Disclaimer: They don't belong to me but the story does. I'm not making any profit here. Thanks to all of you who are staying with this story and special thanks to those who find the time to review. Your comments are always appreciated.

I want to thank T.S. Blue for her comments that keep me amused and got me thinking about the direction of this chapter, especially the image of a conversation at the end.

Chapter Twenty-One

Nasty Things in the Dark

Luke scrambled backwards in the darkness, stopping abruptly when his back hit hard into the cold concrete wall. He had only seen the two skeletal remains for seconds but the specter was burned into his mind. He knew they were sitting somewhere in front of him in the darkness, wrapped in each other's arms, entombed in the tunnel.

He closed his eyes to the darkness in an attempt to gain control of the panic he felt in the pit of his stomach. At least with his eyes shut, the pitch black was under his control. He took a few deep breaths, hoping it would help slow his heart rate. He needed to think clearly and rationally. The two people entwined in death were beyond causing him any physical harm. But what they were doing to him emotionally was a whole other story.

He didn't know who they were but they died down here in the tunnel. They hadn't found a way out. Could they've been here for years? Were they here because of Laura?

Laura's words came back to Luke.

"It's almost impossible to break away. I know but I broke away from my parents. It wasn't easy but I did what had to be done. Now, I'm going to do what has to be done for you."

"I did what had to be done," Luke repeated. "What did you do, Laura?"

Could the two skeletons sharing the tunnel with him be Laura's parents? Was she capable of that? Could she do that to him? Would she leave him to die?

The panic that Luke had been trying hard to suppress came crashing back with the realization that he was trapped in the darkness with the Dawsons. If Laura could do that to her parents, she could do it to him. He opened his eyes to the pitch black and searched for any variation in the dense darkness but there wasn't any. Despite his inability to see anything, he felt the walls surrounding him. They were getting closer. He could feel them.

"It ain't like I ain't been in tunnels before," Luke whispered to hear his voice and convince him that it wasn't so bad.

But it was bad. It was very bad. He felt something crawl on his arm and hit it away. He quickly moved away from the wall to the middle of the tunnel. Experience taught him that tunnels were filled with nasty things—insects, scorpions, snakes, bats, fire ants, rats, spiders, booby traps, mines, punji stake pits, dead bodies and live enemy. The worst thing he had to do in Vietnam was to go down into the narrow, pitch-black tunnel system. He hadn't been claustrophobic but the tunnels quickly changed that. He hadn't had to go into the tunnels often but it had been necessary on more than one occasion.

The memories made his skin crawl. He was sure he could feel things moving on his skin. He had seen walls move in tunnels only to discover with dread that it was an illusion caused by a thick black mass of tiny spiders. He had stared into the face of a bamboo viper. He had come face to face with decaying bodies hidden by the VC and NVA after a battle to lower the body count. And he had come face to face with the enemy in a game of hide and seek where the winner survived.

Luke had experienced these things and did his best to bury and forget them but sitting in total darkness in the tunnel had them rushing back to conscious thought. Try as he might, he couldn't push them away. They pushed his mental state to its limit.

Luke pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned his head on them. He closed his eyes tight in an attempt to shut out the uncontrollable darkness. He took deep breaths. He willed the memories away.

Luke leaned back into the seat, feeling the wind against his face as it rushed in the open window. The General Lee raced down the dirt road sending leaves flying in a wake of dust. He glanced over at the driver's seat. Bo flashed a smile back at him as he made the final approach to the river. He floored the gas pedal in a final bust of acceleration and speed before the stockcar took off in flight across the fast running water.

As he sailed through the air, the walls came down and bright light surrounded him. Luke was free.

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Bo stood behind the old oak tree watching the house, hoping that Laura would leave. He knew he was close. He could feel it. Luke was here somewhere. But he had to think. Luke was always telling him to think and, for Luke's sake, he had to do that now. He needed to find his cousin without Laura's interference. He wouldn't do Luke any good if he got arrested and put in jail.

The light coming on in the kitchen caught Bo's eye. He quickly moved behind a large oak tree where he could see the kitchen but not be seen by Laura. He watched her move around the room for a few minutes, coming in and out of view in the windows. He visualized the kitchen. She hadn't gone anywhere near the basement door. She had been going back and forth to the large walk-in closet. After the third time doing this, she didn't come out of the closet. Bo waited wondering what she could be doing in there. He supposed she could be rearranging the closet. He leaned back against the tree waiting for her to reappear in the kitchen.

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Laura moved the bags of flour aside and pulled the lever to open the hidden door. She lit the lantern and picked up the bag of supplies. The oil lamp in the underground room had probably gone out leaving Luke in the darkness but she wasn't in any hurry to return. Luke didn't like being in the dark but he'd have a better appreciation of her if he had to wait for her to return with the oil.

