DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hoot. Sadly, I had to return it to Movie Gallery because we all know how upset they get when you don't return the movies.

Chigga Chigga! Chapter 8 Remix! Hmmmm... I could use some new ACTION VERBS!

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Chapter 8: Lost and Found

Mullet sat stunned in the backseat of Lonna Leap's car. He couldn't believe what had just taken place. He replayed the events over and over again in his mind. Garret's terrified face, Dana's cold expression, and, worst of all, Roy's tear-filled eyes. He stared ahead at the passing lights.

He wondered where she was taking him. Startling images flashed through his mind as headlights flashed by. He had never truly been afraid before until now. Lonna Leep was fear itself. He sat startled by that revealing fact.

He glanced out the window, seeing nothing but the night pressing in. He knew he needed a plan. A brilliant plan to escape his evil mother's clutches. He looked around desperately, hoping for a sign. He felt behind himself and discovered a break in the leather.

He pried at it carefully, as to not draw attention to himself. It came out of it's section of the seat with some struggling on Mullet's part. He peered inside, realizing he had discovered a way into the trunk. He carefully pushed the cushion back into place. He began to think of a way to open the trunk.

He knew he had to open it by using a handle, which happened to be up front with fear itself. He also knew that the only way to obtain freedom was to deceive fear.

"I'm hungry." it came out more confident than he expected.

'What?" Lonna was a bit taken back.

"I said I'm hungry."

"You ungrateful little brat!" Lonna spat furious.

"Ungrateful of what?"

"………………."

"As I expected" Mullet was on a roll now. "Now, I demand you stop and get me food."

She remained silent and he began to think she wasn't going to. Until they approached a gas station and Lonna began to slow down. She pulled into the almost deserted parking lot and turned the car off. She opened the door and got out, slamming it behind her.

Mullet had a sudden thought of running then but then squashed it out. If I'm gone when she comes back she'll come looking for me. She may even go back to Roy's house. I certainly don't want her getting to Roy. Plan A it is then.

As soon as she disappeared inside the store, Mullet lunged forward. He frantically scanned the driver's side for the handle. He began to panic as he realized that Lonna could return at any moment. He saw it to the far left of the driver's side floorboard. He reached and his fingers brushed against it. He stretched again and his hand closed around the handle. He pulled and heard the trunk pop open. Now to just hope it didn't make too much noise when Lonna started driving. He leaned back with a triumphant grin on his face.

Lonna had just come out of the store with a few bags. She looked around cautiously as she walked back to the car. A cop car had pulled up and two police officers had gotten out. She increased her pace and tried to avoid their friendly nods. She opened the door and slid into the driver's seat.

She started the engine and pulled out of the lot. Mullet was afraid that the trunk might close. Lonna's driving was wild and reckless, he was sure he would die if he prolonged his departure. A bag was shoved into his arms by Lonna, followed by a drink.

"I got you a coke."

"How thoughtful." Mullet sneered.

Lonna seemed less confident in her actions now. She swerved to avoid a box in the road. Mullet watched her fidget and tap her fingers on the steering wheel. He figured it would be easier now that Lonna had lost her edge. She didn't appear to know where she was going.

Mullet dumped the bag onto the floorboard. He opened the drink and took a gulp. He waited for Lonna to stop watching him. He casually glanced up to find the rearview mirror empty, she had turned her attention back to the road.

He swiftly shifted in his seat to pull the section out again. It took a few tries before it came free and he crawled into the trunk. He replaced the section as best he could and tested to see if the trunk was still open. It swung up easily with a gently push. He breathed in a sigh of relief.

He stood up some, peering out into the night. The dim red glow from the taillights gave the road an eerie look. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew this was the only way to escape. This could be his only chance.

The car swerved violently and he tumbled backwards. Blaring car horns erupted in the night and he saw another car zoom past. He stood back up a bit more shaky then before. He looked to the ditch on his left and took a deep breath. He leapt out of the trunk and hit the ground rolling.

