Together Forever
By
Sparkle731
CHAPTER 1
The orange stock car raced along the old dirt road throwing a plume of dust up beneath the rear wheels. The car was a local legend in Hazzard County . It was almost as infamous as the two boys that owned it. With the big black 01 trimmed in white on each door, the rebel flag painted on the roof and the name General Lee above each door, it was a hard car to miss and one you weren't likely to forget once you saw it. Now that good looking blonde behind the wheel is Bo Duke and the dark haired man riding shotgun beside him is his cousin, Luke. The Duke boys. Just two good old boys from Georgia letting off some steam after a long days work on their Uncle Jesse's farm.
"Come on, Bo." Luke said in a mildly irritated voice "Will you step on it? Maudine could get us to town quicker than this."
"You wanna drive?" Bo asked his cousin in an equally irritated voice, throwing him an irritated look. "Cause if ya do, ya should have said so before we left the farm."
"No, I don't wanna drive….I just wanna get to town before tomorrow morning."
The two boys constantly bickered back and forth. It was almost second nature to them but it could be unnerving to people who weren't used to being around them when they went at it. With those two boys, it was sometimes hard to tell when they were just kidding around with each other and when they were angry at each other. Bo scowled and tromped his foot down on the accelerator, pushing the car from sixty up to ninety in just a few seconds. Suddenly, the two boys heard the sound of siren behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Luke threw his cousin a dirty look and said with a smirk,
"Great. Now we got Rosco on our tail."
"Not for long, cuz…" Bo assured him with a huge grin, as he twisted the wheel sharply to the left and took the General off the road and across an open field. Luke braced himself against the dashboard as the car bounced over the rough terrain. Determined not to let them get away, Rosco was still right behind them. Bo smiled faintly as he calmly concentrated on his driving. He knew that the General could outrun the slower police car especially with Rosco behind the wheel. The chase was just part of the fun. Some folks in Hazzard claimed that the boys had been in trouble with the law since the day they were born and that was pretty close to the truth.
"Uh,,,Bo…" Luke said as he realized the direction they were headed in. "You are aware that the bridge is still out over Sutter's Creek."
"I am aware that the bridge is still out over Sutter's Creek." Bo replied with a grin as he glanced at his older cousin, then turned his attention back to his driving.
"You are aware there's no way to get over Sutter's Creek."
"I'm aware that there is one way to get over Sutter's Creek." Bo told him with a soft chuckle as he skillfully guided the General Lee towards the creek in question.
"Oh lord….." Luke muttered, bracing himself for what he knew was about to happen. He caught his breath as he saw the creek coming in view. He had faith in Bo's driving skills and his ability to make the General fly, but he had never attempted a leap as far as it was across Sutter's Creek.
Bo drove towards the natural rise to the creek bank and hit it dead on. A moment later, the General was sailing through the air, giving both boys that momentary feeling of weightlessness. "YEEEHAWWWW" Bo yelled excitedly as he hit the horn triumphantly, sending the first twelve notes of Dixie floating through the air. The General came down with a bone jarring jolt on the other side of the creek with only a few feet to spare. Bo jammed on the brakes and the boys glanced back over their shoulders.
"Cut it a little close didn't ya, cuz?" Luke said, waiting for his heart to stop pounding in his chest at the narrow escape they had just had.
"I made it, didn't I?" Bo shot back pleased with himself for making the farthest jump he'd ever made in the General so far. They watched as Rosco's car attempted the jump but fell short and landed in the middle of the creek with a huge splash. Bo laughed as Rosco climbed out of the window and fell into the water. He scrambled to his feet and stood there in the middle of the creek, yelling and waving his fist at the Duke boys.
"Looks like Rosco's okay." Luke said, reaching down for the CB "Better call Cooter to come and fish him out." Bo hit the gas and headed back towards the main road as Luke pressed the transmit button on the radio and said "Lost Sheep to Crazy C. You got your ears on? Rosco needs someone to fish him out of Sutter's Creek."
"Lucas, have y'all been taking Rosco fishing again?" Cooter Davenport 's voice came over the radio, the amusement evident in his voice. He had been friends with the boys since childhood. His last name might have been Davenport but he was a Duke at heart.
