Luke had been riding around the country-side with his cousin, Bo, behind the wheel of their orange racecar that he and the family affectionately named, "The General Lee". The two men had been mending fences all over the county this morning; repairing the damage that they had caused with the help of the local Sheriff yesterday evening. Once they were done they had spent the rest of the day grumbling about the extra work and venting to one another until they had finally put the event behind them. Eventually they once more found themselves picking with one another with an ease that spoke of a bond that had lasted so far for a life-time.
Finally, it was time for the two men to return home to attend to the afternoon chores. When they pulled up in front of the old family farmhouse that had been in the family for generations (and showed its age), Bo nearly threw the car in reverse upon seeing the Sheriff's car waiting for them.
"Now what? What do you think ole Rosco is up to this time? We ain't even been to town today," Bo scowled as he parked the racecar.
"Only one way to find out," Luke sighed as he climbed up into the windowsill. "Come on, Bo. But be ready to run if we have to."
"One of these days, just once, I'd love to see Rosco get the short end of the same stick that he's been coming after us with for years," Bo grumbled as he followed his older cousin's lead.
The two got out of their car and walked around toward the Sheriff's car and noticed that the driver's side door was standing wide-open. Luke shook his head figuring that Rosco must have gotten out in a real hurry or he had hoped to sneak up on the Dukes by not slamming his car door shut.
Woof! Bo looked up toward the porch where he saw Flash sitting up on the top step. Upon seeing the two Dukes she waddled as fast as she could to the men while whimpering the whole way.
"Flash," Bo gingerly picked the portly dog up and scratched behind her ears. "What are you doin' out here all by yourself? Where's Rosco?"
Flash wiggled to be let down so Bo set her back on the ground. When he did so Flash led the boys back to the porch and started to bark at the book that was sitting in a gift box at the top step. She barked and growled at the book with all her might; trying in her own way to tell the Dukes what had happened to the Sheriff.
"Bo, have you ever known Flash to be so worked up before?" Luke asked as he approached the dog intrigued by the book that seemed to have captured the canine's attention.
"Only around Boss," Bo snickered. "She never has taken a cotton to him."
"I wonder if this book has anything to do with what's got her dander up?" Luke took a seat next to the dog and lifted the book out of the box that it had been resting in.
"I don't see how. I think I'll go in and see if Rosco's inside." Bo then headed on in through the screen door and left Luke with Flash and the old book that she had been standing guard over when they had pulled up outside.
"Let's see…" Luke looked the old and strange looking book and ran his hand over the cover. "How did this thing get here and why would someone leave it here?" Flash continued to bark at the book while slowly backing away from both Luke and the book on the porch. "Calm down, Flash. It's just a book."
Luke then moved to open the book only to have it knocked to the ground. Flash had rammed the book and had sent it flying off of the porch. She then continued to bark and growl at the book that she had witnessed Rosco disappear into.
"Hey, Luke! I can't find Rosco anywhere inside," Bo hollered as he stepped back into the main room as he headed back outside. "You don't suppose he's out in the barn, do ya?"
"I can't think of a reason why but I suppose that we ought to check." Luke then stood and left the book where it lie while he and Bo went to tend to the afternoon chores. Once they were finished Luke headed over to the CB inside the house and asked Enos if he knew of any reason why the Sheriff had gone out to the farm.
"Not that I can think of," Enos said over the CB. "In fact, I ain't seen him since this morning."
"Well, his car is out here and Flash was sittin' all by her lonesome on the front porch when Bo and I came home a while back." Luke looked up and saw Bo carrying the strange book and the box that it had come in. He set the box down on the kitchen table and started to examine the book as Luke spoke with the Deputy. "In fact, the only thing to keep her company was this really old book that was left on the porch before we got out here."
"A book? Well, I don't really see how that can have anything to do with the Sheriff bein' missin' but I'll come out with Cletus to take a look around and I'll get Flash while I'm out there. The poor thing must be worried somethin' awful without Rosco around."
Luke acknowledged the Deputy as he saw his female cousin coming into the kitchen. He noted that it hadn't taken Daisy long to wonder what was going on around the farm. Luke and Bo then took turns explaining to her all that they knew; which in this case wasn't much.
"The only thing that I do know is that Flash seems to be all wound up over this book," Luke gestured to the tattered book that Bo had set on the table after Daisy had come in while he'd been on the CB with Enos. "She even jumped and knocked the blame thing out of my hands when I went to open it to see what kind of book it is."
"That don't sound like Flash," Daisy bent down to pet the nervous basset hound. "It's too bad that she couldn't just talk and tell us what happened to poor old Rosco."
"Well since she ain't likely to suddenly start tellin' us what she knows the only clue we have is this here book," Luke pointed out as Bo reached over and picked the aforementioned book and opened it up.
"Looks like it ain't nothin' but a book of fairytales," Bo chuckled. "Look, its Jack and the Beanstalk. I remember readin' this one growin' up."
On the floor, Flash yelped and ran from the kitchen and hid behind the wall that separated it from the living room. She then cowered while peeking around corner.
"What in the world? Flash! What's gotten into you?" Daisy asked as Flash could be heard growling in their direction.
