Feelings Of Abandonment  
    In a small farmhouse in Hazzard County Georgia the Duke family was just starting to eat lunch when the phone rang.
     “I’ll get it.” Bo said getting up from the table. He picked up the phone. “Hello.”
A voice came from the other end that Bo had not heard in a long time, a voice that he did not even recognize.
     “Is Bo there?”
     “Speaking.” Bo said, wondering whom it was.
     “Hey Bo, its Kevin Hicks.” Kevin said.
     “Hey Kevin Hicks, it’s been years.” Bo said.
When they heard the name Jesse and Daisy seemed to pale. Luke looked puzzled as to who it was, and why Jesse and Daisy were so upset knowing it was him and Bo didn’t seem upset.
     Kevin had been a friend of Bo’s when Luke left to for the Marines and had gone to war. Kevin’s family moved into Hazzard shortly after Luke had left, and they had moved away again before he returned. Jesse and Daisy never liked Kevin, they thought that he was a real bad influence on Bo, however Bo never listened to them.
     “Well see you this afternoon. Bye now.” Bo said and hung up the phone, then went and sat back down at the table.
     “So Kevin is back in town is he?” Jesse asked, even though he knew the answer already.
     “Yeah.” Bo said and took a bite of food.
     “What about what happened . . .” Jesse started to say but Bo cut him off.
     “That was years ago. Besides that things have changed a lot since then.” Bo said with a touch of agitation in his voice.
     “But . . .” Daisy started to say.
     “But nothing. Look just drop it, would ya, I don’t want to hear about it.” Bo said getting up from the table.
     “Bo, just settle down.” Jesse said firmly.
     “Why should I?” Bo asked. “You are the ones who can’t leave the past alone.”
Jesse went to say something further but before he could Bo stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him. Luke got up from the table and followed Bo outside. Bo had started to get into the General; he was sitting on the door panel, as Luke came outside.
     “Bo just hold on.” Luke said.
Bo stopped and looked across the roof of the General at Luke. “What?” he asked, his voice sounded very agitated
     “What is all this about? Who is Kevin Hicks?” Luke asked.
     “Just a friend.” Bo said. “You don’t know him. You weren’t here.” he added in an almost bitter tone.
     “What happened?” Luke asked.
     “Nothing happened. So just forget about it. I don’t need you on my case to.” Bo said and slid into the General.
     “Bo wait.” Luke said.
Bo ignored Luke and started the engine. Bo sped off away from the farm in a cloud of dusted, leaving Luke standing there with a bewildered expression. Jesse and Daisy came outside and stood behind Luke.
     “What was that all about?” Luke asked, turning to face them.
Jesse looked really upset. “Just a lot of old problems that have been dug up.”
     “Stuff that had been buried.” Daisy said.
     “What happened anyway?” Luke asked.
     “Now ain’t the time to talk about it. Just wait till Bo calms down some, then we’ll discuss it. Let’s just say Kevin is trouble.” Jesse said.
     “Yeah with a capital T.” Daisy added.
Luke still looked confused. He wished that somebody would tell him what was going on. However he decided it was best not to push it any further. Luke said nothing and went back inside the house.
     “Maybe things won’t be as bad this time . . . I mean Luke’s here. I think that was half the problem last time.” Daisy said.
     “Yeah I hope you are right.” Jesse said.
They to went back inside the old farmhouse, without speaking another word.
     Bo stopped at the Boar’s Nest and went inside for a beer. After he had talked to Kevin a lot of old memories had started to surface. Stuff he hadn’t thought about in years and some of it he’d just rather forget about. He sat down at a table in the back corner, and ordered a beer, he sat drinking it and thinking about the past.
     It was a few months after Luke had left to join the Marines and had gone off to war that Kevin had moved to Hazzard with his family. Most people said Kevin was trouble even then. Rumours went all around Hazzard about trouble that Kevin had been in before moving to Hazzard. Kevin joined the football team and him and Bo became friends. Bo was really upset about Luke being gone off to war. Bo was really upset knowing that Luke could get killed over there, and that he may never come back. Bo missed Luke a lot and at times he felt that Luke had abandoned him by leaving. Luke hadn’t been drafted, he joined the Marines. Bo sometimes felt that Luke did that just to get away from that farm. When Luke came back Bo never said anything to him about feeling that way, and eventually he just completely buried it. He never thought about it again, but now he began to dwell on it once more. He started to think about some of the trouble that him and Kevin had gotten into back then, when his thoughts were interrupted by Kevin, Bo hadn’t even heard him approach the table, he had been sitting at the table looking down at his beer.
     “Ain’t you even gonna say hello?” Kevin asked
Bo looked up kind of startled. “Hey Kevin.”
     “Hey.” Kevin said sitting down at the table.
     “Ain’t heard from you in years.” Bo said, “How’ve you been?”
     “I’ve been doin’ just fine.” Kevin said. “And I want you know there ain’t no hard feelings about what happened back then. I know you did what you had to.”
     “Yeah, that.” Bo said his voice soft and barely above a whisper. “So how long are you in Hazzard for?”
     “A few weeks. Just decided to stop in and visit an old friend.” Kevin said.
     It was around 1:00 in the morning, nobody at the Duke farm was sleeping, they were waiting up for Bo to get home. Bo pulled up to the farm, and got out of the General. Daisy glanced out the window when they heard a car engine outside.
     “Well he’s home.” Daisy said.
Bo walked into the house and saw they were all waiting up. “What’cha y’all waiting up for?” Bo asked sarcastically.
     “We need to talk about this.” Jesse said.
     “Well I don’t want to talk about it.” Bo said.
     “Kevin is no good. He is a jerk, and besides that he’s a druggie.” Daisy said.