"Yeah….something like that." Luke answered with a good-natured chuckle. "Thanks for the business, buddyroo…" Cooter told him. "This is Crazy C. Keep it between the ditches, ya hear? I'm gone…" Cooter was the owner of the local garage in Hazzard and most of his business came from the Duke boys usually in the form of wreaked police cruisers that tried to catch them but didn't succeed.
Bo pulled onto the main road, the rear tires fishtailing momentarily as they came back onto the blacktop. He quickly got the car back under control and headed on towards town. Luke settled back into his seat, watching as the scenery flashed by his window. The road they were on had a series of treacherous curves but Luke wasn't worried. He knew Bo could handle it. The General Lee slowed down slightly as Bo tapped the brakes to take the first curve with ease.
As Bo took the second curve and headed for the third, most dangerous curve of all, there was a loud cracking sound and the front end of the General began to shimmy erratically.
"BO! KEEP IT ON THE ROAD!" Luke yelled, bracing himself instinctively.
"I'M TRYING, LUKE!" Bo yelled back, as he fought to hold the steering wheel steady so he wouldn't lose control of the car. His heart leapt into his throat and he was gripping the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. Luke's own heart was pounding frantically as they headed for Widow Maker Curve, a curve that got its name from the number of fatal accidents that occurred there over the years.
Luke felt the back end of the General Lee start to slide sideways as the curve loomed dead ahead. 'BO, WATCH IT!" Luke yelled frantically as the wheels started to skid on the loose gravel at the edge of the road. Realizing that they were going to go over the edge, Luke desperately grabbed at Bo and pulled him down with him onto to the front seat, praying that they would survive the crash. There was a sickening lurch as the rear wheels slipped over the edge, hanging there for a moment before the weight of the car drug them down into the abyss. The General flipped end over end, tearing the boys apart and Luke screamed in agony as he was slammed into passenger's side door with incredible force.
CHAPTER 2
Awareness slowly began to creep back into Luke's mind, and along with it came the pain. Overwhelming pain that seemed to consume his whole body making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Luke heard a soft whimpering sound and realized that it was coming from his own throat. It took all of his will power to force his eyes to open, an action he immediately regretted. He was lying on his back on the rocky terrain and staring up into the glare of the late afternoon sun. He cried out at the searing pain in his chest as he tried to take a deep breathe and decided that wasn't a very good idea. He could taste the coppery flavor of blood in his mouth as he carefully twisted his head to one side and tried to spit it out. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to find a way to ease the pain so he could think clearly.
"BO!" his cousin's name tore from his throat as his eyes flew open and he remembered that Bo had been in the car with him. Trying not to move any more than he had to, he twisted his head around trying to locate the General Lee. Finally, his blurry eyes focused on the vehicle lying on its side approximately twenty feet away from where Luke was lying on the ground. "Bo?" he tried calling his cousin's name but his voice came out barely above a whisper. He swallowed and tried again but his voice still refused to come out any louder.
Trying desperately to ignore his own pain, Luke rolled over onto his stomach almost screaming from the agony that washed over his body when he moved. But Bo was out there somewhere and Luke knew he had to find him. Clenching his teeth to keep from screaming, Luke somehow managed to raise himself to his elbows and started dragging his broken body towards the wreak of the General Lee. Darkness tugged at the edges of his mind as he slowly inched his way forward, refusing to yield to the pain. He managed to crawl half the distance between where he had been lying and General before losing consciousness again.
Darkness had fallen when Luke forced his eyes open again. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious or how long it had been since they gone over the edge and into the rocky ravine below the road. All he could hear around him was the gentle sounds of the night. "BO!" he cried out, his voice a little stronger but not much. The pain was relentless, tearing at his body and making it hard for him to breath. It consumed his mind, making it hard to think about anything else. With a fierce determination, he pulled himself back up to his elbows and started crawling the rest of the way towards the General Lee. Finally, he pulled himself the last few feet around the rear of the vehicle so that he could see the roof and the driver's side of the car. He could vaguely make out the unmoving form of his cousin lying on the ground, the lower part of his body pinned beneath the body of the car. Fighting back the unconsciousness that threatened to drag him back into the blackness, Luke inched his way to his fallen cousin. "Bo…" he whispered as he reached out his hand, his fingertips brushing against Bo's face before he passed out, face down in the dirt.