She didn't have any Rophynol left. It was too dangerous to try to get more. But there were other ways to control people. If you knew their weakness, you could use it make than more cooperative, more compliant. And Luke's weaknesses were the dark and his family. She could use both to control him. And if that failed, there was always the small gun she kept in her pocket.

But it was all for Luke's own good. Laura had to break the hold his family had on him. It was difficult to free someone from the dependency that resulted from a lifetime of physical and emotional abuse. Luke was far from reaching that point. He was more obstinate than she expected. But she knew that he loved her. She would stay strong for his sake no matter how resistant he was. She was confidant that eventually he would realize the truth and break free from the influence and control of his family. If he couldn't, she would deal with his family. One way or another, she would free Luke of his dreadful family.

When Laura reached the end of the corridor, she opened the window on the door and held up the lantern. The room was dark as she expected.

"I'm back, darling—" Laura stopped abruptly when she saw the state of the room. The bed was pushed aside revealing the open trap door. She quickly scanned the room looking for Luke. She didn't see him in the shadows but he could be in the small bathroom.

"Luke," she yelled. "Luke, where are you?"

Luke's raised his head from his knees when he heard Laura call his name. He saw streams of light coming into the tunnel from the underground room. Laura was back. He had to figure out what to do. He quickly considered his options, which weren't many. There wasn't any obvious escape in the tunnels. If there were a hidden escape passage, he wouldn't be able to find it in the darkness. He had to get back to the room above. That much he was sure of.

"Luke! Answer me," Laura demanded. "Where are you?"

Luke knew he had to answer Laura. But confronting her was not the best idea. He had to convince her that he appreciated what she was trying to do for him. She already believed that he loved her. He had to make her believe that he was ready to reject his family and be with her. That was the only thing that would save him and keep his family safe.

Laura unlocked the heavy door and pushed it open. She grasped the small gun in her hand and held it front of her. Without the drugs, she would need the weapon to control Luke. Carefully, she directed the light to every corner of the room but there was no sign of him. The bathroom door was open. She cautiously directed the light into the small room. It was empty.

Luke could've gone only one place—down into the tunnels. He couldn't go far. The tunnels led to nowhere. Laura's father had built them under the fallout shelter incase they needed an alternate escape route but he never completed them. They didn't lead to the surface. They didn't lead anywhere. Luke was down there now. And he wasn't alone. She wondered if he had discovered the company he was in.

Luke thought that Laura was in the hall behind the locked door. He could return to the room and claim he was just exploring because he was bored. Maybe he could convince her that he was no longer resisting. He didn't want to go back to his family. He would admit her imaginary abuse and hope he could convince her that he was grateful for her help. He would have to be careful to make it believable. He stood and slowly made his way towards the light filtering in through the trap door.

Laura paced the room staring at the hole in the floor. Her anger returned within seconds. Luke was hiding from her. She knew he was there but he wasn't answering her. She wasn't about to let him get away with treating her like that. She knelt down by the trap door, putting the lantern down beside her.

She called furiously, "I know you're down there, Luke. There isn't any way out. Luke. Answer me or I'll close and lock this door."

Luke hurried into the light and looked up at Laura, surprised to see her in the room looking down at him. The expression on her face was chilling in the unnatural light of the lantern. If looks could kill, Luke knew he'd be dead. He saw the gun in her hand and took an involuntary step back. He knew she was capable of using it. He knew she was capable of just about anything.

"Are you trying to leave me, Luke? I'll never allow that," Laura said hotly.

"I wasn't trying to leave," Luke said as calmly as he could. "I was just looking around."

"You had no business going down there."

"I'm sorry," Luke said.

"You were trying to leave me," Laura repeated angrily.

Luke shook his head. "No, Laura. I wasn't trying to leave. I was just looking around."

"Don't lie to me, Luke," Laura said vehemently carelessly swinging the gun in her hand. "I don't like to be lied to. I won't tolerate being lied to. You were trying to leave me."

"I wasn't...sweetheart," Luke said trying not to choke on the word. He needed to convince her that he cared about her. "I was bored. I was looking around. I'm sorry. Please calm down."

Taken aback by the term of endearment, Laura was slow to respond. She knew he really loved her but that didn't excuse what he had done. It didn't diminish her anger. He had to be punished.

Laura glared at Luke. "If you don't appreciate our room here, you can spend some time down there thinking about."

Luke looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the corpses behind him. He didn't want to spend any more time in the tunnel with the Dawsons.

"I do appreciate our room," Luke said calmly, trying not to let the returning panic show. He had to convince her to let him out of the tunnel. "Let me come up so I can be with you."