     “That was then and ‘sides . . .” Bo started to say but Jesse cut him off.
     “And he tried to get you to take drugs.” Jesse said.
Luke sat there looking confused. “What is all this about?”
Bo just glared over at him. “Why don’t you just stay out of this. You don’t know anything about this, you were to busy off playing hero at war. This is none of your concern.” Bo said his voice angry and bitter.
Luke was at a loss for words, he didn’t know what to say, he never knew that Bo felt that way.
     “Bo, that’s enough.” Jesse said. “We’re gonna finish talking about this in the morning.”
     “Fine. But I ain’t sleeping in this house. I’d rather sleep in the barn.” Bo said and stormed out of the house.
Daisy sat on the couch her eyes watering with tears, Jesse just stood there looking very upset, and Luke stood looking confused about what was happening.
     The next morning they sat at the kitchen table and started to talk about the problem.
     “You know he was on drugs, not only that he tried to get you to take LSD.”Jesse said.
     “Yeah but I never took it.” Bo said.
     “Never the less he gave it to you, and you thought about taking it.” Jesse said.
     “So what I thought about it, I didn’t take it. If you hadn’t gone through my stuff you wouldn’t have found it. But not only did you not trust him, you didn’t trust me. You kept treating me like a little child.” Bo said his voice full of anger.
     “Yeah but, Kevin was such a . . . a bad influence on you. I mean you got into a lot of trouble when you were hanging around with him, and not just the kind of trouble you and Luke get into but real trouble.” Daisy said.
Bo ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair, then glared at her. “Why don’t the two of you just drop this. I’m sick and tired of hearing it.”
Bo stood up and went outside, Luke got up and followed him. Bo was already in the General when Luke got out. Luke went over to talk to him.
     “Bo why don’t you just calm down and tell me what’s going on.” Luke said.
     “What do you care? You weren’t here. Nah you had to go play hero. You were not here, you abandoned me.” Bo said then sped off before Luke could respond.
Luke just stood there watching the General disappeared and the dust slowly settle back down to the ground. He felt like someone had just hit him in the stomach. He wondered why Bo had never told him before that he felt he had abandoned him. He was shocked that Bo had ever felt that way, and even more shocked that he still felt that way. Luke went back inside, Jesse and Daisy were still sitting at the table.
     “Would one of you please tell me what is going on here?” Luke asked.
Jesse nodded and took a deep breath. “Kevin moved to Hazzard, when you were gone. He was big trouble. Bo became friends with him and got into lots of trouble. Trouble like vandalism that kinda thing and that’s just stuff they got caught for . . . then there was the other.”
     “What other?” Luke asked.
Jesse’s eyes started to water at the memories of everything that had happened back then, it had been such a hard time for everyone. “It was about a year after Kevin had came . . . I found . . . LSD in Bo’s dresser.”
     “What?” Luke said his voice filled with shock.
     “I found it . . . I asked Bo about and he said he hadn’t taken any, and that someone had given it to him. He said he had thought about taking it but hadn’t. I wasn’t sure at first if I believed him but he insisted he hadn’t. I just . . . knew he wasn’t lying. He didn’t want to tell me who had given it to him, but finally he did. It was . . . Kevin that gave it to him. I called his parents about it, they sent him to some drug rehab place, and then they moved out of town.” Jesse said.
Luke stood looking confused as he listened to everything. “Why didn’t anyone say anything before?” he asked then started to think again of what Bo had just said to him.
     “It just kinda got buried. I think . . . I thought Bo just wanted to forget about it. But I think now that Kevin has come back that it has brought up all these old memories.” Jesse said.
     Bo and Kevin were in a bar over in Capitol City. Bo got up to put a song on the jukebox. While Bo was over by the jukebox, Kevin took out a small bag filled with a white powder and he dumped into Bo’s beer. Bo came back and sat down at the table. A few minutes after Bo finished his beer, he started to rub his eyes.
     “You okay?” Kevin asked.
     “No. Not really. My head is pounding and the lights seem way bright, everything is all blurry like.” Bo said.
     “Here.” Kevin said handing Bo a pair of shades.
Bo put them on. “Thanks.”
     “Does that help?” Kevin asked.
     “Yeah a little.” Bo said.
 They stayed out partying till around 2:00 that morning. As Bo drove back to Hazzard he weaved all across the road, and just missed going into the ditch. He dropped Kevin off at his house that he was renting then sped back towards the farm. He got back to farm and parked the General; he just barley missed hitting Dixie. He stumbled getting out of the General. He stopped for a moment and leaned against the car. His head was throbbing and his stomach felt as though it was on fire. Bo went into the house and into the bedroom. Luke was still awake and turned on the lamp. He noticed that Bo was ghastly pale.
     “Bo are you okay?” Luke asked worriedly.
Bo didn’t respond he just stumbled over to his bed and sat down, trying to block the light from his eyes. “Luke?” Bo said his voice soft and distant sounding.
     “What?” Luke asked concernedly.
     “I don’t feel so good . . . I feel horrible.” Bo said his voice still soft.
Luke had sat up and was sitting on the edge of his bed looking concernedly over at Bo. “You properly just drank to much is all.”
     “No, I only had a couple beers. It feels worse then that . . . I fell like I’m gonna die.” Bo said sitting motionlessly.
     “Don’t talk that way. You just need to get some sleep.” Luke said, there was a hint of worry in his voice.
     “Yeah . . . maybe that’s all.” Bo said then moved to try to take his boots off, but was having trouble getting them off.
Luke got off his bed and helped Bo get his boots off. Bo laid down on his bed, and closed his eyes. Luke took a blanket from the end of Bo’s bed and covered him with it. Luke laid back down in his bed and turned off the light. He laid awake for a few minutes, he silently hoped to himself that Bo would really be all right in the morning.