Luke opened his eyes with a start, the sudden movement make him cry out with pain. He moaned, biting down on the inside of his cheek to keep the pain at bay. He searched the deepest recesses of his mind, looking for a place to lock away the pain where it wouldn't distract him so that he could tend to Bo. He was lying close enough to Bo that he could throw his arm up across the younger man's chest, their heads almost touching. All Luke had to do was turn his head to one side and he could look into Bo's eyes.
"Bo?" he whispered in a hoarse barely audible voice "Can you hear me, cuz?" He tried to keep his voice calm but his heart was pounding frantically in his chest. Luke knew that his own injuries were pretty bad, he just hoped Bo's weren't quite as bad as his were. "Bo?" he repeated, his voice taking on almost a pleading tone. "Come on, Bo….
wake up for me ….please….." Luke held his breath as Bo's eyelids fluttered and then his eyes slowly opened. He looked at his older cousin, his baby blue eyes clouded with pain and confusion.
"Luke?" he whispered as if trying to reassure himself that Luke was really there beside him and that he wasn't dreaming.
"Yeah, little cousin….it's me…" Luke said overwhelmed with relief that Bo wasn't dead as he had feared.
"What happened?"
"We went off Widow Maker curve." Luke reminded him "It sounded like something broke on the General just before we went over the edge."'
"Luke….I can't move my legs!" Bo said his voice rising with panic as more awareness returned to his mind "Something's on top of me…."
"Shhhhhh…." Luke soothed him gently, stroking a strand of hair back from his face with care "It's okay…..don't panic…..you're pinned underneath the General."
"The General's on top of me?" he asked in a high voice, his eyes widening with alarm. "Luke, get me out of here!"
"I can't, Bo…..I can barely move myself…." Luke told him, stroking his arm to calm him down.
"How bad are you hurt?" Bo asked anxiously, concern for himself suddenly being replaced with concern for his older cousin's welfare.
"Pretty bad I think…." Luke told him, not wanting to scare him any more than he was already but not wanting to lie to him either "I was thrown out of the car somehow."
Bo focused his gaze on Luke's face, seeing the agony that was reflected in those sapphire eyes. His face was pale beneath his tan and dripping with sweat, strained just from the strength it took for him to talk.
Bo moaned, for the first time his mind registering his own pain, the crushing sensation from the waist down from the weight of the General Lee pressing against his hips and legs and the difficulty he was having breathing. From Luke's labored breathing, he could tell that his cousin was having trouble breathing too. Terror suddenly clenched at his heart and he looked to Luke for reassurance just as he had always done ever since he was a child. "Somebody'll find us soon….right?"
"Somebody will find us." Luke said quietly, praying that his words would turn out to be true but he knew that they couldn't be seen from the road. He knew they might not be found unless someone noticed the skid marks or the scuffs in the gravel where they went over the edge.
"Luke, it hurts…" Bo whimpered, reaching out to clutch his cousin's hand tightly.
"I know it does….just try to relax and don't move…." Luke instructed him, trying desperately to follow his own advice. He knew that he had to stay calm in order to keep Bo calm. But it was so hard to concentrate on anything besides the pain.
"Luke….I'm cold…."
"So am I…." Luke admitted. He knew that he couldn't get any closer to Bo, his battered body just couldn't move anymore, so he couldn't share his body heat with his injured cousin. The best he could manage was to rub Bo's left arm, trying to soothe and comfort him. "It'll warm up once the sun comes back up."
"How soon will that be?"
"I don't know." The two cousins lay there in the darkness, broken and bleeding, waiting for morning to come and hopefully a rescue of some kind.
CHAPTER 3
Somehow, they made it through the night. They were both glad when they saw the faint rays of the rising sun. They were both shivering violently, both from the chill of the night air and from shock. The sun helped warm them up but it also intensified their thirst, adding to their discomfort. Luke knew they couldn't last long without water, not more than a day or two but there was no way to get anything to drink.