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Roy sat silent, staring straight ahead. The world was moving around him but he didn't care. All he could think about was Mullet. Someone was calling his name but he didn't respond. He looked up blankly at the person calling him. Then the world went black.

Roy woke up later in a strange bed. He blinked sleepily and gazed around. He heard voices arguing somewhere near. They rose in volume and he recognized most of them. There was one he did not recognize and it troubled him deeply. He staggered out of the bed and stretched.

He got up and walked out the door. He followed the rising voices and came upon quite a scene.

"The boy is in shock!" Officer Delinko was staring down a young man.

"We have to tell him!" The young man seemed to be standing his ground.

Roy looked around seeing Garret, Dana, and a boy he didn't know. It was this boy who noticed Roy first. He cleared his throat to alert everybody else. Everyone grew silent as they turned to face him. Garret let out a gasp and Dana's expression turned to something close to fury.

Officer Delinko walked him over to a chair and made him sit. The boy sitting beside Dana smiled feebly. The young man sat beside him on the arm of the couch.

"Roy" Officer Delinko paused "This is Isaac and his older brother Eric."

He indicated the boy next to Dana as Isaac and the other as Eric. Eric crossed his arms and frowned at him. Isaac smiled warmly and nudged his brother. Garret got up and crossed over to Roy.

He sat on the arm of the chair and put an arm around Roy.

"We're glad your ok."

A puzzled look crossed Roy's face. "Why?"

"You were out for days." Dana spoke quietly.

Roy looked at him and tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry Dana"

"For what?" he received a puzzled look in return.

"For what happened…" he left it at that.

Dana looked him right in the eye. "I did what I knew was best. I'm proud of that….I may have failed and I'm terribly sorry for that. I'm disappointed with myself for letting her get past me."

"Don't be…you did your best. I'm glad you did. Thank You." Roy smiled weakly and was reassured by Garret's comforting hug.

"You all did the best you could." Officer Delinko said.

Roy looked away, afraid he might cry. Garret shot Dana a pleading look and was pleased when Dana got up. Dana walked over and it turned into a group hug. Isaac, Eric, and Officer Delinko looked on as Roy began to cry.

"What's wrong?" Dana asked concerned.

Roy tried to answer but the words stuck in his throat. Understanding, Garret pulled him closer. Eric's face seemed to melt from a frown into a sympathetic smile. Isaac got up wanting to join but didn't want to impose.

He was welcomed by Garret's friendly smile. Officer Delinko walked outside and Eric sat watching. Isaac looked up, motioning for him to come join. Eric glared at him for knowing exactly what he wanted to do.

Eric joined the hug and Roy cried harder. "Will he be ok?"

"Yes." Garret answered with a soft, confident tone.

Roy's tears began to stop and he wiped his eyes.

He smiled weakly. " I don't believe I know you two very well…mind telling me about yourselves?"

Isaac smiled and began to recount of he came to be at their house. Telling Roy how they had been walking past when Lonna had ran out with Mullet. Then Bea had run out crying and they could hear loud voices from inside. They decided to investigate and heard the whole story from Garret.

They had decided to take him to their house in case Lonna came back. Where he had been for the past couple of days. He also told Roy that they had just moved to town and soon Isaac would attend school with them.

Roy thought this over then. "What was it you had to tell me?"

Everyone looked away from him and he could feel his heart sink.

"What?!"

"Please Roy….." Garret looked at him pleading.

Roy knew something was wrong now. He looked from face to face. Each pair of eyes turned away from him.

"Lonna was found…" Dana cleared his throat.

Roy's face brightened then fell. "Mullet wasn't with her….was he?"

Garret shook his head. "She was pulled over for speeding yesterday. The officers took her in because she matched the report Delinko gave. But Mullet wasn't with her."

Roy's vision began to grow fuzzy. Dana recognized the look on Roy's face. He backed everyone away and picked him up. He walked back to the bedroom and laid Roy on the bed. Roy watched him leave and then the world disappeared.

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Mullet ran as fast as he could. He could hear the dogs catching up. It had been two days since he escaped Lonna. He had began heading back in the general direction they had came. Earlier today, he had stumbled upon an old farm.

