"Uncle Jesse? Uncle Jesse if you're out there please come in!"
"This is Shepherd, Bo Peep." Uncle Jesse replied into the CB.
"Uncle Jesse, you 'n Cooter's gotta get over to the lake right away!"
"Why, whatsa matter?" Jesse asked.
"We're on the north end, just one turn past Moccasin Bend. Please hurry!"
"What's wrong Daisy?... Daisy?" Uncle Jesse asked, not getting an answer. He looked over at Cooter who had assumed driving duties. "That sure didn't sound good. Let's go!"
Luckily, the pair had just crossed back over the county line from Chickasaw, where they had spent a fruitless afternoon in search of the Seymour Krandall residence. That meant that they were just a stone's throw from the turnoff to the lake. Cooter arrived there in only moments, jerking the wheel to the right to achieve the turn.
As pavement gave way to dirt, the pair were jostled around the cabin of the truck. Jesse, who had began to feel the effects of his skipped lunch, was now glad there was nothing in his stomach to bring about nausea.
Cooter didn't slow until they were in the vicinity of Moccasin Bend, partly because he knew he was near Daisy, more so because he didn't want a repeat performance of the previous night.
A moment later they saw the headlights of Dixie, the beams interrupted by a female head which moved about in front of them. Cooter stopped the truck and he and Jesse threw open the doors, rushing out.
"Daisy! Daisy you alright?" Jesse asked, not noticing the form that lay on the ground in front of the jeep until he was almost on top of it.
"Luke!" He exclaimed as he and Cooter knelt down opposite Daisy.
"Oh Uncle Jesse, he's been out a good five minutes and I can't get him to budge." Daisy announced, patting Luke's cheeks a bit.
Jesse pulled out his handkerchief and spat into it a couple of times, rubbing the material together to make it damp before he commenced to wiping down Luke's face. "What happened to him?" He asked as Cooter wrinkled his nose at the act.
"Bo did it."
"Bo?" Jesse asked, looking at his niece as his nephew began to stir. "Ya mean ya found him?"
"Yeah we did. He was right here walking along the road like he didn't have a care in the world. When we got out and told him to come home with us, he punched Luke and took off runnin'."
"Well why would he do a thing like that?" Cooter asked as Luke sat up a bit, holding his jaw.
"How ya feelin' boy?" Jesse asked.
"Never mind about me. Where's Bo?" Luke asked.
"He went runnin' through the woods there." Daisy replied, pointing off to the side of the road.
"Ya'll load up and scout the road again. I'll take off after him." Cooter announced, turning to sprint into the woods.
Daisy and Jesse assisted Luke to his feet. After he stood there a few moments gaining his balance and giving his head a good shake, he joined Uncle Jesse in the truck.
"Follow me. You keep yer eyes on the right side, we'll keep ours on the left." Jesse instructed, getting a nod from Daisy.
They had driven slowly for about five minutes, commenting on the fact that Bo probably wouldn't come back to the road when they saw a light through the trees.
"Hey what's that light up there?" Luke asked.
Jesse squinted. "I believe that's where J.D.'s fishin' cabin is. Kinda odd fer anybody to be out here this late, though."
Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Might be worth checkin' out."
XXXXX
"Don't worry, he's out again." Dr. Foster said from inside the cabin, closing the door to the bedroom.
"Shows what I know. I thought it'd be safe to let him go out at night." Dr. Dewberry muttered, holding a curtain aside to look out the window. "Just as I thought. Here they come now." He announced, noting the two pair of headlights heading down the cabin drive.
"Okay, we knew this might happen. You remember what to do, right?"
"Yep." Dr. Dewberry replied, rushing from the window as he heard the doors to the pickup slam. He picked up a rod and reel and sat in a rocking chair beside the fireplace, where he commenced to threading the line.
"What was that lady's name again, the one who this cabin belongs to?" Dr. Foster whispered as there was a knock on the door.
"Lulu. Lulu Hogg."
"That you, Lulu?" Dr. Foster shouted as he went to the door. He opened it with a big smile which turned into a look of surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you's my cousin Lulu."
Jesse offered him a friendly smile as some thunder rumbled in the background. "That's alright. Uh, my name's Jesse Duke. This here's my niece Daisy and my nephew Luke. We's wonderin' if you'd seen a young man around these parts, bout 6'2 with blond hair and blue eyes. That'd be my other nephew, Bo."
"He mighta been wearin' a cowboy hat." Luke offered, to which Jesse shot him a look of confusion.
Dr. Foster shrugged his shoulders. "I'm awfully sorry, folks, but we came up from Atlanta just this afternoon to enjoy a weekend of fishing. We ain't been around long enough to notice anybody."
"Oh." Jesse nodded. "Well if you see him around, would you tell Lulu? Again, his name's Bo. She'll know who you mean."
"Be glad to." Dr. Foster replied. "I hope he's alright."
"We do too." Luke replied with some dread in his voice.
As the Dukes turned to leave, Dr. Foster closed the door. "Guess you realize what we have to do now." He said to Dr. Dewberry.
Tom Dewberry nodded. They listened as the jeep and pickup started up and pulled away. Then they walked together toward the bedroom where Bo slept. When they opened the door, the surprise on their face was genuine this time.
The window was open.
And Bo was gone.
XXXXXXXX
As the night wore on, they met back up with Cooter and it became evident that any search for Bo would have to commence following some much needed rest on the part of all. The last thing Luke remembered was seeing the alarm clock turn to 1 a.m. before he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.
Now it was his turn to dream. There they all were at the gravesite again, digging frantically for Bo. Only this time when the lid was opened, Bo was in there. He had his eyes opened and he spoke. But he was dead, they all knew it.
"Why'd you let me die, Luke?" He asked.
"I didn't, Bo. I tried to find you in time. I really did."
"I was lost and you took too long to find me. That's why I'm gone."
"I didn't mean for it to turn out this way." Luke whispered.
"Well it did Luke." Bo replied, on the verge of tears. "If you'd just found me in time, I'd still be alive."
"Bo….." Luke trailed off in a heartbreaking tone as Bo finally closed his eyes. "Bo….."
He jerked awake, sitting up in the bed. As he looked around his bedroom and heard the hail from the thunderstorm outside, he shivered in a cold sweat.
He took a deep breath, realizing afterward that he felt a presence in the room. Since the power had gone out, he got up to dig a flashlight from the nightstand drawer.
Feeling it at last, he pulled it out and flicked it on. He was offered only a brief glimpse of the room when the batteries decided to die.
But it didn't matter. The flash of lightning outside offered him a view that he was both surprised and frightened to see.
It was a view of Bo Duke standing next to him, his normally mischievous face twisted into an ugliness of pure hatred!
Folks, them spook houses you pay money to git in and see ain't got nothin' on what we're lookin' at right now.
