Title: Arriving In Oakdale
Chapter: 2
Rating: PG
Summary: Luke arrives in Oakdale and meets the Snyder´s for the first time
Characters: Luke, Noah, Holden, Frank Adams
Genre: Drama, AU
Warnings: A little violence and sad Luke
Disclaimer: This site is no way associated with "As the World Turns", CBS, P&G, or Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann. This is not for profit. No copyright infringement is intended. Authors submit and write their own work.

It was a well know fact in Oakdale that Frank Adams was crazy. He had been at war in Vietnam and after he returned he wasn´t the same. He was convinced that there were people everywhere trying to kill him.

If you trespassed on his property he would do everything to protect his property. It had become a locale contest between the kids and teenager in Oakdale, to see who could stay the longest on Frank Adams´ property.

Sadly for Luke, he had just fallen asleep in one of Frank Adams´ stable.

A stomping of boots and a loud male voice woke him up. Luke quickly looked around and saw a man walking towards the back of the stables. Even though he walked with a cane, he still walked with a limp. As Luke shifted to a more comfortable position in the hay, it rustled and the old man spun around.

Luke heard the `tap tap´ of the cane coming towards his hiding place, and as quickly he could, he stood up and ran towards the barn down, never noticing the riffle resting right next to the barn door.

He fled out into the night, the rain had started falling again and soon he was, once again, soaked to the bone.

He heard a shot fire into the night and forced himself to run faster. Suddenly a fire spread through his left arm, he screamed out and fell to the ground. He looked at his arm and saw a spot on his left bicep.

He heard another shot whistle above his head and he quickly got up and hurried down the road.

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Noah and his father were driving along the road when they heard a rifle being shot followed by a cry. Holden pulled the truck over and looked at Noah, but before either of them could say anything another rifle shot slicing through the night.

Noah saw a figure stumble out on to the road a few meters in front of the truck. The figure was a young man about his own age and he was cradling his left arm to his chest with his right, while limping on his left foot.

"Dad, look." Noah yelled as he opened the door and ran towards the blonde, who had started to sway. He reached the blonde just in time to catch him as his legs gave out under him. The blonde looked disoriented up at Noah and mumbled: "Aunt Rose," before passing out.

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"Noah, what happened?" asked Holden as he came rushing to Noah´s side. He saw that the blond had passed out and cursed under his breath.

"Quick, help me get him into the car," he said and together they carried the blonde and laid him in the backseat. "I need you to sit with him," said Holden and placed a hand on Noah´s shoulder.

Noah climbed into the truck and looked at the blonde; in front of him Holden was getting into the front seat. "Noah, you need to drive the truck."

Noah nodded and quickly climbed into the front seat of the truck and speeded off towards the hospital.

He didn´t know why he stood there, there in front of the ATM. He had been on the road for a week and he needed cash, he desperately hoped that, his father would have forgotten to block his bank account.

He hoped that they had regretted throwing him out and they would have kept his account open as a way of saying that they still loved him.

He took a deep breath, pulled his wallet out of his back and with shaky hands pulled his card out and pushed it into the machine. He hold his breath while the machine worked and couldn´t help the strangled cry, which left his throat when a message inform him, that there was no money and the card and pushed the card out again.

He took the card and stood with it in his hands for a few moments before he heard an angry voice behind him, "are you done?"

He walked away and as if his stomach could sense his money trouble, it gave a loud rumble. He rubbed it and thought about how he was going to settle it, as he walked by a trash can.

He stopped and looked at the card, which seemed to taunt him as he stared at his name printed on it. He felt a stab to his heart as he through the card into the trash and after a moment, he took a deep breath and walked away with brisk steps into the dark night.