     The next morning Luke, Daisy and Jesse sat at the kitchen eating breakfast, they decided to just let Bo sleep in. They started to talk about what was going on.
     “I think it’s best if we don’t say anything about it to Bo right now.” Luke said.
     “Maybe. You just don’t know how bad Kevin is. You’ve never met him. You weren’t here.” Daisy said.
Luke flinched; thinking again of what Bo had said the other day.
     “Sorry Luke. I didn’t mean it that way.” Daisy said. She had known Bo felt that Luke had abandoned him by going off to war. She knew that Bo had never told this to Luke after he had came back, and thought that he must have said something about it now.
Luke just shrugged it off, as if it didn’t bother him. “I just think its best to not mention it, and not to try to get him to talk about it.”
     “Do you think so?” Jesse asked.
     “Yeah. I mean when . . . if he wants to talk about it he’ll talk. Till then al we’ll do is make him mad.” Luke said.
Daisy and Jesse nodded in agreement.
     Bo woke up at around noon, and he slowly opened his eyes. His head was still throbbing and his eyes hurt when the light hit them. He slowly sat up, and grabbed the pair of sunglasses off the dresser and slid them on, then walked out to the kitchen. They were just starting to eat lunch.
     “Hey Bo.” Daisy said cheerfully as though things were normal.
     “Hey.” Bo said and sat down at the table.
     “How ya feeling this morning?” Luke asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
     “Better. I just got a headache.” Bo said.
Bo ate a little bit of lunch, but he didn’t feel much like eating with his head throbbing, he ended up mostly pushing the food around on his plate. After lunch Jesse asked the boys to pick up some supplies in town.
      Luke drove, Bo just sat starring out the side window, neither one spoke all the way into town. They were getting supplies at the general store when Kevin walked in and came over.
     “Hey Kevin.” Bo said. “This is my cousin Luke.” Bo said motioning over to where Luke was standing.
     “Oh the Marine.” Kevin said.
     “Ex-Marine.” Luke said.
     “Yeah, whatever.” Kevin said. “Any way Bo do you want to go to the Snake Pit over in Cedar City tonight?”
     “Sure. Why not.” Bo said.
     “The Snake Pit?” Luke said surprised that Bo would actually consider going to a place like that. But lately he’d had a lot of surprises. “That place is a dive. All the bikers hang there.”
     “Yeah, what’s your point?” Kevin asked.
     “My point is that place is always getting busted by the cops.” Luke said.
     “So what Luke. Lighten up man, your such a party pooper.” Bo said.
     “I just don’t think you should go to a place like that.” Luke said.
     “You can’t tell me what to do, and besides I went to that place all the time when you were gone, and it hasn’t changed none since then.” Bo said angrily. Part of him didn’t want to be fighting with Luke, and yet another part of him did. Since Kevin had returned he had been thinking a lot of Luke going off to war, and how at the time he felt that he had abandoned him. He was very flustered right now. He just didn’t feel like he could talk to any of his kin, figuring they would just not understand.
     “There’s a lot of rough people in that place, most of which carry weapons.” Luke said.
     “Yeah so? I can take care of myself.” Bo said then left with Kevin.
 Luke didn’t know what to say to Bo to stop him from going so he stood there quietly as he watched Bo leave. He hated fighting with Bo, he knew that there was something really bothering Bo. He just wished that Bo felt that he could talk to him about whatever it was, instead of lashing out like he was. Luke got the rest of the supplies Jesse asked them to get and went back to farm.
     “Where’s Bo?” Jesse asked.
     “He took off with Kevin. They were going to the Snake Pit.” Luke said.
     “The Snake Pit?” Jesse said quietly.
     “I never thought that Bo would go back to that place.” Daisy said.
     “Well I never thought he would ever would go there in the first place.” Luke said.
Jesse went to feed the animals, Daisy hung a load of laundry on the line to dry, and Luke worked on the General.  As Daisy hung the load of laundry she started to remember back to something that had happened before when Kevin was in town.
     Daisy was starting to cook dinner, Jesse was working out in the field, and Bo was just getting back from a football practice. Bo sat down at the table.
     “When is dinner gonna be ready? I’m taking off early tonight.” Bo said.
     “About 6:00.” Daisy said. “Are you taking off with Kevin again?”
     “Yeah, why?” Bo asked.
     “I don’t like him. He is such a bad influence on you.” Daisy said.
     “I don’t need you telling me who to be friends with.” Bo said angrily.
     “Yeah, but Kevin is a jerk.” Daisy said.
     “I can choose my own friends.” Bo said.
     “I know that. But if Luke was here you wouldn’t be friends with Kevin.” Daisy said.
     “Yeah well he ain’t here, now is he? And I would still be friends with Kevin even if Luke was here.” Bo said.
     “I don’t think so . . . not if Luke were here.” Daisy said.
     “Well he ain’t he’s too busy off playing hero at war.” Bo said.
     “Luke wouldn’t like Kevin at all, you know that.” Daisy said.
     “I don’t care. He’s the one that went off to war and abandoned me.” Bo said angrily.
     “Bo that’s not true.” Daisy said tears starting to fill her eyes.
     “It is so. I don’t care what he would think, and I don’t care what you think.” Bo said.
     “But Bo . . .” Daisy started to say tears starting to streak her cheeks.
But before she could finish Bo left the house, slamming the door behind him. Daisy flinched at the sound.
     Daisy felt a hand on her shoulder, which pulled her out of the old memory. She turned around and saw Luke standing there.
     “Are you okay?” Luke asked concernedly.
     “I’m fine.” Daisy said and gave a fake smile.
