Well, y'all know how I've been saying that this story incorporates some real events, but what I have written here is not totally factual? Well, if there was ever a chapter to remember that with, it's this one. Some of the things that happen here are real. Most are not, and still others are changed to make the story more dramatic.
Thanks to those who have been sticking with me through this story. And special thanks to those who take the time to review. You all are the best!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes or any of the settings for this story. Although some of the events in this story really happened, none of the characters are based on real people either living or dead.
Chapter 13 – I Wanna Go Home
Afterwards, Bo could never be sure which had awoken him: the siren itself, or Luke's response.
The night had been awkward to begin with. Sarah was very firm with the boys. Saying she would stay with Katie Jane, she sent them back up the hill for the evening. Luke had been willing, seeing as Katie Jane would be well taken care of. Bo had resisted as long as he could, but the older woman, though she was a good foot shorter than the blonde, had presented herself as a formidable foe. He'd been forced to relent and go back to the boarding house with his cousin.
"You know, Bo, we ain't talked about goin' home yet," Luke started, as soon as they were in the blonde's rented room.
"Luke! We can't go until we know about Robby. I came here with him and Katie Jane, an' I ain't gonna leave her here alone!"
Luke's hands were up and his voice was gentle. "Easy, Bo. I ain't suggestin' we go right now. But we need to decide what to tell Jesse and Daisy in the mornin'."
The younger boy usually responded to Luke's attempts to calm him, but tonight it only grated on his already well worn nerves.
"Listen, Luke, I'm really tired, okay? We can talk about that in the mornin'." Bo knew he was just putting things off, and that his cousin wouldn't give up. He was also pretty sure he'd feel the same way the next day as he felt right now.
"Cousin," the older boy tried again, still speaking softly.
"Luke! I said I don't wanna talk tonight!" Bo winced a little at the obvious hurt on Luke's face, but he had tried to warn the brunette to leave him alone for the time being.
"All right. We'll talk in the mornin' then," Luke had said, spreading his sleeping bag on the floor.
Bo felt terribly torn. He wanted Luke to leave him alone, and let him work things out for himself. He knew he had responsibilities back in Hazzard; he didn't need his older cousin reminding him of that. But from what Luke had told him, Jesse, Daisy and Cooter had the farm under reasonable control for now.
He also had things to take care of here in Oven Fork. He'd come here with Robby and Katie Jane. It was never his intention to end up having to take care of either of his friends, but now that Robby was missing, there was no way he could leave until they knew his fate. He owed the newlyweds that much.
But it wasn't just the logical dilemma that was upsetting the teenager. It was also that, while he wished Luke would leave him alone, he also wanted the older boy close to him. Even he was not completely sure why he was so adamant about pushing his protective cousin away, especially right this minute, when he really could stand some comfort.
His eyes wide, trying to hold back tears, Bo sat on the cot and said, "Luke? You don't gotta sleep on the floor. The bed's more comfortable, even if it is a little small."
The older boy squinted at him, clearly not sure how to take the mood changes in the youngster.
"You sure, Bo?"
The blonde just nodded, not trusting his voice. Luke pulled himself up to sit next to the younger boy, lightly draping an arm around his shoulders. As those shoulders started to shake with the force of Bo's emotions, Luke pulled him close and, much like the day before, the boys simply kicked off their boots and laid down to sleep. It was early yet, but they were farm boys, used to going to bed with the blue jays and rising with the rooster.
They were soundly asleep when the siren sounded at 11:30 PM.
He knew better than to fall into a deep sleep like that. They'd been taught to doze lightly, with their weapons at the ready by their sides. But he'd been out cold, and now that the warning siren was sounding, he was caught totally unprepared. Giving up on finding his weapon, Sgt. Duke literally rolled out of bed and found a solid wall to shelter at least one side of his men. Letting his platoon know he had them partially covered, but that he needed more information, he squatted low and called out, "Left flank!"
"Luke!" Bo cried, in alarm. He'd seen his cousin respond strangely to loud noises before, but the veteran Marine had never done anything more than jump, or whirl around quickly to locate the sound. Now the older boy was plastered against the wall, shouting commands to a corps that only he could see.
Anxious blue eyes swept in Bo's direction.
"What're you doing here? Get down!"
Though he was frightened, the younger boy did his best to stay calm. "Luke! It's all right. This ain't the war." The blonde stepped closer, touching the retired Marine's arm. "It's okay."
Shaking Bo off, then standing and scrubbing his hands across his face, Luke nodded. Now that he was coming fully awake, he understood that Bo was right. He wasn't in Vietnam. He was just putting together the pieces of where they really were, when the siren blasted again, giving him another burst of adrenaline.
"What's that siren for, Bo?"
The blonde shook his head. "It means somethin' else went wrong down there in the mines. It's like a fire alarm; it gets the rescuers down there quick and tells the rest of us to stay out of the way."
"What else could be goin' on down there?"
"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out. You all right? You want to stay here or come with me?"
The older boy's response was to pull on his boots as the two of them stumbled out of the room. A few other men that Luke had not seen before were doing the same sort of half dressing half-walking that the Dukes were, as they all headed out into the chilly night.
It was obvious that everyone in the tiny town was outside by now, and most of them had gathered as close to the emergency vehicles as possible without getting in the way of whatever it was they were trying to do down there. Bo and Luke, however, never got that far, since they ran into Sarah and Katie Jane about halfway down. The older woman ushered them all into Katie Jane's temporary home.
