Chapter 6: Too Close

He reached the flashlight-lit dig site in record time, his heart leaping through his chest when he saw the cloud of dust billowing out from the tunnel and the soot-covered digging crew stumbling out of the tunnel. Jesse was the last to exit.

"What happened!" Howell asked Jesse, "Was there a cave-in?"

"No!" Jesse coughed as Luke ran up. "No, just that sound, and dust everywhere!"

Grabbing a flashlight from someone's hand, Luke ran into the excavated tunnel before Howell could stop him. The foreman shouted after him, then took up a shovel and followed.

Luke could hardly see anything through the thick black dust, and he nearly ran into the crumbled rock. He could see part of the last length of pipe lying uncovered, and a small slide of loose stone had scattered down to the floor.

"Bo! BO!" he called, kneeling next to the pipe. Less than five feet of black rock separated the inseparable cousins. He leaned down and shined the flashlight through the two-inch pipe, listening for any sign. He saw an arm, a bloodstained tan shirt, and a tuft of coal-blackened blond hair. "Bo?" he asked again softly, afraid.

The hair shifted, and a cornflower-blue eye met his. "Luke?" The hoarse voice quavered, timid and scared. "Please, Luke…the rock shifted…I don't want to die in here."

"You won't, Bo," Luke promised, then whirled around at a sound behind him. Ben Howell stood there, and handed him a second shovel. He'd heard every word.

"Just dig on that side. Be careful when you get deeper in, you don't want to hit him by accident."

The pair fell at the rubble pile, flinging the loose stones haphazardly behind them. Luke kept one foot balanced on the pipe, his guide to his cousin, and hacked furiously at the stone. Others came in behind them and picked up their abandoned flashlights, cleared away the loose stone, and watched for another temblor. Four feet of stone…three…two…Luke's shovel hit something solid, a boulder he couldn't budge. Frustrated - so close! - he started clearing away around it, only to realize that this must be the slab looming over his cousin. He got down on his knees and carefully scraped at the loose stone below the slab with his shovel, then with his hands. Low down - less than two feet off the ground - his fingers broke through into an open space.

"Uncle Jesse!" Luke shouted over his shoulder.

He scrambled to clear out the rest, shoving the black rock behind him, beneath him, anywhere to get it out of the way, and found himself looking at two terrified blue eyes, the rest of his cousin covered in black soot. Bo lay on his stomach, pressed flat between the ground and the rock slab, his saving grace the small boulder - the same that had broken his arm - that wedged the slab from falling flat to the ground. Luke held out a hand, and Bo paused before taking it, almost in disbelief. His cousin's strong grip pulled him out from the narrow crevice. The motion was the last the small boulder could take, and it crumbled under the weight of the slab with a thunderous rumble.

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Jesse Duke carried his youngest nephew out of the narrow tunnel, his grip a fierce embrace of the boy he'd very nearly lost. Bo curled against him, trembling, broken arm cradled on his chest. Luke followed him, hands cut and bleeding in places from the sharp stone. Jesse didn't stop when he reached the main tunnel, but went right on out towards the exit, the air feeling fresher to Bo's lungs with every step. Cooter and Daisy fell in with Luke, flashlights in hand, lighting the way. The men behind them broke into applause and cheering, and quickly gathered their tools to follow and leave the damned mines forever. Ben Howell had tears streaming silently down his face, seeing not Bo Duke, but the brother whose body had never been found.

As they came in sight of the tunnel mouth, Bo looked up at his uncle. "Uncle Jesse…" he said softly, "I…I think I can walk…"

Jesse looked down at him and realized he hadn't even asked if he could…he'd run into the tunnel at Luke's call and just swept his nephew up like he was a small boy again, his first instinct to get him out. Jesse nodded and stopped, lowering Bo's legs to the ground. He was shaky, at first, and grabbed an arm around Jesse's neck for support, but the blood started flowing and it felt good to be on his feet again. With Luke and Daisy on his left and Jesse and Cooter on his right, he stepped out of the cave mouth, looking out over the encampment below. Dawn tinted the night sky grey and light blue, and the stars were disappearing one by one.

"Holy…" Bo began, staring.

"Watch your language," Jesse murmured.