"Luke?" Bo whispered, his voice sounding weaker than it had the day before.
"Yeah?"
"I'm hungry"
"So am I."
"Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"You think they'll find us pretty soon?"
"I hope so."
"Luke?"
"What?"
"I'm scared."
"I know. I'm scared too…" Luke said, moving his hand so that it rested comfortingly on Bo's chest.
"Luke?"
"Yeah, Bo?"
"It still hurts…..real bad…."
"I know….try not to think about it."
"Are you still hurting too?"
"Yes." Luke said. He didn't want to tell Bo just how much he was still hurting. It seemed worse than yesterday and he could barely breathe. He was also going numb from the waist down which he didn't think was a very good sign. He tried to concentrate on something else, anything else to keep his mind off the pain.
"Luke?"
"What?" Luke asked trying not to lose patience with Bo. He knew he was scared and talking to Luke helped to keep him calm.
"You ain't gonna leave me here by myself, are ya?"
"No. I wouldn't do that." Luke reassured him. A faint smile tugged at the corners of Luke's mouth but it was a bitter smile. He couldn't have gone anywhere even if he wanted to. He couldn't even get up off the ground.
"Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry….."
"Sorry for what?"
"For getting us in this mess…."
"You didn't get us in this mess, cuz. It's not your fault." Luke moved his hand again so he could grasp Bo's hand, holding on tightly. He could feel Bo relaxing at his touch.
"Seems like I'm the one who's always getting us in trouble and you're the one who has to get us out…."
"Don't worry about that right now, Bo." Luke told him quietly. I can't get us out of this one, Bo. I wish to God that I could….cause this time I think we're really in trouble. " You're not the one who always gets us in trouble….just most of the time."
Bo laughed softly, wincing at the pain that flared through his chest when he did. "Remind me not to do that again….." He gasped, clutching Luke's hand tightly.
"Don't do that again." Luke said with a thin smile, failing at his feeble attempt at humor.
"I love you, Luke…"
"I love you too, Bo…"
They both fell into an uneasy silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts as the sun rose higher in the sky. They could hear traffic going by on the highway above them but they had no way of signaling for help. Neither one of them could move or talk much above a whisper, so all they could was wait and hope and pray that someone found them soon.
"Luke?" Bo said, breaking the silence.
"What?"
"My head hurts."
"So does mine."
"We're both hurt real bad, ain't we?" Bo asked, trying to fight back the fear that that rose in his throat threatening to choke him.
"Yeah….I think we are…." Luke told him. He knew that there was no point in lying to him. Bo wasn't stupid. He knew they were in bad shape and that someone had better find them soon or it would be too late for either one of them. Luke closed his eyes. He could feel himself slipping away into the darkness and he tried to fight it but he lost the battle. Bo panicked when he felt Luke's hand loosening up his grip on Bo's hand.
"LUKE!" he said frantically, reaching out as best he could, ignoring the pain that washed over him when he tried to twist to one side. He grabbed Luke's shoulder and shook it but Luke failed to respond. "LUKE!" Bo cried again, a sob catching in his throat. His heart pounded frantically in his chest until he heard the soft wheezing sound as Luke breathed in and out. Bo closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath to calm his ragged nerves. Luke was still alive. He was just asleep or unconscious he wasn't dead. Bo felt the tears gathering in his eyes and then falling down his cheeks. To keep himself calm, he softly started singing his favorite gospel song:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see
Tears continued to fall down Bo's face unnoticed even as he continued to sing. As he sang, soothed by the old gospel favorite, his mind slipped away to a quieter place where he could hide for awhile from the pain and the fear. Bo finally slept too, his body and mind too exhausted to stay awake any longer.
It was late afternoon when he opened his eyes, he could tell by the position of the sun in the sky. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Luke's hand, squeezing tightly.
"Luke?" he whispered as loud as he could "Are you still with me?"
For several minutes, there was no answer and then Luke's voice said softly "I'm still here, cuz." He squeezed Bo's hand back as best he could; even though his grasp was weaker then it had been earlier that morning. Bo said a silent prayer of thanks that Luke was still alive. Bo wasn't stupid. He knew that Luke was hurt a lot worse than he was letting on and knowing that scared the hell out of Bo.
