A surge of adrenaline enveloped Luke as he felt the remnants of his oxygen supply deplete. Giving the trapped ankle a swift tug, he untwined some of the vines that had snagged him, being able to use the knife to blindly slash the few that still held firm.

Once he was free of the last vine he kicked to the surface and hungrily gulped the air, hoping that the 'cops' weren't close as it would be a few moments before he would be physically capable of an escape. Blinking the water away from his eyes, he used the light of the moon to find out that Kathleen had paddled a short distance away while their pursuers were closing in fast.

"Can't this thing go any faster, Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked, the wind whipping through his hair as he squinted to observe darkened outlines on the blackened lake.

"I got it at top speed. Can you see anything? You think that was Luke?" Jesse asked as he strained to see himself.

"It sure looked like him." Bo replied.

"Jeremy!" They heard the woman in the boat yelled out in the darkness.

Kathleen scanned the waters with frantic eyes as the men who she recognized as Luke's family loomed closer in their own boat. Luke was taking a long time to emerge…enough so that she was beginning to assume he had successfully escaped onto the banks of the lake. She couldn't decide if she should go on that theory and row away or to dive in and start looking for him.

Just as Jesse and Bo arrived on the scene, she heard a faraway splash and the sound of heavy breathing, broken up by an occasional cough.

And Bo was close enough to have heard it too.

"Lu-." He yelled out, never getting to finish his cousin's name.

Because that's when Kathleen brought her oar up, hitting Bo in the head and knocking him over the side!

Reacting instinctively, Bo began to grab for anything as he felt himself leave the boat. When his hand successfully grasped the boat's edge, the force of the pull along with the fact that Jesse had leaned over that particular side at seeing Bo's fate was enough to tip the little motorboat over, giving Jesse a dunk of his own!

In just the course of a few seconds Bo found himself going from being alright to being in tremendous pain, oxygen-depleted, and in fear for his uncle. Although his eyes were opened, the darkness didn't allow him to see a thing. And while Kathleen's oar had left a gaping gash that was impossible to ignore, Bo willed the pain away as he swung his arms through the black waters, feeling for his Uncle.

After a few agonizing seconds, panic began to set in to Bo. Not only because he couldn't seem to find Jesse, but because he felt himself losing consciousness. Consciousness that he was sure would have already been gone had such dire conditions failed to exist around him. Conditions that somehow prevented his body from what it wanted to do naturally, which was to succumb to darkness. .

And as his body finally gave in to that natural instinct, the last thought that floated through Bo's mind was, if that was Luke they had seen, Lake Allatoona may very well be claiming all the Duke men that night.

XXXXX

Moments later Kathleen had rowed over to Luke and assisted him into the boat.

"C'mon, we gotta get outta here!" She exclaimed.

"Wait a minute!" Luke exclaimed. "I know them guys are after me but….well, we can't just leave 'em out there. They could drown."

"Don't worry, I saw 'em hangin' onto the side of the boat." Kathleen lied. "Let's just get the baby and get back to the garage before the figure out where you are."

XXXXXXXXXX

As Sandy rocked Will in the rocking chair by the fireplace, she was startled to see a drenched Kathleen and Jeremy rush into the cabin.

"What in the world happened to you?" Sandy asked.

"Where are the keys?" Kathleen replied, searching through the pockets of various pieces of clothing.

"Where are you going?" Sandy pressed.

"Looks like the cops found out where we are." Luke replied as water continued to drip from his hair and clothes

"Oh no!" Sandy exclaimed, quickly laying Will on the bed. As the baby wailed at suddenly loosing his comfort, the three adults continued to search the small cabin for the keys which, of course, weren't easily found considering they were in a hurry to leave.

After a few seconds, Luke discovered them lying on the chair by the front door where he had found Will's jacket much earlier that night.

With keys in hand, Luke went out to start the car as Kathleen rushed over to the bed to pick up Will.

"Leave him with me, you'll get away faster." Sandy suggested.

"I can't Sandy." Kathleen replied. "If they found Will with you, they'd know we had been in contact and that could get you in trouble as well. Besides, considering how close the cops are, we might find ourselves having to find somewhere else to hide out."

