General Lee's Revenge

Chapter Eight: How to Break a Promise

It had to have been a hundred degrees outside that day, at least. Popsicles melted the moment you took them out of the freezer. Cold root beer boiled the second you took it out of the fridge. You'd ask somebody how hot it was and they'd say either they can't count that high or thermometers don't go that high. Welcome to Georgia, ladies and gentlemen.

On this very hot Georgia day, a mutilated heap of orange sat in Cooter's Garage. Cooter Davenport, the trusty auto mechanic of Hazzard County, crossed his fingers. He'd been repairing the General Lee's engine day in and day out and today was going to be his first dry run.

He cautiously turned the key, keeping his fingers crossed. The engine fired and roared to life. Cooter jumped in the air and let out a loud whoop. He threw his hat towards the ceiling.

Suddenly, there was a small pop inside the engine. Then another, louder this time. Then a third, POP! There was a deafening boom and the engine exploded into flames. Cooter staggered towards a fire extinguisher and used it on the engine.

Once the fire was out and the engine had become dead once again, he flopped down next to the General's front left tire. He leaned back, resting his head on the fender.

"I dunno what to do with you, General. You gotta work with me here, please. I... I know it hurts, but you gotta understand, Bo and Luke need you now more than ever," he pleaded.

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"How hot do you think it is, Luke?" Bo asked from his place on the roof of the small house.

Luke looked at the thermometer nailed to the side of the building. "Either this thing ain't workin' or it don't go that high."

Bo sat up on his knees and looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in sight. He looked down as his vision started to blur.

"Get me some more nails, would you Luke?" Bo asked.

Luke handed him a full bucket of nails and took the empty one from the roof.

Bo turned back to what he was doing as his vision blurred again. This time, dark spots started to fill his eyesight. He started feeling lightheaded and it was becoming difficult to breathe. He reached out to steady himself and caught the nail bucket with his hand. He felt his body go numb and the bucket began to tip. The bucket gave and fell off the edge of the roof, taking Bo with it. He hit the ground hard but even that didn't wake him up.

Luke rushed over and tried to shake him awake. Nothing, Bo was out cold. He ran to the barn, hoping that Clayton could help him.

Clayton and Russell were sitting at the table. Clayton was sitting very, very still. He had his head in his hands and was barely breathing. He was doing his famous impression of a statue again.

"What d'you want?" Russell asked.

He was sitting across from Clayton, a bottle of booze clenched in his right hand.

"I... ah, Bo fainted, I think, and I dunno what to do," Luke explained.

"Hm, sounds like a 'you' problem to me," Russell replied.

Luke could tell by the sound of his voice that the man was very drunk. It seemed as though Luke was on his own this time.

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Daisy drove through town in her Jeep. There weren't that many people on the streets seeing as how hot it was, it was probably better to stay inside with air-conditioning and fans blowing on you. She drove past Cooter's Garage and saw that one of the doors was slightly opened. She slowed down so she could take a peek inside. There it was, the General Lee in all his glory. As she passed by, she could see his mangled body through the open door. It brought back some thoughts that she'd pushed to the back of her mind, thoughts about Bo and Luke. I have to go see them, she thought. She put the car into a higher gear and drove off towards Hollow Hill.

She reached the woods and followed the chain-link fence to the back of the property.

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Luke moved Bo into the shade behind the barn. It was then he realized how badly sunburned both of them were. He heard the fence rattle and whirled around to see Daisy standing at the fence. She had her face pressed up against the metal and her fingers laced around the links. Luke ran over to her.

"Daisy? What're you doin' here? I thought I told you not to do anythin' stupid," Luke hissed.

"Clayton and Russell don't even know I'm here, nobody does for that matter," she argued.

Luke sighed. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too. You look like you got some sun today."

"Bo and I've been outside all day. He was on the roof of the house and fainted." Luke tried to keep himself together. He took a deep breath and found there was no use holding back. "That Russell fella's a flyin' lunatic. I bet he can't even remember the last time he was sober! And Clayton, I ain't ever seen a man who's got more dead inside than a graveyard!"

Daisy cringed. "What kinda an effect is all this havin' on Bo?"

Luke explained everything from the first night they were there, to when Bo'd fallen off the roof just now, conveniently leaving out the part about Bo's injuries. 

Daisy grew quiet. "I gotta get you two outta here."

"Daisy, don't worry about us, you just make sure Uncle Jesse's safe and that you're safe," Luke argued.

"No! You gotta realize that you and Bo mean the world to Uncle Jesse and I'm gonna get you two outta here, no matter the cost!" she began to climb the fence.

Suddenly, there was a maniacal laugh behind Luke. He turned around to see Russell standing behind him, gun pointed at Daisy.

"No!" Luke yelled.

He grabbed the man's arm and tried to wrestle the gun loose from his hand. The gun went off and the bullet ricocheted off the fence. There was a rustle in the underbrush, indicating that Daisy had escaped. Luke let out a sigh of relief.

Russell spun his gun around and hit Luke in the forehead with the handle. The impact knocked him to the ground. He sat up and brought a hand to his head, his fingers came back bloody. Russell grabbed him by the throat and pulled him to his feet. Luke drove his fist into the man's stomach twice but the blows didn't seem to affect him at all. Still holding him by the throat, Russell drug Luke to the barn.

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Bo woke up by late afternoon. His whole body hurt and he felt terribly dehydrated. He stood up, using the side of the barn to steady himself. The property was deathly silent. He tried to call Luke's name but no sound came out of his mouth. It felt as though the insides of his throat were caked in dust. He stumbled out front.

The car was gone and so were Clayton and Russell. Bo staggered inside. He saw a black whip hanging on a hook on one of the pillars. It was caked in red and dripping blood onto the ground. Bo reached behind him to feel the lashes on his back. He drew in a shaky breath.

The ground around him was a bloody mess. There was blood leading to the stairs. Bo felt like he was going to be sick. He did not want to go up there. He saw a bloody handprint on one of the steps. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, gathered his wits, and climbed the stairs.

In the southwestern corner of the hayloft, all of the straw there had been stained dark red. Bo approached cautiously. Luke was lying in the straw, unconscious. Knowing he could die from blood loss or infection, Bo grabbed the water bucket and rag and began to tend to Luke's injuries.