That next day, Luke was awake. It was fairly early in the morning, no one was up yet. He instantly became worried, waking up in an unfamiliar place. He wondered if he had made a mistake trusting that man. What if that'd been Red? Or Texas, or Benjamin? Oh God, he thought, I've made a terrible mistake.
Just then, the room light came on and he found a girl standing in the corner. She looked to be about his age, had dark hair, and a serious expression.
"Oh, you're awake," she said.
"Uh, yeah, seems that way. God, what time is it?" Luke asked.
"Four-thirty."
"Oh."
"In the morning."
"Oof. How long have I been out?"
"Since, I don't know, yesterday, at noon."
"Given that, approximately fourteen and a half hours."
"Um, yeah. That was... fast."
"Eh, always been the smart one in the family."
"Ha! Me too! Mary calls me 'The Female Einstein'. Sorry to say, though, that was my trap you stepped in."
"Don't be sorry, that trap was genius. I didn't even know what was happenin' until it was too late. I think it's great for catchin' any uninvited guests."
The girl blushed. Luke got up and walked towards her. He held out his hand.
"I'm Luke," he said.
"Melanie," the girl replied.
--------------------
They spent a few days there. Bo and Mary got to know each other pretty well, the same went for Luke and Melanie. It was on the fourth day that things got rough.
Bo and Luke were sitting at the kitchen table across from William. He held the latest newspaper in his hand. He wasn't quite angry, but they could tell he was upset about something. He threw the paper down in front of them.
"You two made it to the newspaper, looks like your family's awful worried about you," William said.
On the front page of the paper were two pictures of missing persons fliers. They were of Bo and Luke. Below, there was an entire article about Hollow Hill, Clayton and Russell, and PTSD.
Luke tossed the paper back on the table in disgust. "Those reporters ever sleep?"
"Obviously not," Bo replied.
"And obviously there wasn't any point in withholdin' any of this information firsthand."
"You think? This ain't somethin' I wanna find out via newspaper. Why didn't you tell me when I asked?" William asked.
"It ain't exactly how we like to introduce ourselves, it makes people see us a certain way."
"Gettin' kicked around and bein' tortured are two very different things, I'll have you know. PTSD, that's serious, in case you ain't figured it out yet."
"Yeah, we know, what's your point?"
"My point is, I'm contactin' Sheriff Coltrane in Hazzard County so y'all can go home and hopefully get the help you need."
"We don't need any help, and if you're sayin' what I think you're sayin' we wasn't lyin' to you about Russell. He's real, he's dangerous, and chances are he's in Hazzard. Right. Now."
"If he is, the law will take care of it. Speakin' of which, I better get the sheriff on the phone."
Bo picked up the newspaper, curious as to what lies the press had put in there about him and Luke.
Two young men by the name of Bo and Luke Duke were currently reported missing. Known by most people in Hazzard, this isn't the first time tragedy has struck the Duke family. Back in April, the missing persons previously mentioned disappeared for a two week period. Though despite many rumors as to what happened, investigators are now setting the story straight. "This all started because of two men by the name of Russell Williams and Clayton Jennings. They came crawling into Hazzard after the reward money for the sheriff and commissioner's capture. They were seen multiple times around Hazzard in a black, 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am before they decided to make their move. They used their car to ram the Dukes into a ravine. It was then that they captured them and held them prisoner for two weeks. The Dukes were held at a place in the southern part of Hazzard known as Hollow Hill. It was there that they were starved and tortured," says Investigator Scott Patten.
If you have any information about the Dukes' location, contact the Hazzard Sheriff's Department immediately.
Bo came to the realization that there wasn't anything untruthful in the article. He wondered if William had been right. Maybe they weren't taking the PTSD as seriously as they should be. But this now meant that William thought they'd run away because of hallucinations, or whatever else symptoms there were.
William got off the phone. "Sheriff Coltrane will be here soon."
"You better hope you ain't makin' a mistake," Luke said.
"And why is that?"
"'Cause we're afraid of Russell. 'Cause he's dangerous," Bo replied.
"Like I said before, if he's in Hazzard, the sheriff will take care of him."
"What if it was Mary and Melanie?" Luke asked.
William grew quiet. "That's... different. Listen, I don't wanna talk about it anymore. The sheriff will be here any minute now. Mary and Melanie will walk you to the highway, you'll meet him there."
-------------------
Rosco stood on the side of the road, watching as Bo and Luke walked up. The two of them couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. He had an unknown expression on his face.
He wasn't disappointed, yet he was. He wasn't angry, yet he was. He wasn't concerned, yet he was. He wasn't relieved, yet... he was.
Bo and Luke didn't have anything to say to the sheriff. They just got into the General Lee and drove out of the field onto the road. The great stock car followed the police cruiser all the way back to Hazzard.
Back in Hazzard, Jesse talked to Bo and Luke about maybe getting some guidance on PTSD. They refused of course. Jesse wasn't too surprised but thought they would've complied since they'd be safe from Russell elsewhere. They refused nevertheless.
YOU ARE READING
General Lee's Revenge
Fanfiction"Outta the car." He ordered. They got out quickly, and stood behind the car, trying to protect themselves from Clayton. "I'm giving you a choice here Jefferson. You can save yourself and these boys a lot of pain if you turn yourself in, along with...