Sandy simply nodded as she took a key from her own chain and handed it to Kathleen. "If they happen to follow you, shake them. Then go back to the garage anyway and switch out the car for the tow truck." She shrugged her shoulders and offered a slight smile. "Wreck's still hooked up to it. Maybe Jeremy can just go ahead and deliver it, since, ya know, ya'll won't be doing anything important."

Kathleen took a moment to offer her sister in law a sidelong glance before they shared a chuckle and a hug. "Now go on. "Sandy insisted. "I'll stay here and offer a cover should they come around asking questions."

XXXXXXXXX

"Bo."

"Bo c'mon now."

From far away, the youngest Duke boy heard those words. It sounded like his Uncle Jesse but the voice was faint and distorted, as if he were listening to it through a wall or a drum. Instinct told him it was vitally important to get to the source of that voice but there was something……..something he couldn't identify…….in the way of that journey.

Moments later he felt a strange sensation. It was like an explosion had ripped through the place. He didn't hear a loud boom but he suddenly felt an enormous amount of pressure on his body, followed by an enormous amount of liquid spilling down the side of his face as his lungs released their hold on the water that had collected within.

"You alright now?" A dripping Cooter asked, looking at his friend in concern as Sammy stood nearby with a flashlight in hand.

"What happened?" Bo asked as they sat him up on the bank of the lake, wincing when Uncle Jesse pressed on his head wound.

"We's out on the lake seein' if that feller was Luke when that lady whapped ya in the head and we turned over in the boat. Cooter here dove in and found ya and had ta perform rescue breathin' ta bring ya back around."

"How'd you get out, Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked, still a bit groggy.

"Whaddaya mean how'd I git out? Swimmin's like ridin' a bike, you never forget." Jesse retorted as the sound of a car starting up sounded behind him.

The sound caused several curious heads to turn in that direction. Without a word, Bo got up and took a few steps toward where the General had been parked before he stopped and wobbled, almost losing his balance.

"Whoa!" Uncle Jesse replied, steadying him before he took a plunge. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"Uncle Jesse that could be Luke!"

"Well we don't know that for sure." Jesse argued.

Seconds later after having disappeared unnoticed, Matthew emerged from some bushes that separated the lake trail from the narrow road that offered access to several cabins. "That was him! That was that Jeremy guy, Luke, whatever his name is!"

Now it was Cooter's turn to hurry. Taking Bo under his right arm to offer him support, he quickly led him back to the General Lee, Uncle Jesse, Sammy, and his nephews taking up the rear.

"Sammy, I want you to get on a C.B. or find a phone and call the local police. Give them a description of that car, tell 'em what's happening, and see if they can help us stop him." Cooter demanded, performing the task of seeing that Jesse and Bo were secured inside the General as he spoke.

"What about us? What can we do?" Anthony asked in excitement as Matt nodded.

"Ya'll can help that poor fisherman retrieve his boat." Sammy replied, to which they frowned.

"And tell 'em to send the bill to Cooter's Garage in Hazzard should he have any damages!" Cooter shot out before he climbed in the General himself, taking off down the road in pursuit of who he assumed was Luke.

XXXXXX

"Aw, shoot!" Looks like they're followin' us!" Luke exclaimed as he drove the narrow lake road as quickly as he could.

"We've got to lose them Jeremy!" Kathleen exclaimed.

Punching the gas, Luke barreled ahead as Cooter struggled to catch up. All the while, the baby wailed, stressing already thin nerves.

Clearing the resort area and finding themselves back on one of the main thoroughfares, Kathleen guided Luke back to the Acworth garage, explaining Sandy's plans to switch the car out for the tow truck. Luke thought it was probably a pretty good idea since his wild driving had caused more than one car to swerve to avoid being hit, no doubt resulting in a report to the police.

"Okay Jeremy, just around the corner up there then the garage is on the right." Kathleen advised him.

"Which corner?" Luke asked, trying to hurry in unfamiliar territory while in total darkness.

"That one, slow down!" Kathleen exclaimed while pointing.

Seeing that he had come up on his turn more quickly than he had expected, Luke slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel as much as he could, but it was too little too late.

The car skidded sideways, bouncing over a curb and smashing into a tree!

Ole Luke's been in enough wrecks it seems like one of 'em would jar memories of the J.D. Hogg Demolition Derby, don't it?