 Bo and Kevin were playing a game of pool, in the large, smoke filled room of the Snake Pit. The jukebox sat in the far corner of the room it was playing the song Once Bitten Twice Shy by Great White.
     “I don’t get why you are still living at home. I mean your family totally treats you like a child.” Kevin said.
     “Well I ain’t got nowheres else to go, and don’t have the money to afford a place.” Bo said taking a shot, knocking the eight ball into the side pocket.
     “Forgot how good you are at pool.” Kevin said. “Why don’t you just take off cross country in you car?”
     “Well first cause I’m on probation, and ‘sides my cousin owns half the car.” Bo said.
     “Why don’t you just buy his half out?” Kevin asked.
Bo just shrugged. They went over to the bar to get a beer, then went and sat down at one of the empty tables.
     “Why don’t you buy him out? I mean what’s a solider boy like him need a car like that for?” Kevin asked. “And ‘sides you are the one that’s in to cars and all.”
     “I don’t got the money to buy his half out.” Bo said.
     “So just take the car and give him the money for it when you get it.” Kevin said.
     “Yeah I guess I could do that.” Bo said. He didn’t want to say that he didn’t really want to buy out Luke’s half. They had built the General together from the ground up.
     “And tell ya what. I still am renting that little house out on Pine road; there is a spare room. The place ain’t much but why don’t you come stay with me? Get away from that family of yours. I mean they treat you like a child. You need to get out and be on your own.” Kevin said.
     “Yeah maybe your right. Maybe I do need to get out on my own.” Bo said.
Kevin smiled. “Yeah. Just crash there later tonight, and then tomorrow go get your stuff and your car.”
     “Yeah.” Bo said then drank the end of his beer.
Part of him didn’t want to leave the farm. He couldn’t remember living anywhere else. However right now it sounded like a good idea, part of him wanted to leave the farm. He wanted to get away from his family, cause he felt that Kevin was right, they did treat him like a little kid. He thought maybe just leave for a while to sort everything out and decided what he wanted to do. Kevin got up and went to get refills on the beer, but before he came back with them he slipped some white powder into Bo’s. He got back to the table and set the beers down. A few minutes later the drugs started to take affect on Bo. Bo sat looking down at the end of his beer, swirling it around in the bottom of the mug. The lights seemed to have grew in brightness, and everything appeared to shine. All the sounds grew distant sounding; he couldn’t even make out the song on the jukebox.  Everything sounded like it was miles away.
     “You okay?” Kevin asked.
     “What?” Bo asked looking up, his eyes not really focusing.
     “I said are you okay?” Kevin said.
     “Yeah I’m fine . . . just fine. I think I’m just tired . . . or drunk. Yeah drunk that’s it.” Bo said smiling then laughed.
     “Oh okay.” Kevin said.
     “This place is dead . . . let’s go to another bar . . . this place is too boring.” Bo said and drank the end of his beer.
     “Yeah fine. Let’s try to find a good bar over in Capitol City.” Kevin said.
    They found a small bar just outside of Capitol City. They had another couple beers and played a few games of pinball. They hit on a few girls that were in the bar, all of which turned them down, because they were so drunk and were acting like jerks. Then they sat down and were drinking another beer. Bo’s face went ghostly pale and he started to rub the back of his neck. His head was throbbing and everything was all blurry he couldn’t focus on anything.
     “Are you okay?” Kevin asked.
     “Nah, I think I drank a little too much or something.” Bo said.
     “Yeah well you look horrible.” Kevin said.
     “I feel horrible.” Bo said.
    “Well why don’t we just cut out now, it’s already 2:00 in the morning.” Kevin said.
     “Yeah . . . sounds fine.” Bo said.
     Jesse looked out the window of the front room, then went into the kitchen and got a cup of coffee. He went and sat back down on a chair in the front room. Luke and Daisy were already asleep so he moved quietly around the house. It was 3:00 a.m., and Bo was still not back, he was really starting to worry about him. As he sat sipping at his coffee he began to remember back to something similar that had happened back when Kevin was in town the first time. ****************************      It was around 2:30 a.m. and Bo was still not home. He was out with Kevin. He sat awake worriedly, for Bo to get back home. The phone rang and he grabbed it on the first ring.
     “Hello?” Jesse said.
     “Hello, Are you Mr. Jesse Duke?”
     “Yes.” Jesse said. He grew very worried that something had happened to Bo.
     “This is Officer Jones. I’m with the juvenile division of the Cedar City police department. We have Bo here, he has been arrested.”
     “Why was he arrested?” Jesse asked.
     “For vandalism.” officer Jones said.
     “I’ll be right there.” Jesse said.
He hung up the phone and went to the Cedar City police station. Bo was escorted to the booking room. Jesse signed the papers to get him out, then he and Bo walked out towards the truck.
     “Do you know how much trouble you could’ve got into?” Jesse asked. “Your lucky they didn’t decide to keep you in there.”
Bo shrugged. “Yeah so.” he said nonchalantly.
     “You were suppose to have been home at midnight. Do you know what you put me through?” Jesse asked.
     “Why don’t you stop treating me like a little kid! I can take care of myself!” Bo said his voice filled with anger.
They finally reached the truck, which was on the far side of the parking lot.
     “You ain’t to leave the farm for anything besides school for the next month.” Jesse said starting to grow even angrier with Bo.
     “You can’t tell me what to do.” Bo said.
     “Oh is that a fact.” Jesse said then smack Bo in the jaw.
Bo stood there looking shocked, rubbing his jaw, and then he got into the truck and slammed the door. Jesse wanted to tell him that he was sorry that he had lost his temper and that he didn’t mean to hit him. He got into the truck; Bo was sitting staring out the side window. Jesse couldn’t find the words to tell him that he was sorry. He had no idea what to say to Bo. He drove back to the farm. He stopped the truck and got out and went inside
     “Bo I . . .” Jesse started to say.
