and sat down heavily at the kitchen table. He wondered how this tragedy was going to affect his family. He felt the harsh sting of tears in his own eyes. Kelly had been like one of the family, that alone would change everything.