He had explored a bit, hoping for signs of life. He had crawled up into the hayloft in the barn and fallen asleep due to extreme exhaustion. He had awoken to the sound of snarls and a voice. When he had gathered enough courage to peek over the edge, he had meet a disturbing sight.

A worn down looking man was cowering before an old farmer. Dogs swarmed around the farmer, waiting.

"You dare trespass on my land!" the farmer bellowed.

"Sir…I didn't know…I didn't mean to.."

"LIES!!" the farmer raised a shotgun in the air.

The dogs were upon the poor man suddenly. His screams echoed up in the rafters. The dogs began ripping him apart, blood coated the dusty floor. Mullet let out the slightest gasp of horror and a dog looked up.

The beast barked and snapped violently up at him. This caused the farmer to look up and spotted Mullet.

"Another trespasser!" the farmer aimed the shotgun and fired.

A bullet tore through the air, inches from where Mullet had been crouching. Mullet fell back and looked around. He climbed over old hay bales, in hopes of finding an exit. He soon realized that there was only one way out and that was down the latter…past the farmer.

He looked back over the edge cautiously. The farmer was looking up and the dogs were snapping at the dead body. Mullet slid toward the latter then began climbing down. The farmer was looking away, towards the door. Mullet reached the bottom and began running towards the same door.

"There he goes!" came the bellow.

He heard the shotgun fire again and the barks of the dogs. He kept running but the so did the dogs. In the distance, over the dogs he heard a truck roar to life. His only hope was to get out of the open. A line of trees was up ahead, possibly his only hope. He ran faster but he could still hear the dogs rapidly approaching.

"Trespasser!" the farmer had caught up in his truck.

He pointed the shotgun out the window and fired. An explosion of dirt to his right meant the farmer had missed. One dog had come up on his right and lunged at him. He leapt and it passed under him. The line of trees grew larger and turned into a welcoming forest. He put on a burst of speed as another dog caught up.

It ran directly behind him and lunged. It's teeth caught on his heel, causing him to stumble down the incline, into the forest. Leafy green plants cushioned his fall and prevented him from doing any major damage. The dogs had stopped but he could still hear their snarls.

He heard the farmer's truck pull up and cut off. Silence pressed in on him as he held his breath. Through the bushes he could see the farmer. He stood at the top of the incline with the dogs, watching and waiting. After a good while, he turned and got back in his truck. The dogs clamored into the back and the engine roared to life. Soon he could no longer hear the truck and decided it was safe.

He peered at his surroundings, watching for any dangers that might come his way. After the farmer incident, he would be much more careful. He came upon a meadow farther down the slope. He laid down in some tall grass and decided to rest more before continuing on his journey.

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Garret sat on the couch in his living room. His mother towered above him, with a infuriated look on her face.

"How do you NOT know?" she spat.

Garret shrugged, he knew it was coming.

"Who gave it to you?"

Once again Garret shrugged. His mother was about to scream but the doorbell rang. She gave him a scolding look and went to answer it. She came back followed by Dana, who smiled behind her back at Garret.

"I'm sorry" she turned to Dana. "But what's your name?"

"Dana"

"Dana Matherson?"

"Yes"

She gave him a look of disbelief then covered it up. "I'm sorry Dana but Garret is grounded."

"Why?"

She was shocked at his boldness. "Well…He has a hickey and won't tell me how he got it or who gave it to him."

She crossed her arms satisfied with her reason. Dana simply tilted his head and frowned. He looked at Garret disbelieving.

"You wouldn't happen to know…would you?" she narrowed her eyes at him suddenly.

He turned back to her and smiled. "In fact, I do"

"Fabulous! Who?"

"I did."

"Oh Please! Don't try to cover for him." She laughed.

Dana's expression became cold and it scared her.

"Well now. Tell me who did it!" she pulled a brave face.

"I did"

"Not possible! Garret isn't gay!" she laughed again.

"Your son is gay, I'm gay. I'm his boyfriend. I'm also the one who sucked on his neck. You need to get over yourself and realize this. You can't prevent your son from being who he is."