Fires had burned low, and many were sleeping, but the last shift of diggers was still up and about, and they cheered when they saw Bo, waking the rest of the camp. The Duke family - and Cooter - walked slowly down the slope, keeping pace with Bo and his stiff limbs. The rest of the digging party came out minutes behind them, cheering down to their fellows below. Bo looked dazed amid the crowd of handshakes and shoulder-clapping that descended on him, and he smiled and responded as best he could, bewildered. Luke was surprised to see Boss Hogg still present, stepping out of his car where he'd been sleeping in the back seat. All Boss was really after in this whole thing was good P.R., there being an election in the fall, and it did a public figure good to be seen joining in with the righteous cause. He sported a broad bruise and a cut on his chin, and immediately shied away when he saw Luke standing protectively next to his cousin.

"Keep him away, keep that mad Duke away from me!" he shouted to Rosco as he stumbled backwards and fell. Luke offered him a hand up, but he scrambled back. The dark-haired Duke shook his head in disgust.

"I'm not gonna hit you, Boss!"

"Yes you will, I don't trust you, Luke Duke!"

Jesse and Bo both stared at Luke, who blushed scarlet. "I'll tell you later."

The crowd eventually parted to let the family through, and they headed towards the waiting ambulance in the parking lot. The paramedics had spent the night with the rest of the well-wishers, and now opened up the back door so Bo could climb in. The blond Duke followed his family amicably, glad to be away from the confusion of the crowd, until he saw the ambulance. He stopped dead, and backpedaled a step.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what's that?" He stared at the small, dark interior, just tall enough for a man to sit up.

Luke looked from Bo to the car. "That's an ambulance. You need to go to the hospital, Bo."

His cousin was shaking his head. "No, no, no. Not in that I don't." Just a coat of paint between an ambulance and a hearse, he thought. "Can't we take Uncle Jesse's truck?"

Luke looked at his uncle, not understanding. "I…guess…" he said slowly. Might as well humor Bo. He looked at the paramedics. "Do you mind?" The men shrugged. Since Bo looked to be in reasonably good shape, it was all the same to them. "Okay. Uncle Jesse's truck it is, then."

They walked a bit further on down the parking lot to the family cars. Jesse climbed into the driver's seat while Luke helped Bo into the middle, then climbed in beside him. Cooter shut the door, and looked in through the open window.

"Daisy and I will take my truck," he informed them, beating Daisy to the punch.

"We'll meet you there, Cooter," Luke confirmed, and they were off.

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Jesse Duke glanced away from the road to look across at his two nephews. Both had fallen asleep within minutes of pulling onto the main road, exhausted by the long night. Luke stirred once on the drive, lifting his head long enough to look at his cousin before closing his eyes again. Jesse was tired himself, but he could last a bit longer. He looked at Bo's face, coal-streaked with a long, shallow cut on his cheek, and tears filled his eyes as he thought of how close he'd been brushed by death. Jesse had prayed every nerve-wracking minute since the first collapse that he'd have his boy back, safe and sound. Bo, Luke, and Daisy had been his whole world since his brothers had died with their wives, and he couldn't bear to think of losing any of the children.

The trip to the hospital was quiet, with Cooter and Daisy following close behind. The emergency room was empty, and it didn't take long to get Bo in and looked at. He was cleaned up, his broken arm x-rayed and splinted until the swelling went down enough for a cast. He had a dozen or so cuts and gashes up and down his legs, where the sharp broken stone had cut through his jeans, but the rest of him, except for a little bruise and batter, was fine. Within an hour he'd been moved to a room on another floor to rest - the doctors wanted to keep him for the day for observation. They had a look at Luke's hands, suturing one deep gash at the fleshy base of his thumb, and cleaning and bandaging the others. He found Daisy, Cooter, and Jesse all in Bo's room, looking on as he slept.

"We were talkin' about getting a motel for the day, to get some sleep. Not much we can do here," Cooter filled Luke in as he entered.

"I'll stay here," Luke said, looking at his cousin.

The mechanic smiled gently. "We thought you might. They brought in a chair for you, and some blankets," he indicated next to the bed.

"We'll call and let the front desk know where we're staying," Jesse said, "And we'll be back a little after noon." It was just past six a.m.

Luke nodded, yawning. "Drive safe," he cautioned, sitting down in the comfy chair.

Daisy kissed his forehead. "Get some rest, Luke, you look terrible."

That brought out a smile. "Thanks, Daisy."

She filed out, followed by Cooter and Jesse. Jesse paused at the door while the other two stood in the hall, and then turned back into the room. He picked up one of the folded blankets at Bo's feet and covered his eldest nephew, who was already asleep.