A/N Sorry it took me a while to update, but real life came knockin' on my door... Between school and my internship, there's surprisingly little time left. :s So you can see I was excited to find out I actually had one entire weekend off! The deal from now on? I'm gonna try to provide all of you with an update once a week, so I am really tryin! I hope y'all like this chapter by the way. But I will just shut up now, so we can git on with the story... Enjoy!

4

For the second time that day Bo was feeling the rain beat down on him. But this time he knew exactly what was going on. Still catching his breath in small gasps, a painful experience because of his bruised ribs, he glanced side wards, seeing Luke was blissfully unaware of their situation.

A small ray of moonlight was coming through the clouds which were still pouring their anguish onto the world below them. Getting up, Bo could finally make something out of the landscape they were stranded in. Trees surrounded them, and the dirt road they had been on earlier, was now turned into a muddy pool. He knew the first house in this area was at least 10 miles away from where they were.

Heaving a defeated sigh he turned towards the Learson truck, gasping at the sight of the crumpled wreckage.

"How the heck did we get out of that one?" he asked himself out loud, while running his hands through his wet and sticky curls.

"With a whole lot a luck", came a soft reply from behind him.

Whirling around, expecting to find some unknown stranger, he immediately saw where the words had come from.

Luke sitting upright, one arm curled into his chest, looking at him with a weary look in his eyes. But the thing that relieved Bo the most was the slight twinkle which rested in the corner of his cousins blue eyes.

A small chuckle escaped his lips, but he sobered up when he heard his cousin cough painfully.

"Hey Luke? How are those ribs feelin'?" He knew it was a stupid question, but if they ever wanted to get home, they had to be able to walk, a lot. His own head was throbbing a bit, but the slight flow of blood had stopped a long time ago. The aching in his chest had resided for the time being and the cut on his leg only throbbed when he put to much weight on it.

"Well," came the reply, followed by a couching fit, "It only hurts when I breathe."

Bo chuckled, "Then you'd better breathe shallow cuz, cause we can't keep sittin' here all muddy and hurt."

He turned a worrisome glance at Luke who was having difficulty getting to his feet, before putting a hand out, helping his older cousin to his feet.

The world started to spin a little when Luke unsteadily wobbled on his legs. But after a full minute the trees stopped turning and only one blond cousin was standing in front of him with a worry-frown on his face. Bringing his good hand to the warm flow which was still streaming down his face, he brought it back. And thanks to the small rays of moonlight he saw the dark stain it had left behind on his fingers.

Knowing they couldn't do anything about it now, he wiped the blood on his soaked jeans, before Bo had even noticed.

"You're right, we'd better start movin', the Learson farm has to be at least 10 miles from here," looking over his dishevelled cousin, a thought came to him, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Bo shook his head, "Well, it's nothing we can't worry about later, just like you I guess."

Both cousins nodded their heads in an unspoken agreement. And simultaneously they started walking, wet, cold, hurt an tired.

No one could accuse those boys of bein' lazy. Am I the only one wondering what lies beneath the next curve on that road?

Duke farm

"They should have been back by now Uncle Jesse," Daisy exclaimed, while standing besides the window, gazing into the dark night.

Jesse glanced at the clock and knew she was right. Jeb Learson had already called an hour ago, asking Jesse if the boys were still bringing his truck back, because of the ongoing storm.

A feeling of dread flowed through his veins, he knew the boys had left more than three hours ago, so they should have reached the Learson farm two hours earlier.

Shaking his head slowly, he decided it was best to sit tight for another while. If the boys would return, there had to be somebody on the farm.

Turning towards Daisy he calmed her, "Daisy, you know those boys have a nose fur trouble, but with this weather, they've probably had some delay or somethin'. Now we'll wait for another hour, and if they're not back by then, we'll go for a good old fashioned search an' rescue."

Daisy nodded, turning her attention back to the window, wishing the two would pop up outside and tell her everything was fine, and that she was such a girl to get worried like that…

Meanwhile

At the same time two figures were still limping through the rough territory. The rain had stopped pouring and was now nothing more than a slight drizzle. The moon had appeared in its full glory and shone across the countryside, casting the area in a spooky pale light.

No words were exchanged, as their main focus was to keep on walking, no matter how tired they were. The cold was now starting to seep through their clothes, settling itself deeply into their bones, causing both boys to shiver endlessly.

As Luke stumbled for the umpteenth time, Bo slipped one arm underneath his good shoulder, and silently supported his weary cousin. The silence continued as they kept walking, one step after the other.

And silence was all that could be heard, until one sound pierced through it, a high pitched howling sound which made the two wanderers stop dead in their tracks.

In the distance, two tiny yellow orbs were staring back at them. And as Luke looked up at the sky above him, silently cursing their fates, Bo only said two words.

"Oh boy…"

Well, ain't that just the understatement of the year? Somethin tells me, that ain't some kind stranger helpin our boys out of this mess. Y'all stick around now, ya hear?