Bo didn’t even look over at him he just went to his room slamming the door behind him. **********************************      Jesse thought he heard something outside which pulled him back to the present. He got up and looked out the window, but saw there was nothing out there. He went to the kitchen and set the cup on the table, then turned and went back into the front room, and sat down on the chair. After about ten minutes he fell asleep.
     Bo passed out in a chair at Kevin’s place. Kevin smiled a cold smile seeing that Bo had completely passed out, glad to see that his planning was unfolding just as he had planned. Kevin got out some thick rope and tied Bo to the chair. He stood back and waited for Bo to wake up again, he wanted Bo to be aware of what was happening.
     A while later Bo slowly started wake up, then he noticed in was tied down, he tried to get out of the ropes.
      “What’s going on here?” Bo asked.
     “Just getting a little revenge is all.” Kevin said.
     “What are you talking about?” Bo asked. Then noticed his right sleeve was rolled up, there was an IV by the chair next to him. “What are you going to do?” Bo asked worriedly.
     “Like I said its revenge. Because of you I spent the past years in a drug rehab place. You turned me in.” Kevin said, and hung a bag of clear liquid on the IV hook.
     “What was I suppose to do? You needed help.” Bo said.
     “Help that’s a laugh. My parents locked me away. They turned their backs on me. That place didn’t help. They did drug testing on the people in there.” Kevin said then injected a needle into Bo’s arm. Bo flinched, and Kevin smiled. “This here’s one of the drugs they used. It causes mood altering, can cause hallucinations, and a few other things . . . it’s real nasty.” He said then started the IV to drip.
     “No . . . don’t.” Bo said, his voice trembled slightly with fear
     “Oh I ain’t gonna kill you. I’m gonna give you just enough to make you addicted to it, along with a few other drugs, I got here. Then you’ll know what it feels like to be high. Then have your family turn their backs on you, I’m sure they’ll lock you away somewhere.” Kevin said.
Bo filled with worry as he sat and watching the IV drip. He could feel the drugs slowly starting to invade his mind. He tried to fight it off but soon his efforts became futile. The light seemed to intensify, the shadows on the walls began to move and started to danced, some taking forms off hideous looking creatures. He started to feel lightheaded, then he felt as though he could fly. Kevin untied Bo, except for his right arm. He handed Bo ten different pills, the ranged in colours from blue, white, red, purple, and green.
     “Here take these.” Kevin said.
     “Yeah okay.” Bo said smiling he took the pills and swallowed them. Moments later Bo started to feel even more light headed the sound of the crickets chirping grew louder and louder till it was nothing more then a buzz. About twelve minutes later Bo passed out. Kevin unhooked the IV from Bo’s arm and hid it in the closet. He then untied Bo’s right arm.
     The dawn’s early light shone through the front room window waking Jesse. Moments later Luke and Daisy got up; they saw Jesse sitting in the chair.
     “Didn’t Bo come home last night?” Daisy asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
Jesse shook his head. “No and ain’t like him, not to have at least called.” he said worriedly.
     Jesse went to his room he sat looking at some old papers. The only other person that had seen the papers ever was Bo, he didn’t know if Bo had ever said anything to anyone about them. He knew that when Luke left for the Marines, that Bo felt he abandoned him. Jesse thought that those feelings had to do with what was on the papers. Bo had come to stay at the Duke farm when he was only three months old, and it wasn’t because his parents died as most people thought. His parents hadn’t died till he was eleven, which was when he told Bo the truth; he felt Bo was old enough to handle it. Bo’s parents had decided that they didn’t want a child that having one interfered with their lives. They were going to place him in an orphanage, but Jesse had found out, and said that he would take Bo in. His parents signed paper giving Jesse full custodial rights and then they had left to live in Mexico and years later where killed in an explosion.
     It was about 11:00 that morning and Bo just started to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and the light burned his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck; his head was duly throbbing.
    “Well your finally awake.” Kevin said.
Bo had no recollection of what had happened the night before, he didn’t remember that Kevin had drugged him. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” Bo said.
Kevin handed Bo a pair of sunglasses. Bo put them on; he stood up and looked over at the clock.
It was already 11:13.
      “Well I think I’m gonna go to the farm, get my stuff and car.” Bo said.
     “Yeah well I gotta go to Cedar City.” Kevin said.
     “And that’s the other way. So I’ll just hitch a ride or something, and then meet ya back here.” Bo said.
Kevin took off in his car, and Bo began to walk back to the Duke farm.
     The Dukes were just sitting down to eat lunch when Bo got home. He came in slamming the door behind him.
     “Bo your home.” Jesse said with a hint of relief in his voice.
     “Yeah not for long.” Bo said walking past them and to the bedroom.
He started to toss his clothes into a bag, which sat on the bed. Everyone got up and followed him.
     “What’s that suppose to mean?” Jesse asked.
     “It means I’m leaving this dump for good.” Bo said.
     “You can’t mean that.” Daisy said.
     “Oh I mean it. I should’ve left a long time ago.” Bo said.
     “And where are you gonna stay?” Jesse asked, there was sadness in his voice.
     “I’m staying with Kevin. Not that it’s any of your concern.” Bo said, then pushed past.
They all went out into the kitchen.
     “I’m taking the General.” Bo said.
     “Are you forgetting half that car belongs to me?” Luke asked.
     “Yeah well soon as I get the money I’m buying out your half.” Bo said.
     “Bo you can’t do this.” Daisy said standing in front of the door.
     “The heck I can’t. Now get out of my way.” Bo said anger growing in his voice.
