Chapter 4: Friends In Need

It was pain that roused him. Something touched his broken arm, and he moaned. He heard his name called, louder, echoing metallically. Something scraped and scratched, and he could smell the fresh air flowing in front of his nose. He took a gulp of air, then another, and another, drinking in the cool, clean air.

"Bo!" Luke called again, fear edging his voice. Driving the line of five and a half pipes - twenty-eight feet - had taken a little over twenty minutes as all six rescuers worked furiously against the clock, despairing over every snag and elated with every successful swing of the hammer. Bo had been silent throughout, though, and every one of them feared the worst. "Bo! Can you hear me?"

"What?" Bo's voice came through the pipe, sounding annoyed and somewhat groggy. " 'S tryin' to sleep…"

Luke gulped, instantly realizing the meaning of Bo's words. He looked wide-eyed at Jesse and Daisy, the blood drained from their faces.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he trusted his voice again.

Silence. Then, "Yeah…yeah, I'm okay," Bo replied, more lucid with every breath. "Jesus…" Luke heard him swear to himself, and thought his cousin must have realized what almost happened. They no longer had to shout - the wide pipe opened a clear channel to communicate. "Luke, I woulda...I almost…"

"I know, Bo," Luke cut him off. He didn't want to hear the words said.

"Thank you." Pause. "Who else is out there?"

"Uncle Jesse, Daisy, Cooter, Mr. Sutton and Mr. Dunney. There's more outside - Enos went to get help for the digging."

"Thank you," Bo said again hoarsely, his voice shaking.

Uncle Jesse knelt down by the pipe. "Bo, we need to go get tools, and see if Enos is back yet. We'll be right back."

"No!" Bo cried suddenly. "Please…don't leave me." Jesse's heart broke to hear the fear in his voice.

"I'll stay, Bo," Luke said.

"We won't be gone long," Jesse said for Luke and Bo's benefit both, patting his nephew on the shoulder comfortingly. The others followed him as he headed back outside, Daisy lingering to hug Luke around the neck before following.

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The sight that greeted them when they reached the mine entrance was a shock. Darkness had fallen completely while they worked inside, but the entire parking area and the adjacent fields were lit by dozens and dozens of truck and car headlights. It looked like half the county had left the fair at Enos' news to come help. Even those who barely knew the Dukes remembered the pain of losing loved ones to the mine, and came determined to keep the damned caves from taking another. Rosco had his hands full trying to organize the sheer volume of people who arrived and parked wherever they could find space. A number of tables were set up off to the southeast of the overgrown parking lot, with food being prepared and brought out by wives and daughters. The Suttons and Dunneys were among them, the boys - looking miserable - not more than a few feet from their mothers at any time. A cluster of men gathered closer to the old road leading up to the entrance, picks, shovels, and buckets in hand. The appearance of the group at the mine entrance sent a visible ripple of quiet through the crowd, and eyes looked up expectantly. Jesse stepped forward once the shock wore off.

"He's alive, and he's alright for now," Jesse announced, his voice echoing in the natural amphitheater. Exclamations and sighs of relief were quickly hushed. "It's gonna take some work to get him out, and I can't…" His voice broke with emotion, and he stopped to clear his throat, "I can't tell you how much it means to us, to see you all here, and how much it means to Bo. Thank you," he finished simply, never one for long speeches. The activity below resumed, and the group walked down to meet the men waiting with tools. One of them stepped forward.

"Ben Howell," he introduced himself. He was an older man, younger than Jesse but older than Sutton or Dunney, with peppered black hair and a thick mustache. "I was a foreman here, before the collapse. My brother got killed in there, making sure his coworkers got out. I won't let your boy join him." He looked back at the two-dozen-odd men behind him, most of whom Jesse had never personally met before, though a few familiar faces were mixed in. "We'll all dig for you."

Jesse nodded, knowing how many others had similar stories.

Thomas Sutton spoke up. "We can use the planks and beams I've got in the truck for shoring, but we're probably gonna need more than that.

Howell pointed behind him. "There's some fellas back there that live too far off to go get tools, but I'm sure they'll make a run for lumber. The owner of the mill yard is there with them."

"Thank you, all," Jesse said again. This was why he loved Hazzard - it wasn't the land, the farm, or the fields, it was the people who were always ready to lend a hand to help a friend, a neighbor, a stranger in need. That was why he'd fought so hard against men like J.D. Hogg, men in the system, all his life. And now they fought for him too.