She slowly eased down onto the couch, shocked. "Garret…is this true?"

Garret nodded weakly.

"Well I guess then…I'll have to accept it."

Garret looked up sharply. "What?"

She smiled and hugged him. "I can't change the fact that you're gay. So, I'll just have to accept it. You're still my son, who is the world to me."

She looked up at Dana and smiled. "Well…welcome to the family."

Dana smiled back. "If its ok, Garret needs to come with me."

She nodded and released her son. Garret got up and hugged Dana. Dana walked to the door and held it open for Garret. She couldn't help but smile at this and continued staring at the door, long after they had gone.

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Eric sat in a booth with Isaac at the malt shop. He glanced around as Isaac sipped on his chocolate malt. Garret and Dana burst through the door and right behind them was Roy. He smiled and waved them over. They all squeezed into the booth together.

"So?" Roy leaned across the table eagerly.

"Good news" Eric said casually.

In the past couple of days, Eric and Isaac had become a bigger part of the group. They had bonded with everyone and now it was only natural they were all together.

"Obvious" Dana snorted.

"Lonna has been locked away in the mental ward in the next state."

"Serious?" Garret asked with wide eyes.

"Completely serious!" Eric replied. "Turns out she was a bit off her rocker, if you know what I mean."

"Umm…no." Isaac rolled his eyes.

"She's not mentally stable." Dana answered for him.

"Exactly!" Eric exclaimed and threw his arms up into the air with a ridiculous grin on his face.

Roy, Garret, Dana, and Isaac all glanced at each other briefly before busting into laughter.

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Mullet felt something touching his face. His eyes flicked open and he saw a man. He jumped up immediately and tried to run. The man grabbed him by the arm.

"Whoa Son! Its ok!"

Mullet glanced at him and saw the uniform, he calmed down then.

"How'd you get out here?"

Mullet jumped into the long story of how he came to be there. Making sure to leave out no detail, except the part about being taken from his boyfriend's house. He described the crazy old farmer, the dogs, and the man he saw killed. He recounted the chase from the barn to the forest incline. When he was done the officer just stared at him.

"Steve!" a voice called.

Another officer came into the meadow. "What?"

"Find anything?" then she saw Mullet and hurried over.

She looked him over and demanded he tell her the story as well.

"You're that kid….the one everyone is looking for. Your mother was put into a mental ward yesterday."

"Really?" he shot up at that.

"Yes, calm down kid. We'll have you home soon."

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Officer Delinko walked out of Police headquarters. He needed to find Roy and tell him about Mullet's mother.

"Delinko!" His chief came running after him.

"Yeah." he turned back, hoping the tree incident hadn't been discovered so soon.

"You've got a call."

Hope surged through him as he ran back into headquarters. He took the phone from Shirley.

"Hello?"

"Hello…Officer Delinko?"

"Yes!"

"We have news on your case."

"What is it?"

"We've found the boy"

At those words, Delinko began to cry.

"Officer Delinko? Are you ok?"

"Yeah.." he wiped his face. "Yeah… you have no idea how happy that makes me."

"We're glad we could help."

"When will he get here?"

"Tonight"

"He'll be brought to the department?"

"Yes, he'll be escorted by myself and Officer Steve. Steve was one of the officers who found him."

"Give him my thanks!"

"Will do Delinko."

"I have to go tell Roy."

"Ok."

"Wait."

"Yes."

"What time tonight?"

"Around eleven I'd say. It's quite a drive down there."

"Great! See you then!" with that he hung up.

He ran out of the building and got in his cruiser. He headed towards the malt shop, figuring that was were Roy and the gang would be.

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Roy sat beside Isaac at the malt shop now. Eric had left to go pick up their dry-cleaning. Dana and Garret sat opposite of them.

"You think they'll find Mullet?" Isaac broke the silence.

"Of course they will." Dana was not to be second guessed so silence fell once again.

"Hey.. there's Officer Delinko.." Garret said as he peered out the window.

Delinko came inside and hurried over to their table. He beamed at all of them and received puzzled looks in return.