"That's how she reacted earlier. Bo, how about puttin' the book down for…"
Luke never had the chance to finish his sentence. A blinding light began to emit from the mysterious book. When the glow faded the book was on the floor, marking where Bo had been standing only moments before, and no Duke could be found. Once more, Flash was left behind after witnessing the humans in her life vanish into thin air. Quivering, Flash went and hid under the couch in the living room. There was no two ways about it; Flash knew that the book should not be opened again. Only bad things could happen when it was.
/
Deputy Enos Straight pulled his police cruiser up with Deputy Cletus Hogg in tow just as Jesse Duke's old beat up old pickup truck parked just outside of the old Duke home place. The two Deputies got out of the cruiser and greeted the Duke patriarch of the family, both with easy smiles since they each truly did like each of the Dukes; even if their duty did force them to play the role of their adversaries from time to time.
Jesse had heard his nephew and Enos discuss the missing Sheriff over the CB while he'd been driving home from Capital City after doing some shopping for the staples for the home. After the greetings were out of the way he led the two lawmen inside. Once in the kitchen, Jesse called out to his niece and nephews only to get no reply; causing Jesse to be concerned since they had been expecting Enos. Jesse couldn't figure just where his kids could have gone or why. Both the racecar and Daisy's Jeep were sitting out front alongside of Rosco's patrol car yet there was not a sign of any living soul out at the farm. Well, aside from the Rosco's loyal basset hound that is.
"Hey ya there, Flash," Enos knelt down beside the unusually timid dog that had been on the Hazzard Police Force nearly as long as he had been. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Sheriff is would ya?"
Flash wagged her tail as she nuzzled the kind deputy. Meanwhile, Cletus spied the abandoned book on the kitchen floor so he walked over and picked it up. He gave it a quick glance over before tucking it under his arm and walked back over to the other two men as they discussed just where the missing Sheriff and three Dukes could be.
"This must be the book that Luke mentioned being left on the front porch," Cletus said as he held the book out for Jesse and Enos to see his find. When he did so Flash back up sharply away from Enos and started to whimper at the sight of the book. "Now that's strange."
Both Jesse and Enos agreed as they watched the usually laid back dog eye the dog warily.
"I don't think I've ever seen Rosco's dog behave that way," Jesse scratched his head as he observed Flash's reaction to the book. "Cletus, let me see that thing."
"Sure thing, Unc-Mister Duke," Cletus corrected himself as he handed the old book to the eldest Duke. "Do ya thing that the book has something to do with why Rosco came out here?"
"Don't know; could be," Jesse said simply as he walked over to his favorite chair in the living room and sat down with the cumbersome book in his lap. "But I'd like to know just what is so important about this blamed thing that someone had to leave it on my front steps."
Flash watched as the oldest of the humans started to get comfortable and began to open the book. Knowing what would happen if he did so, Flash moved over toward the old recliner where Jesse was sitting and commenced a fresh round of barking as she tried to warn him about the book.
"Flash, Darlin'. Don't be barkin' like that at Uncle Jesse," Enos tried to calm the pup. "I sure wish Flash could just tell us what's buggin' her. It would make figurin' out what's goin' on a lot easier."
"Well, since she can't I suppose that we're just goin' to have to take a look at this here bo-"
Jesse was cut short as Flash reached up and bit the book and tore it out of his lap. She then awkwardly dragged it away from the three men while she growled the whole time. Flash had already watched four people disappear into the weird text, she didn't want to watch three more do so as well.
"Flash, calm down," Enos said while trying to coax Flash back to him while confused about her strange behavior. "Bring me back the book."
"What's gotten into that dern fool?" Jesse leaned forward in his chair as he prepared to stand back up from his chair.
Flash used her mouth and flipped the book behind her then faced the three men once more while whining out her warning to stay back. What no one paid attention to was that when she tossed the book it had fallen open when it landed behind the basset hound.
"Come on, Flash. Ain't no one goin' to hurt ya none," Cletus had never seen the Sheriff's dog behave like this. Not even around Boss Hogg. Briefly he wondered if the dog could have caught some sort of sickness to make her behave in such a manner. After all, hadn't there been a rabid coon found out near the swamp last week? He watched the dog growl and bark and was about to try to work up the courage to approach Flash once more only to stop when he saw a strange light begin to emanate from the book that was resting on the floor behind her. "Uh…Fellas. Am I the only one that sees that light?"
Flash sniffed the air and turned and saw that the book was opened and yelped just as she was pulled into the book in the same manner that she had watched Rosco and the Duke Cousins pulled in earlier. When the book promptly closed itself behind the dog, it then once more began to glow and abruptly vanished from sight. Leaving a very confused trio behind in its wake.
/
Back in the Sorcerer's layer, he looked up when his book returned itself to its place on his bookshelf. Smiling, Lawson knew that he'd just captured his fifth soul. Now he could go on for years without having to search for any more to help sustain his lengthy life. Now it was time to pack up and head to his alternate home when he was not living in Hazzard. At least until those that might search for the missing have given up on their friends and family. For now, however, it was important that he not stick around during the search.