     “No. I ain’t gonna let you out this door.” Daisy said.
     “I said get out of my way.” Bo said angrily. Then he slapped Daisy across the face and pushed her to the ground away from the door, and left the house.
Daisy sat stunned on the floor, her eyes filled with tears. Jesse knelt down by her to see if she was okay. Luke went out after Bo. Bo tossed his bag into the General and was just moving to get in to the car.
     “Bo hold it right there.” Luke said. “What the heck is your problem?”
     “Y’all are my problem.” Bo said
Luke grabbed Bo by the shoulders and pinned him against the car. Bo’s sunglasses fell to the ground. Luke noticed that Bo’s eyes were glassy and the pupils were enlarged, he realized that Bo was strung out.
     “Bo, What did you take?” Luke asked.
     “Nothing. Now leave me alone.” Bo said then broke out of Luke’s hold.
     “Bo . . .” Luke started say his voice fraught with worry.
Bo jumped on to the door panel of the General and slid into the car and started the engine. “I said leave me alone.” Bo said harshly.
Luke went to tell Bo to turn off the car, but before he could Bo sped off away from the farm. He stood watching as the General sped off out of sight, he bent down and picked up the sunglasses, then turned and went into the house. Daisy was sitting at the table crying and Jesse had his arm around her shoulders. Luke laid the sunglasses on the table and then sat down on the other side of the table.
     “Are you okay?” Luke asked.
Daisy looked up, tears streaked her cheeks, and she nodded.
Luke sat fiddling with the sunglasses looking down at them. “We’ve got another problem.”
     “What’s that?” Jesse asked his voice filled with worry.
Luke took a deep breath and looked up. “Bo’s . . . strung out. I don’t know on what though. He said he hadn’t taken anything but . . . his eyes are all glassy . . . I’ve seen this kind thing before back in the Marines . . . I could tell he’s . . . strung out.”
     “Are you sure?” Jesse asked disbelief filled his voice.
     “Yeah, I’m sure.” Luke said.
     “Well maybe you should go after him.” Jesse said.
     “I don’t think that would help much right now, at least until Bo . . .” Luke said his voice trailing off he just couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
     “Yeah maybe you are right.” Jesse said.
Daisy sat looking at the sunglasses fresh tears filled her eyes; she didn’t want to accept what she was hearing to be the truth.
     Bo pulled up in front of Kevin’s minutes later. Kevin was already back. Bo walked inside and slammed the door.
     “Have any problems?” Kevin asked.
     “No, it’s just . . .” Bo started to say then stopped. He was having second thought about leaving home. His thoughts seemed fuzzy and he could not really remember what all happened.
     “Just what?” Kevin asked.
     “Nothing. I’m starting to get a real bad headache is all.” Bo said.
     “Well here these will help make you feel better.” Kevin said handing Bo two pills a purple and a blue one.
     “What are they?” Bo asked.
     “Never mind that. Just take them, they’ll make you feel a lot better.” Kevin said.
     “Okay.” Bo said and took the pills.
A few minutes later Bo did start to feel a lot better, he felt he could take the world on and win. Kevin took out a needle from a drawer and walked over to Bo.
     “Give me your arm.” Kevin said his voice slightly demanding.
     “What for?” Bo asked.
     “Just gonna give ya something.” Kevin said.
     “What?” Bo asked.
     “Something that will make you feel even better.” Kevin said.
     “Oh okay.” Bo said and extended his right arm.
Kevin smiled and then injected the needle into Bo’s arm. Moments later Bo stood starring out the window. His thoughts were all running incoherently together. Everything was shimmering in the bright afternoon sun; the shadows cast by the big oak tree seemed to come live. Bo could hear voices in his head but they seemed to be talking in a foreign tongue, and he couldn’t understand what they were saying. Hours passed and the sun was beginning to set, although to Bo it felt as though only minutes had passed. The drugs were slowly starting to wear off his system. Bo felt like he was in a daze and was feeling low.
     “There’s a big race tomorrow. You should enter, you could win enough to buy your cousin’s half of that car.” Kevin said.
     “Yeah, I guess.” Bo said glancing over at Kevin who was standing a few feet away then turned and looked back out the window. “Want to paint the car first though. I don’t want to drive that eye sore.”
Kevin smiled. “The race ain’t ‘til the afternoon, we can get it painted in the morning.”
     “I’m really tired. I’m going to bed now.” Bo said.
Bo and Kevin got up early the next morning and went to get the General painted. They had it painted a dark forest green. Bo drove back to Hazzard. Kevin had given Bo more drugs that morning and Bo was swerving all across the road he almost ran another car into the ditch.
     The next morning the Dukes went out looking for Bo. They thought maybe he would go to the race since he needed money to buy out Luke’s half of the General. They were looking around there when Daisy spotted him.
     “There he is.” Daisy said there was relief in her voice.
Luke noticed the General had been painted. “He painted the General.”  He said there was a touch of shock in his voice.
They started to walk towards Bo they were just a few yards away.
     “Hey Bo!” Luke called out.
Bo didn’t even turn to face their directions; he ignored them, as though he never heard them. The race was about to start. Bo got into the car and went to the starting line. The race started, Bo reached the first curve when the car hit the side of the road, and flipped and rolled down the embankment, landing up right. The Dukes filled with worry and went to rush to check on Bo. Bo climbed out the window and stood next the car, looking bewildered.
     “Bo are you okay?” Jesse asked concernedly.
     “I’m fine.” Bo said not looking over at them.
     “Are you sure?” Luke asked.
     “I said I’m fine.” Bo said turning around. “Now why don’t y’all just leave me alone.”