"What's up?" Isaac asked.

"They found Mullet!"

"Alive?" Isaac asked and received glares. "What? Just making sure!"

"Yes!" Delinko smiled.

Roy felt better than he had in days. Garret leaned across the table and hugged him as best he could.

"Where is he?" Dana asked after glancing at Roy.

"Just a couple hundred miles north of here."

"So he'll be here tonight?" Isaac inquired.

"Yes!"

"This is great!" Isaac smiled and paused, thinking. "I'll finally get to meet the legendary Mullet. I have to call Eric!"

He flipped open his cell phone and dialed Eric's number. He waited and rolled his eyes as Eric's voicemail came on.

"Geez Eric! Turn your phone on! Great News! Mullet is coming home tonight. So get yourself over here so we can leave!"

He snapped his phone shut and looked at them.

"What?" he grew nervous from the curious looks.

"Nothing." Garret gave him a crooked grin.

"We should wait outside for Eric." Officer Delinko had come out of his thoughtful daze.

They all nodded and followed him out the door. Twenty minutes later Eric pulled up and was filled in on the story. Officer Delinko and Roy got into the cruiser and lead the way to the station.

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Later that night found all of them in the station lobby. Garret had fallen asleep in Dana's lap and his soft snores filled the quiet room. Isaac sat beside Eric, looking nervous and panicky. Eric's face was expressionless as usual but when he glanced at Roy, he gave an encouraging smile. Roy smiled back and returned to staring out the window. Officer Delinko was filing paperwork at his desk in an attempt to keep busy. Dana had drifted to sleep in the calmness of the lobby. Isaac was still wide awake but Eric looked ready to crash. Roy glanced at the clock, which read eleven o' clock.

He twiddled with his thumbs and looked at his feet. He glanced up as Isaac stood, heading to the bathroom. Roy sighed and leaned against the window. Lights had appeared, cutting through the gloomy night. Roy sat up straight, staring. The unfamiliar police cruiser had pulled into the parking lot.

A door opened and a burly officer stepped out. The driver's door opened and a stout woman climbed out. The man opened the backseat door and a flash of blonde hair was seen. Roy stood now, pressing against the window. Mullet climbed out of the cruiser, looking a little rough.

Mullet glanced at station and inside the brightly lit windows. Roy's heart skipped a beat as their eyes connected. A smile broke across Mullet's face and he began to run. The two officers called after him and gave chase.

Roy leapt over a chair as he ran towards the door. The sound woke everyone in the room. They all stared after him, wondering. Dana understood and rose, taking Garret with him. Isaac, puzzled and Eric, smiling followed them.

Roy burst through the doors into the cold night air. He saw Mullet running towards him, smiling. He didn't care what the two officers following thought, he ran into Mullet's waiting hug.

Mullet swung him off the ground easily and set him back down again. He embraced Roy tightly and nuzzled into his neck. The two officers halted immediately at the scene before them. Dana and Garret came out next, followed by Eric, Isaac, and Officer Delinko.

Officer Delinko approached the two officers and smiled.

"Thanks for bringing him home." he shook both their hands.

"So that's his…?" the female officer let the question hang in the air.

She was answered as they saw Mullet kiss Roy. She simply turned to Officer Delinko and smiled. Officer Steve on the other hand grimaced and walked back to the cruiser. Mullet looked up, seeing Dana and Garret. He smiled brightly at them and saw the other two.

Not knowing who they were, he shot a puzzled look to Dana.

"Explain later" Dana mouthed the words.

Mullet nodded and kissed Roy again. He nuzzled into his neck and looked towards the woods. He thought he saw someone standing in the shadows. He squinted, trying to make out a face.

Bea stood, hidden by the trees, watching the scene before her. She looked at Mullet and to her shock, he looked back. He gave her a questioning look then she stepped forward. He gave her a hard look and she backed away. She knew she wasn't welcome.

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I don't know. I didn't edit much here but it was nice to fix some Opps! moments. There might still be mistakes but leave me alone. I'm tired. XD RXR.

MUTT