CHAPTER 4
Darkness fell again and with it came the cold that chilled both boys to the bone. Luke could feel himself getting weaker and he knew that he couldn't hold out much longer. But his main concern, as usual, was Bo. He would gladly give his own life if it meant saving the life of his younger cousin. Luke slipped more and more in and out of consciousness. It was getting harder and harder to stay alert. His body was still wracked with pain; it was as if he could no longer remember a time without the pain.
Bo knew Luke was getting weaker and needed help desperately. And Bo wasn't in much better shape himself. His body had gone numb from the chest down and he couldn't take a deep enough breath to satisfy his bodies need for oxygen. Bo kept a death grip on Luke's hand, refusing to let go. As long as he could feel the warmth of his cousin's hand in his own, then he knew that Luke was still alive.
"Luke?" Bo whispered, desperately needing to hear his cousin's reassuring voice.
"Yeah…" Luke said in a barely audible voice
"Somebody'll find us soon….and you'll be okay…." Bo said, trying to convince himself even as he said those words. He needed to keep Luke talking, to keep him alert. Bo was terrified if he fell asleep, he might not wake up again.
"Bo, I need you to promise me something…..." Luke said quietly, sensing how close he was to death.
"What?"
"That you'll be okay…."
"I…" Bo said, not sure what Luke meant for a moment but then he suddenly understood. His heart pounded frantically as he realized what Luke was trying to say. He knew that if Luke died a big part of him would die too and he would want to die too. "I don't know if I can…." Bo finally admitted, feeling the tears gathering in his eyes at Luke's words.
"Please…promise me." Luke said insistently. He had to know before he died that Bo would at least try to go on without him.
"I'll try…." Bo said, choking back a sob. He knew that was the most he could promise and he couldn't lie to Luke and say he would. "Please don't die, Luke….don't leave me alone…." Bo said, tears flowing freely down his face.
Luke managed a soft smile, his own tears streaking his cheeks, he knew the time of his own death was close and he was afraid. Not afraid of death but afraid of leaving Bo behind by himself. "You have always been my brother and my best friend, a part of my soul….." he whispered to his younger cousin
"You're all those things to me too, Luke…." Bo said, crying harder and squeezing Luke's hand as tightly as he could. He wished he could take Luke into his arms and hold him but that was impossible. "I love you, Luke…." He whispered in a voice choked with emotion. "But you're not gonna die! You hear me! I'm not gonna let you die on me! You promised you'd never leave me…..and I'm gonna hold you to that promise! Do you hear me?"
"I hear ya….." Luke said so quietly that Bo could barely hear his voice. He fell silent and Bo was terrified until he heard the soft drawn out sound as Luke struggled to breathe.
"I love you, Luke…." Bo repeated, a sob catching in his throat as he clutched tighter to Luke's hand. Bo felt his heart breaking because he could feel Luke slipping away from him and he didn't know how to keep him there with him.
"I love you, Bo." Luke whispered with a soft drawn out sigh, as he let his eyes close for the last time.
Bo heard the soft sigh and somehow, in his heart, he knew that Luke was gone. "NO! LUKEEEEE…" Bo screamed as loudly as he could manage. He broke
down into heartbroken sobs, the pain in his very soul too much to bear.
Luke felt himself rising from his body and he noticed a bright glowing light a short distance ahead of him. He took a step towards the light, feeling himself being pulled towards it. He stopped and turned around. He saw Bo lying there still pinned helplessly underneath the General Lee and his heart ached for his younger cousin. He could feel Bo's grief and his fear. Luke knew that he couldn't leave; he couldn't go into the light and leave Bo alone. He turned away from the light and settled down on the ground beside Bo.
Bo felt his tears stopping, he suddenly felt strangely calm. Even though he knew Luke was gone, somehow he could still sense Luke's presence there with him. He leaned his head towards Luke's until they were touching, just for the sake of closeness more than anything else. "Luke, I miss you already….but it still feels like you're right here with me….." Bo cried even though he didn't expect a response "I'm so scared…I'm scared nobody will ever find us….." He took a deep shuddering breath "Luke….I need you….I've always needed you. I've always know that you'd be right there to protect me….to take care of me….to save me….You're the best friend I could ever have or ever want….." Bo's voice trailed off into more sobs.
