"Careful now." Luke says quietly. They enter a large chamber of the mine and step to the center of it.
"Look at that Luke, there's writin' on the wall." Bo moves closer to try and read it. "It looks like its been here a while. 'Joe and Hank Duke,'" he reads aloud, "'proclaim this to be the hidden lair of all the Duke's family fortune.' Huh?" Bo looks over his shoulder at Luke. "Who're Joe an' Hank Duke an' what's this cryptic message mean?" Luke shakes his head as he replies.
"Bo, how come ya always think I've got all the answers?" Bo grins back at him.
"Cause ya usually do cuz." He states matter of factly. Luke laughs back at him.
"Well, I've only got one fer ya. Joe an' Hank Duke were nephews to our great granddaddy Jeremiah I believe."
"That's right. I remember Uncle Jesse tellin' us 'bout 'em. But what's this here message mean?"
"I ain't got the foggiest idea Bo. Let's keep goin' though. I'd really like ta get outta here."
"It is a bit creepy ain't it? Smells pretty bad too." Bo replies as he starts walking backwards toward Luke. Once again he doesn't notice what is in his path, in this case it's a rock about the size of a baseball. Bo's foot comes down on it and it rolls with his weight. The flashlight flies out of his hand as he swings his arms to try and regain his balance.
"Bo!" Luke yells. He leaps forward dropping his own light to have both hands free. Just as Bo is about to hit the ground, Luke grabs his shoulders and keeps his head from making contact. Luke kneels down and puts Bo's head in his lap.
"Are ya awright Bo? Bo? Bo say somethin'!"
"I'm… I'm 'kay… Luke." Bo gasps out. "Jus' had… breath… knocked… out."
Breath deep cousin, keep it slow an' easy now." Bo tries to do as Luke tells him, wheezing a little at first. When it seems he is getting his breath back, Luke lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"Are ya hurt anywheres else?"
"Well…" Bo moves his arms and legs experimentally. "It don't seem like it. My ankle feels a bit tender, but that's it. Uh, Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, what happened ta the lights?" Luke notices for the first time that its pitch black as Bo sits up away from him. He quickly slams his eyes shut and reaches out to grab Bo's shirt.
"Don't!"
"Hey Luke, what's wrong?" Bo grabs Luke's hand and tries to detach it from its death grip on his shirt. "Luke? Talk to me? What's wrong?"
"Bo, don't leave me. Jus'…" he shudders, "Jus' don't leave me. I… I cain't stand total dark. I cain't… I jus' cain't." Bo manages to detach Luke's hand from his shirt and wraps it in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He can feel the shudders vibrating through Luke's body and the fear radiating off of him.
"Come on, talk to me. I'm right here cousin. I ain't goin' nowhere. I'm right here." He can hear the huge, shuddering gasp for air that Luke takes.
"Bo, I… I never told ya'll, but when I was in 'Nam I was taken by the enemy."
"What? But Luke, we never-"
"I was rescued before they could send out a MIA letter."
"MIA?" Bo asks in confusion.
"Missing In Action. I was only there for a few weeks, but it was the worst time of my life. It was pure he." He takes another gasping breath before continuing, squeezing Bo's hand. Bo scoots over and puts his arm around Luke's shoulders.
"What happened Luke?" He asks softly as Luke shudders violently again, reliving it in his mind.
"Oh Bo, it was pure torture. They locked us up in cages, cages only big 'nuff ta sit cramped up. Ya couldn't hardly move a'tall. The days were bad in the heat with hardly no water. But the nights, the nights… It was pitch black, and ya couldn't move. And the sounds… you could hear the rats, feel them crawlin' across ya. There was jus' 'nuff room ta knock 'em away, but they'd come back. They always came back. There were other things too that'd crawl all over ya. Ya didn't know what they were, but it would drive me pert near crazy." He shudders and leans into Bo. "I jus' need light, jus' light."
"It's awright Luke. I'm here an' yer not there. Move yer arms out, there's no bars, nuthin' pennin' ya in. Jus' take deep breaths and picture the sun shining down on us." Luke does as Bo says and breathes deeply.
"I'm… I'm awright now. Jus' stay close."
"I ain't goin' nowhere Luke." Bo reassures him again.
"Okay, okay. We've gotta find the flashlight."
"Sure, uh, you jus' sit still an' I'll feel 'round-"
"No!" Luke objects loudly, then takes a deep breath. He continues in a slightly calmer tone. "No. We'll both go. Uh, my flashlight should be behind me somewhere. I dropped it to catch you."
"Awright. Let me turn around here. Okay, come on" He feels Luke grasp his arm again. "I'm right here cuz. Let's jus' crawl along here. With both of us feelin', we should find it."
"Jus' stay close an' keep talkin'."
"Gotcha. Okay, I'm movin' forward some, nuthin' yet." Bo keeps up his running commentary as they slowly creep forward. Luke reaches out and touches Bo every now and then.
"I got it!" Luke exclaims suddenly. He sits up quickly and fumbles with the flashlight. "The bulb must've loosened or somethin' when I dropped it. Hang on." Bo can hear Luke fumbling with it, trying to get it to work when suddenly the light pops on.
"Ya got it!" Bo exclaims slapping Luke on the arm good-naturedly.
"I got it." Luke repeats softly as he shines the light around. "There's yurn over there." Bo gets to his feet and gently tests his ankle. It gives a slight twinge, but that's it. He carefully walks over to his light; picking it up and turning it back on.
"Good ta go." He says pointing his light at Luke who is still kneeling on the floor. "You awright now?"
"Yeah," Luke sighs, "thanks cousin, for everything."
"Well thank you Luke fer not lettin' me make mush outta my brains there on the floor. I guess we're even." Bo grins at him. Luke runs a hand over his face and shakes his head.
"Not even close cuz. Not even close. Uh, I'd appreciate it if ya didn't mention this or what I tol' ya ta anybody else. I jus' wanna ferget it."
"No problem Lukas. It's our secret. Anyway, uh, ya wanna get outta here now?" Luke sighs again before shaking his head.
"No, let's go ahead an' check the rest out. Jus' be careful an' watch where yer steppin' from now on. If ya gotta read the walls, don't walk backwards ta do it." Bo laughs.
"Sure thing. Maybe we should jus' use one light ta conserve the batteries then." Bo replies.
"Naw," Luke gives Bo a self-depreciating smile, "I put extra batteries in my pockets just in case."
"Yer a regular boy scout ain't ya? Well c'mon ol' timer, get off'n yer rear so we can get it done."
"Ol' timer! I ain't that much older'n you Scrappy." Luke teases Bo back, using the old nickname he used to call him when they were kids.
"Well that's a name I ain't heard in a long time. Say tell me somethin'." Bo asks as he gives Luke a hand standing up, he can tell Luke is still a bit shaky.
"What's that?"
"How come you got the nickname of Lukas, yer real name, an' I got stuck with Scrappy?" Luke laughs and Bo enjoys the sound of it knowing his cousin is getting back to normal.
"Cause you were skinny as a fence post an' were always jumpin' inta fights ta help people out. It jus' seemed right is all. 'Sides, I guess I coulda called ya Beauregard instead."
"Oh no, not that. Scrappy was jus' fine. Let's jus' head on shall we? We got two things ta accomplish still."
"Two?"
"Yeah Lukas, two. Checkin' out the mine an' figurin' out the message on the wall." Bo grins.
"Bo." Luke groans but grins back at him. "Awright, lets get to it then. Although I don't know what our great granddaddy's nephews would've put in here that someone else ain't found by now."