In the relative quiet of the cabin, it was clear that both women were upset, though handling their emotions in completely different ways. Sarah's were buried in a nonstop buzz of activity, as she hustled to the kitchenette to make coffee. Katie Jane, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble holding herself upright. Bo was helping her with that, and settling her on the sofa. The women obviously knew something that the cousins did not, and while Bo seemed content to concentrate on trying to bring some peace to Katie Jane, Luke needed to know the cause of her tears.
He followed the self-appointed 'den mother' into the narrow kitchenette, and found that, despite the fact that there were only two of them occupying about three feet of space, he couldn't seem to get her attention. Finally, he grabbed her elbow, stilling her, and forcing her to look up at him.
"Sarah, what happened?"
"Coffee, Luke?" she asked, as if she hadn't heard him. This worried the older boy more than Katie Jane's tears.
"Sarah," he said again, looking into her eyes intently, "What happened?"
For a brief moment, the older woman's gray eyes grew watery, but with a blink, they returned to clarity. She sighed, forced to give in and deal with things sooner than she'd wanted to.
"Another explosion. The rescuers and inspectors are trapped. Believed dead. They're gonna seal the mine." She looked so fragile for a moment, that the Duke boy almost hugged her. Before he could, she'd turned away and started to pour the coffee. Forcing two mugs into Luke's hands, she sent him to Bo and Katie Jane, while she followed with mugs for herself and the brunette.
Ignoring the manners he'd been taught long ago, the older Duke boy settled himself on the small table, directly across from Katie Jane, so close that their knees were touching. Putting the coffee down, Luke kept his eyes on his younger cousin, looking to see if he'd heard what Sarah had said. The tears in those midnight eyes indicated that he had. Before speaking to Katie Jane, Luke laid a hand on the other boy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. It was particularly hard, the first time that one of your friends died. Though Bo had not witnessed the actual death, Luke knew the blonde understood, all too well, the darkness and the fear. This knowledge was instinctive to Luke; he'd felt exactly the same way every time a member of his platoon had been killed, whether he'd been with them or not. Seeing that the teenager was going to hold himself together, however, Luke turned to Katie Jane. She was now officially bereaved, and it was only appropriate that he, and not just his cousin, try to offer her some consolation.
"Katie Jane." He cleared his throat and tried again. No matter the circumstances, this kind of thing never got any easier. "Katie Jane, I'm real sorry."
The girl nodded, and wiped at her eyes. Finally, very quietly, she spoke. "Thank you, Luke, I appreciate that."
"He loved you, you know," Bo added.
"I do know that. An' I loved him. An' I want to go home, and raise his baby back in Hazzard."
"Right, sweetheart," Bo said, "We can go after we make arrangements."
Showing a grit she'd lacked up until now, but that Luke suspected she'd had in her all along, Katie Jane answered, "What arrangements? They're gonna seal the mines, with Robby still in there. Ain't no arrangements to be made." The young woman swallowed, refusing to cry any more. "I wanna go home, an' I wanna leave right now."
Luke looked at Bo, then back to Katie Jane.
"You try to sleep for now, darlin'. We can go home in the mornin' if you still want to go then."
The young woman nodded, again rubbing at her eyes. "I'm still gonna want to. But I'll let you boys sleep so we can drive safe."
"That's a girl," Luke said, squeezing her knee, then getting up and walking back to the kitchenette to give his cousin a little time with her. Sarah joined him there.
"A girl as young as that, with child, too, oughtn't have to go through this," she whispered to Luke. "So sweet and innocent."
Luke chuckled, just the slightest bit. "Aw, Sarah, we Hazzardites ain't as innocent as you think. Katie Jane's hurtin' right now, but she's tough. She's the child of a moonshiner, just like me and Bo. We can handle ourselves."
"You're moonshiners?" Sarah was genuinely impressed.
"Not anymore. Me and Bo got caught on a 'shine run last summer. But yeah, we was."
"I guess that means you ain't got any with you then."
"No, ma'am," Luke answered with a smirk.
"Dang, ain't nothin' would have made this coffee work better than a shot of moonshine."
"You know it, Sarah." Without thinking, the Duke boy put his arm around his new friend, and was surprised when she actually leaned against him for a minute.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
She stood back away from him at that. "Of course I am. Just tired is all. Time we all went back to bed, if'n y'all're leavin' in the mornin'.
After a feisty exchange between the 'den mother' and the younger Duke boy, it was determined that Bo and Luke would spend the night in the cabin, but in the living room. Sarah and Katie Jane retreated to the tiny bedroom, leaving the boys alone.
"You all right, Bo?" Luke asked, taking off his boots for the second time that night, and settling himself in only chair in the room.
"Yeah," Bo said, kicking off his own footwear and sprawling out on the sofa, which was about a foot and a half too short for his long frame. With one long arm, he reached out and snapped off the light.
"Bo?"
"What, Luke?" The blonde was getting frustrated with his cousin again, wishing the older boy would just leave him alone.
"I'm sorry about Robby."
Maybe it was easier in the dark. Or maybe it was that Luke had realized what no one else had – that Bo had lost someone too. Whatever it was, for the moment the younger boy's annoyance melted away, and he whispered, "Thanks, cuz."
Sensing that for now it would be accepted, Luke reached out his left arm and grabbed onto Bo's right hand, which was extended off the sofa by a good two feet anyway. With a squeeze, he whispered, "Good night, Bo."
Okay, I had to add a second note down here to tell you that in the real Scotia Mine disaster, all of the dead were found and recovered before they sealed the mines. In reality, they did not leave anyone down there. I changed that for purposes of my story, so if you're going to get mad at anyone, make sure it is me, and not the coal company or the heroic rescuers.