Luke felt the tears in his own eyes from Bo's words. "I'm here, Bo and I hear you…..I just wish you could hear me…" Luke said, his voice trailing off. He knew that Bo could not hear him, even though he could still feel Bo. "I can't leave you….I can't break my promise to take care of you….."
Bo closed his eyes, some part of him could still feel Luke, comforting him, giving him the sense that Luke wasn't really gone and that gave him a feeling of peace. Bo sighed deeply and began to sing hymns again just to break the silence. Luke's spirit remained at Bo's side just as he had always done in life, not wanting to leave Bo alone. He knew it was his presence that was keeping Bo calm. But he knew more than that. He knew that Bo would be joining him in death soon and they would walk into the light together. Until then, Luke refused to leave.
CHAPTER 5
The search party had been looking for the boys since the night of the accident when they didn't come home. Jesse knew that something was wrong otherwise the boys would have called him to let him know that they weren't coming home so he wouldn't worry. Besides that, his big toe had been hurting like the devil and that was never a good sign.
Different members of the search party had taken different areas of the county to search for the missing Duke boys. Cooter was the one who found the accident site. He was driving along the twisting curving road when he saw the faint skid marks on the pavement as he approached Widow Maker Curve. Carefully, he pulled his tow truck over to the edge of the road and climbed out of the cab to examine the skid marks. He felt his heart leap into his throat when he saw the disturbed dirt and gravel at the edge of the road. He ran to the edge of the ravine and shaded his eyes, looking down into the ravine below. That was when he saw the flash of orange reflected in the glare of the afternoon sun. Realizing that he had found the boys, he ran back to the cab of his truck to call for additional help and to alert the other searchers that he'd found the accident site.
Once he had alerted the others, he ran back to the edge of the road and scrambled down the side of the ravine, taking care not to lose his balance on the loose gravel and dirt. He didn't see the two boys until he walked around the back end of the General Lee to the opposite side. Then he saw the two boys lying on the ground with Bo pinned down underneath the vehicle. Luke was lying face down beside Bo, their heads touching with Bo clutching Luke's hand tightly. Cooter's heart pounded frantically in his chest as he knelt down beside his two best friends. "Bo, Luke?" he said anxiously, gently reaching out to touch Luke's shoulder since he was the closest. He pulled his hand back just as quickly, almost as if he had been burned. Instinctively, he sensed that it was too late to help Luke. He was already gone. He focused his anxious gaze on Bo's face, catching his breath when the younger man slowly opened his eyes and looked at the scruffy mechanic.
"Cooter?" Bo gasped in a barely audible voice through lips that were dry and cracked from dehydration.
"Yeah, it's me, buddyroo….." Cooter told him, trying to keep his voice calm and level. "Help's on the way and we're gonna get you outta here….."
"Luke's gone…." Bo said, tears gathering in his eyes and falling silently down his cheeks. "He died a couple of hours ago….."
"I know…." Cooter said, his own voice cracking with emotion and pain. Tears gathered in his own eyes and he swallowed hard to try to dislodge the lump that climbed into his throat.
Within minutes, other rescuers started to arrive. The first on the scene was Rosco and Enos, accompanied by Doc Applebee. They scrambled down the side of the embankment and joined Cooter at the scene of the accident. Rosco and Enos stood back, watching as Doc did a quick examination of Luke and Bo both. When he had finished, he straightened up and motioned for the two police officers and Cooter to join him off to one side so they could talk privately. In a grim voice he said, "Luke's gone…he has been for a couple of hours from the looks of it and from what Bo said. And the only reason that Bo is still alive is because he's pinned under the weight of the car."
"What are you trying to say, Doc?" Cooter asked in a tightly controlled voice not sure he really wanted to know but needing to hear the answer anyway. .