"No," Laura answered.

"I've got to be with you. Don't you want me?" Luke asked as sincerely as he could.

Laura looked at him hard. "Of course I want you. But you don't seem to understand that I got you, babe. You're not going anywhere."

Luke looked at the opening just above his head. He could pull himself up. He took a step closer. Laura pointed the gun at him.

"Stay where you are. I think you should spend some time thinking down there. You've been a bad boy. You need to learn how to behave. I don't like to have to punish you but it'll do you good."

"You can't leave me here, Laura," Luke said. His heart was beating fast.

When Luke looked over his shoulder again, Laura asked, "What's the matter, babe? Don't you want to spend some time getting to know Mother and Daddy?"

"They're your parents?" Luke asked in dismay. He hadn't really wanted to believe that. "How did they get down here? What did you do to them?"

"I told you, Luke. I did what was necessary to get my freedom. Now I'll do the same for you. I'll make sure your family never hurts you."

Luke's panic was back full now. "Stay away from my family, Laura. Don't hurt them. I ain't going back there so you can stay away from them."

"I'll stay away from them as long as they stay away from me," Laura answered coldly. "It's all up to them. But they're nosy. They can't mind their own business."

Luke grabbed the rim of the hatch. Laura pointed the gun at his face. She said, "Move back. I told you, you need to spend some time down there. It will help you put things into perspective and come to your senses."

Luke let go but stood his ground. "I'm coming up there, Laura."

Laura pointed the gun into the hole and fired, causing Luke to jump back as the bullet ricocheted off the floors and walls, echoing through the tunnel. He stumbled back when he felt an impact on his thigh.

"That's better. You need to learn to listen. I hope you'll have a better attitude when I come back—if I come back," Laura said sternly. "Maybe I'll leave you here like I left my parents."

"You left them to die?" Luke asked incredulously. "How could you do that?"

Laura shrugged. "It had to be done. It was easier than I imagined."

She stepped back and grabbed the door handle. In one swift movement, she slammed it shut. Luke heard the latch turn locking him in the tunnel. Darkness engulfed him once again.

He pushed against the trap door with his hands but it was locked securely. He yelled as loud as he could, "Laura. You can't leave me here. Open the door. Please…please…"

Becoming aware of wetness on his jeans, Luke reached down and felt his thigh. There was a small hole in his pants surrounded by sticky wetness. And then he was aware of dull pain. He slowly lowered himself to the floor as he realized that the ricocheting bullet must have hit him. The bullet must've bounced off the floor and wall before it struck his leg. The wet spot was slowly getting larger. He pressed down hard on the wound hoping to stop the bleeding. He couldn't see the extent of damage. He was alone in the darkness once again.

He couldn't think straight any more. He pushed himself back against the wall despite what might be there. He wasn't getting out of here alive. He was going to spend eternity with the Dawsons where no one would ever find them.

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Bo had been leaning against the old oak tree for a half an hour waiting for Laura to come out of the closet. He couldn't imagine what she was doing in there so long. He was about to get up and go home to report to Jesse and Daisy when he heard it. He bolted upright and listened intently. He could've sworn he heard a gunshot. He listened intently for several minutes.

"Laura…You can't leave me here…"

Bo jumped up. It was Luke's voice. He was sure of it. It was far away and muffled but it was Luke. He was calling to Laura. It didn't come from in the house. It was somewhere outside but he couldn't tell what direction it came from. He couldn't be sure of anything except that it was Luke's voice. And he sounded desperate.

"Luke, where are you?" Bo shouted.

He looked around frantically but didn't have any idea where to begin searching. He had been over the ground earlier and there wasn't any sign of his cousin.

"Think clearly," Bo said aloud.

He was about to shout for Luke again when Laura came out of the closet and crossed the kitchen, turning off the lights behind her. Luke had called out her name. Had she been with him? Maybe the entrance to the fallout shelter was somewhere in that closet. She had been in there a long time and Luke had called her name. She must've been with him. The shelter must be somewhere under the house or maybe somewhere under him. There must be air vents somewhere that made it possible to hear Luke. But he couldn't risk calling Luke again. Laura might hear him.

After thinking a minute, Bo decided to go back to the General Lee and CB Jesse and Daisy. He'd let them know where he was but he wasn't leaving. He wasn't leaving until he found Luke.

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"Luke."

Luke could've sworn he heard Bo call his name. He looked around futilely in the void. He listened intently but he didn't hear Bo again. It must have been his imagination. You hear what you want to hear when you're desperate. He sighed, thinking that it'd be just a matter of time before he started having conversations with the Dawsons about their lovely daughter and their present accommodations. He wondered if he'd lose his mind before he bled to death. He prayed that Laura would come back for him.