None of them had any idea what to say. Bo pushed past them and walked back to where Kevin was. Bo had the car towed out back on to the road. The engine started up fine, there appeared to be only damage done to the car’s body. The Dukes went to try to talk to Bo again but before they could he took off.
Daisy leaned against Jesse. “What are we gonna do?” she asked her voice full of sadness.
     “Don’t worry. We’ll think of something. Everything is going to be okay. We’ll get through this.” Jesse said trying to hide the worry in his, but Daisy and Luke could still hear it.
     “But what if we never get Bo back?” Daisy asked tears starting to come to her eyes.
     “Don’t worry we will get him back. We are going to get through this.” Jesse said.
     “I hope so.” Daisy said softly trying to hold back the tears.
     “We will.” Jesse said.
     “Yeah Daisy don’t worry we will get Bo back. Everything will be fine.” Luke said.
They got into the pick-up truck and headed back to the farm to try to figure out what to do next.
Luke walked to Sunset Pond, to fish; it always helped him to think.
     Bo dropped Kevin off at their place, then went out driving in the car. He thought the engine seemed to be running funny and just wanted to test it. Bo was starting to feel really low again. He was out by Sunset Pond when the radiator blew. He stopped and pulled over and opened the hood. He went and got a jug out the trunk and went to get water to fill the radiator.
Luke had heard someone on approaching the pond, when he saw Bo he stood up. Bo said nothing and filled the jug, then turned and started to walk back to the car.
     “Bo, wait we’ve gotta talk.” Luke said.
     “Well I don’t want to talk to you.” Bo said.
They reached the car Bo filled the radiator then slammed the hood shut.
     “Bo just wait we really do need to talk about what is going on.” Luke said.
     “Like I said I don’t want to talk you. So get lost.” Bo said angrily.
Luke waked over by Bo. “Why don’t you want to talk?”
     “Why should I? You abandoned me and I hate you for that.” Bo said.
Luke stood shocked for a moment he couldn’t think of what to say. “I never did . . . it was . . .” he started to say.
     “I don’t care what you have to say. I hate you.” Bo said.
     “Bo . . .” Luke said placing a hand on Bo shoulder.
Bo pulled away from Luke, and took a couple steps away from him. “Get away from me. I hate you. I want you to just leave me alone. Stay away from me.” Bo said his voice filled with agitation.
Luke had no idea of what to say to Bo. He wanted to say something that would make everything better, but he didn’t know what that was, so he just stood there.
     “Just get lost. Stay out of my life, I want nothing to do with you. I hate you.” Bo said.
Luke started to wonder if perhaps Bo really did mean what he said. “Fine okay. But I’m taking the General, since you haven’t bought my half yet, half the car still belongs to me.”
     “I don’t care. Just leave me alone. Stay out of my life. You abandoned me and I hate you more than anything for doing that.” Bo said.
Luke thought Bo might just be saying this because of the drugs, but wasn’t sure. Bo was saying the words with such convection that he thought that maybe Bo truly felt that way. He didn’t know what to say or do to make things better. Part of his mind told him not leave Bo alone, but he got into the car any way and drove off. Bo stood watching as Luke left. Part of his mind was telling him to stop Luke and that he didn’t want Luke to leave him alone there, he didn’t want to be left alone. He stood watching as the car disappeared around the bend and the cloud of dust slowly settle back down.
     Luke got back to the farm and only Daisy was there, Jesse had went out to look for Bo. Luke told her what had happened out by the pond. She didn’t know what to say about. She could tell Luke was really upset, but had no idea what to say to make him feel any better. She just prayed that everything would be fine and that they would get Bo back.
     Kevin had left the house and saw Bo walking along the road he stopped and picked him up. Kevin was strung out, and he sped down the road. They were out on highway sixteen, when Kevin lost control of the car, it hit the side of the road and flipped over then rolled in front of on oncoming semi truck, which had no time to stop it smashed into the front end of the car. The car spun the truck pushed the car several feet before it could come to a stop. The car’s back end went over the embankment and slid down into the ditch. Enos was on duty and saw the whole accident; he stopped and called for an ambulance then went to check on the people in the car. Kevin was unconscious and Bo was barely conscious, his eyes were closed. The car was all crumbled in around them. Enos tried to open the passenger side door but couldn’t.
     “Bo, are you okay?” Enos asked concernedly.
Bo didn’t respond, he didn’t even move.
     “Bo . . .” Enos said worriedly.
Bo opened his eyes; they were filled with pain. “No, I am not okay. It hurts . . . I just want to go home . . . ” Bo said his voice starting to trail off, his eyes watered with tears, but he held them back.
Jesse was coming down the road and saw there had been an accident. He didn’t know that Bo was involved, he stopped to see if he could help.
     “What happened? Can I . . .” Jesse started to say then his voice trailed off when he saw Bo.
He rushed over by the car. “Bo are you okay?” he asked his voice filled with worry.
Bo tried moved to look at Jesse, he couldn’t move, pain shot through his body when he tried. He could barely keep his eyes open the kept flickering shut. “Uncle Jesse . . . I want to go home . . . it hurts . . . I just want to go home . . . please.”
Tears streaked Jesse’s cheeks. “Oh Bo” he said quietly. “It’ll be okay don’t worry.”
     “I want to go home.” Bo said his eyes closed, he no longer tried opening them, or hold back the tears. A single tear rolled down his right cheek.
     “Okay Bo. Just try to stay awake.” Jesse said.
Bo didn’t responded he could feel darkness starting to creep into his mind, he was filled with so much pain.
     “Bo stay awake. You hear me stay awake. Don’t you leave me.” Jesse said.
     “Yes sir.” Bo said his voice was soft and trembling. He could feel darkness closing in on his mind; he tried to fight it off but found it harder and harder to do so.