Doc's eyes clouded with sadness. "Bo will probably die as soon as the car is moved. Right now the weight of the car is keeping the internal bleeding under control but as soon as the weight is moved…there'll be a massive hemorrhage almost immediately." He let his voice trail off as he let his words sink in. The other three men looked at him, stunned and disbelieving. The four men glanced up toward the road as they heard another vehicle pulling up. A old beat up white pickup. Jesse and Daisy had arrived. Doc sighed and turned to walk back up the ridge to break the worst news of all to the two surviving members of the Duke family.
From their vantage point below, the two police officers and Cooter saw Daisy break into sobs and Jesse sinking to his knees in the dirt as Doc broke the news about the boys to them. After several long minutes, the elder Duke shoved himself to his feet. He put an arm around Daisy and the two members of the Duke family followed Doc back down the embankment to the scene of the accident. Enos immediately stepped forward and slipped his arms around Daisy, supporting her and holding her close as she buried her face against his shoulder crying softly. Jesse looked at Cooter and Rosco, his eyes filled with pain and sorrow so deep that it cut through them like a knife.
"I told Jesse he could stay with Bo…." Doc told them "Until the car's moved…."
Cooter nodded, feeling as if his own heart was breaking along with the rest of the Dukes. "I'll get my truck down here." He said, turning and slowly climbing back up the hill. He would have to drive on down the road for five miles and come into the accident scene from the opposite direction on an old dirt road. Climbing beneath the wheel of his tow truck, he hesitated before starting the engine and slammed his fist against the steering wheel to release some of his own anger and grief.
Jesse walked over to where his boys were lying on the ground. He tried to hold back his tears when he saw Luke's still body lying so close to Bo. Bo's eyes were open and he looked at his Uncle, tears streaming down his face, as Jesse knelt down beside his youngest nephew. He noticed that Bo still had a death grip on Luke's hand. "Hey, Sprout…." Jesse said in a choked voice, trying to stay calm for Bo's sake and his own.
"Uncle Jesse…." Bo whimpered "Luke's gone…..Luke's dead….." he began to sob quietly now that his Uncle was there.
"I know, Sprout….I know…." Jesse choked, gently settling down so that he could ease Bo's head into his lap. "Just hang on for me…..a little bit longer till we can get you out of here….." Doc had already told Jesse what would probably happen once the car was moved and the elderly man's heart was breaking but he knew he had to stay strong for his youngest nephew. He could see the pain, the grief and the terror in the young man's eyes.
Luke's spirit still lingering nearby could see it too and he reached out in his mind, sending some of his own strength to Bo. Although nobody had told him, Bo could sense that his own death was close by. The pain was gone, replaced by an eerie sense of calm and resignation. Jesse silently stared into Bo's eyes, trying to comfort him silently as they waited for Cooter to arrive with the tow truck. Daisy remained off to the side, wrapped in Enos arms, too upset to watch her youngest cousin die.
Cooter arrived with the truck and drove around to the backside of the General. Silently, he hooked up the chains and winches to pull the General back upright and off Bo, knowing that as soon as he did, his friend would die. When he was finished, he looked at Rosco for the signal to go ahead. Rosco caught Jesse's eyes and when the old man nodded slightly, Rosco looked in Cooter's direction and did the same thing. Cooter took a deep breath and pushed the button to raise the General. There was a screeching scraping sound as the winches pulled the General forward.
Bo gasped, his eyes widening with terror, as he felt the weight being moved from his lower body. He reached out with his free hand, grabbing hold of Jesse's hand and squeezing tightly. The pain washed over Bo like a tidal wave. He looked into his Uncle's eyes and gasped sharply and then Jesse watched helplessly as the life slowly faded from his youngest eyes. He bent his head, crying softly, as he felt Bo's grip loosen on his hand.
Bo felt his spirit rising from his body and he looked at the scene in front of him, saddened by the grief he saw in his Uncle's crumbled figure. Then he felt the light touch on his shoulder and turned his head to look into Luke's face. "Luke!" he cried out in joy.
"Hey, cuz….."
"You waited for me?" Bo said with a smile, as he threw himself into his older cousin's embrace.
"Of course I did. I couldn't go without you…." Luke told him, giving him aquick reassuring hug. They both looked back at the scene of grief before them, feeling a moment of grief themselves for everything they were leaving behind. But they were still together just like they had always been. Holding each other tightly, they turned and slowly started walking into the light together.