"Why don't you show me where your boy is, so we can come up with a plan. We can't just send twenty men in there with shovels - the rest of the tunnel could go at any minute, especially if we hit something the wrong way," Howell said, blunt and straightforward.

Jesse nodded again, and turned to lead him up the slope. Sutton and Dunney went to get their own shovels and rejoined the digging group. Daisy elected to go find Enos and talk with the other women and share details of the afternoon - she could already hear snatches of rumor and talk about what had happened. Cooter followed Jesse and Howell back into the caves, figuring at least he could keep Luke company until things got underway.

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Luke sat with his back against the main tunnel wall, arms hugging his knees. His flashlight lay on the ground to one side, shining against the collapsed side-tunnel on the other side.

"How you doin', cuz?" he asked softly as the footsteps died away.

"I'm alright," Bo replied. He didn't sound alright, and Luke said as much. "My arm hurts…and it's real dark, I can't see anything." His voice shook.

Luke rolled onto his knees and picked up the flashlight, placing it a few inches from the pipe so the beam shined down its length. "How's that? Can you see it?"

"Yeah!" The relief was evident in his cousin's voice. Bo really had begun to wonder if he was blind. The thin beam of light barely made it down the long tube, but that trickle of light was enough to lighten the black that surrounded him. There was little to see. What wasn't coal was covered in coal dust. He looked around, dimly able to make out the dimensions of the little pocket, but sight only confirmed what touch had already told him. A large slab of solid rock leaned from the wall to his left to the ground on his right, about three feet high at the wall. Some larger broken pieces and loose rubbles had swept in around the boulder in front of him, pierced through by the pipe that stuck just out a few inches from his broken arm. His legs were buried in similar loose debris just past his knees. He looking back, holding himself up with his good arm, and tried shifting his legs again with a grunt of effort. The attempt improved the circulation in his legs, but only scattered more loose rubble and dust into the tiny space.

"What's that?" Luke asked, hearing the sound.

"Just trying to move my legs - they're buried in a pile of rubble."

"Are they hurt?"

"No, just trapped - I can't move them without more rocks piling in here."

"Don't move them, then!"

"Easy for you to say!" Bo sounded hurt and angry.

"Bo, I just meant…"

"I know, I'm sorry."

Luke heard Uncle Jesse approaching with Ben Howell and Cooter.

"…Right up here, Mr. Howell. This here's my nephew Luke," Jesse was saying.

Luke stood to shake the man's hand, and Jesse explained Howell's experience with mining to his nephew. He'd already told the former mining foreman about the search for the lost boys and the collapse. Howell took a step back to assess the tunnel, sweeping across the wreckage with his flashlight.

"Boy, do I remember this one. This was the last tunnel we mined before the accident. Rich, absolutely rich with prime grade coal." His expression deepened into a scowl. "We dug straight through a fault in the stone, didn't even notice it. Had a whole network of tunnels near clean through to the other side of the ridge. Then one day, the fault shifts," he mimicked the movement, holding his hands flat together and angled downwards, sliding one down the top of the other, "Just like an earthquake, but much smaller. Happens all the time over in England - they call 'em 'normal' faults. Then every man in those tunnels back there was gone, buried, and a fair number in the closer tunnels too. God, what an awful day." He hardly seemed to notice that he was thinking out loud. Luke, Jesse, and Cooter listened intently. Howell's eyes scanned the debris, and caught on the pipe sticking out with the flashlight shining in. He knelt down next to it.

"How you doin', son?" he asked gently.

"I'm alright…who's that?" Bo answered, sounding more self-assured than he felt.

"Name's Ben Howell, I used to be a miner in here - I'm gonna help your family get you out, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, we're gonna be doin' a lot of movin' around and diggin' out here, and I don't think this flashlight's gonna be able to stay here - you gonna be okay without it?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Is Luke or Uncle Jesse still there?"

Cooter spoke up. "We're all here, buddy."

Howell nodded, and spoke again. "We'll be here, son, but we'll be digging - you give a holler if you need anything, alright?"

"Alright," Bo agreed. As long as they were there, as long as they didn't leave him, he'd agree to anything.

"Alright," Howell echoed, standing up. "Let's get a couple of those boys up here, and start bracing the tunnel. It's gonna be a long night," he said to Jesse.

I don't know about y'all, but I know I'm not gonna sleep until this is through!