The ambulances arrived. They got the doors off the car. One ambulance took Kevin and left. The started to load Bo into the other ambulance.
     “I’m going along.” Jesse said, never leaving Bo’s side.
The ambulance attendant nodded.
     “Enos could you please go tell Luke and Daisy what happened?” Jesse asked.
Enos nodded. The ambulance speed off towards the hospital. Enos went to the Duke farm.
     Luke looked out the window when he heard a car arrive. “It’s Enos.”
Enos came into the house. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for y’all.” Enos said he could feel tears in his eyes but held them back.
     “What is it Enos?” Luke asked
     “There was an accident on highway sixteen . . .Bo was involved. Jesse went with the ambulance to the hospital.” Enos said.
     “Is he . . .” Daisy started to say, but just couldn’t say it.
     “No. But he was hurt real bad.” Enos said.
Daisy started to cry. Luke bit back his own tears.
     “Thanks for coming to tell us.” Luke said.
Luke drove the car to the hospital. He was filled with worry about Bo, and just prayed that Bo wasn’t really hurt to badly.
     Jesse was sitting in the waiting room when Luke and Daisy arrived; he stood up as they approached.  Daisy rushed over and hugged Jesse then stepped back.
     “How is Bo?” Luke asked, his voice filled with concern.
     “Don’t know yet the doctor hasn’t came out of ER yet.” Jesse said glancing over at the doors, hoping the doctor would soon come out.
     “What happened anyway?” Luke asked.
     “Don’t really know. I got there after the accident. The car was...quite smashed up. Bo was...he was...hurt quite badly.” Jesse said.
They sat down to wait for news on how Bo was. Luke felt bad and was starting to blame himself. He figured that if he had not left Bo earlier that he wouldn’t have been in the accident. About an hour later the doctor came out, they got up and went over to him.
     “How is Bo doing?” Jesse asked concededly.
     “Well he is still in quite critical condition, and is still unconscious. He is lucky to still be alive. It is hard to say at this point how he’ll do.” the doctor said.
     “Can we go see him?” Jesse asked.
The doctor nodded then showed them to Bo’s room. Bo lay on the bed unconscious; he was hocked up to oxygen and to a heart monitor. Daisy started to cry and buried her face against Jesse.
Luke went and sat down by Bo’s side. He placed his hand over Bo. “Come on cousin, wake up. You can’t leave us. Please wake up.” Luke’s eyes watered with tears that he held back.
Jesse and Daisy came and sat down beside Luke. The doctor came in and asked to speak to Jesse privately so Jesse left the room.
 The doctor told him the extent of Bo’s injures, and that he would have a better chance of pulling through it if he woke up soon.
     “And the other person, Kevin Hicks, who was brought in from that accident told us something else.” the doctor said.
     “What did he tell you?” Jesse asked. To he thought it was unfair that he had not been hurt anywhere near as bad as Bo had.
     “He told us that he had drugged your nephew, against his will. I’ve heard of the drugs, I know they are quite bad. They might be causing Bo’s comatose state, and may have done a lot of damage already, and cause the trauma from the accident to worsen. It is really hard to say at this point. ” The doctor said.
     “Have you notified the police?” Jesse asked.
     “Yes they will be transporting him to the jail as soon as his injures heal.” the doctor said.
     Jesse went back to Bo’s room he told them what he had found out. A few days later Kevin was sent to a state prison for twenty years no parole. It was a week later and Bo was still in a comatose state. Jesse and Daisy had gone to get coffee.
Luke sat by Bo’s side; he had his hand over Bo’s. “Bo please wake, you have to be okay. You can’t leave us do you hear me you can’t leave us.” he said quietly his barely whisper.
 Bo started to wake up. Bo slowly opened his eyes; his whole body was throbbing.
     “Bo you’re wake.” Luke said cheerfully.
Jesse and Daisy were just coming back into the room. They were both happy to see Bo awake.
     “How are feeling?” Jesse asked.
     “I feel like I’ve been hit by truck.” Bo said.
Bo couldn’t remember anything about the accident or much of anything that had happened over the past couple days. Jesse told Bo that Kevin had been sent to jail, from what Bo could remember of what happened he was glad to hear that.
     Bo was released for the hospital three days later, his left leg was broken, and he needed crutches. He also had four broken ribs, and his right wrist had a hairline fracture. There had been no severe internal damage done, there was bruising on his one kidney but the doctor said that would heal good as new in a few months. The drugs were completely out of system, and fortunately they did no really damage. The only thing was Bo could barley remember what had happened during that time. The rest of the Dukes thought that was for the best anyway, and thought it best not to try to force him to remember everything that had happened. They were sitting in the front room, Bo and Luke sat on the couch. Luke asked Bo why he felt that he had abandoned him and why he never said anything sooner.
Bo shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I never said nothing cause I thought you’d leave again.”
     “I’d never do that.” Luke said.
     “Yeah but I thought that because . . . my parents did.” Bo said.
     “Your parents died when you were just a baby though.” Luke said.
Bo shook his head. “No I was eleven before they died. I don’t know I guess I just thought . . .I was afraid that you’d leave me to.”
     “I would never leave you. I had no idea about your parents.” Luke said.
Daisy had been sitting there to and was shocked to hear that she’d never known that either, she went over and sat on Bo’s other side and gave him a hug. Bo told them what Jesse had told him about his parents.
     “Well don’t worry I’d never do that. I would never leave you like that.” Luke said.
Bo smiled. “Yeah. I guess I’ve always kinda knew that. Look I’m sorry about what all I happened . . .I didn’t mean any of it.”
     “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Luke said.
Jesse had made lunch and then Luke helped Bo with his crutches out to the kitchen table. They repainted the General back to his proper colours.