Work Text:
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money
just cheap thrills.
Please review and tell me what you think
A response to the Hitch challenge
Warnings: Contains some disturbing content relating to sexual abuse,
but nothing graphic.
Highway to Hell
Fifteen year old Bo Duke trudged along the highway, somewhere between
Capitol City and home. He couldn't believe they had done this to him,
he had thought they were his friends, guess he knew better now. All he
wanted now was to get home, even if it did mean he'd have to listen to a
lecture from his Uncle Jesse about hitchhiking, and have to hear Luke say
I told you so. Luke had been trying to tell him for weeks now that the
Jensen boys were not his friends, he said the only reason they wanted to
hang out with him was cause of Uncle Jesse's shine. They were hoping
that by hanging out with Bo he'd be able to get them some of Jesse's
shine. Bo had denied it, told Luke he was just jealous cause Bo wasn't
hanging around him as much anymore, jealous that Bo wasn't looking at him
like he was some kind of hero. He knew now that Luke was right, when
he had told them no about stealing some of his uncle's shine for them,
they had told him okay and he had thought, see Luke you were wrong. But
it was a trick, a ploy to get him away from the farm, they drove around
for a while, until a few hours after dark, and then they dumped him out
on the highway to find his own way home. So here he was nine o'clock at
night and trying to hitch a ride home, he hadn't had any luck so far there
had been several cars pass him but none had stopped, though a couple did
honk at him.
"You need a ride son?" asked the middle-aged man, driving a grey
sedan.
"Yeah thanks mister."
"So where you headed to?" the man asked, giving Bo a strange look.
Shaking off the uneasiness he was feeling Bo told him he was headed
to Hazzard. When the man said he could give him a ride all the way, Bo
climbed in and they drove on towards Hazzard.
"Luke you got any idea where Bo went?" Jesse Duke asked his oldest
nephew, as he came in from evening chores.
"No Uncle Jesse, I think he went somewhere with the Jensen boys but
I don't know where they were going." seventeen year old Luke Duke answered.
"You want me to go look for him?"
"No we'll give him another hour, but if that boy knows what's good
for him he'll be in this house by ten-thirty."
Luke nodded to his uncle, he sure hoped Bo got home on time. Jesse
was already mad cause he hadn't said anything about where he was going, i
if he came home too late Jesse'd tan his hide for sure. Sighing he
turned back to the magazine he had been reading when Uncle Jesse came
into the living room.
"Uh, mister this ain't the way to Hazzard ya need..." Bo trailed off
as he turned in the seat and found a gun pointed in his direction.
Pulling over to the side of the road the stranger forced Bo from
the car. "Now you just be a good boy and do what you're told, you'll
live to see your next birthday." Leading Bo to the back of the car he
opened the trunk and motioned for Bo to climb in, slamming the trunk
shut he went back to the front of the car. Climbing back behind the
wheel he was soon continuing on his way.
Riding in the trunk Bo was trying his best not to cry as he was tossed
around the inside of the trunk. He could feel every bump the man hit,
"ow" he couldn't help crying out as his head once again hit the inside
of the trunk. Bo had never been so scared in his life, what did this
man want with him, it didn't make any sense, not like Uncle Jesse had
any money. Besides as far as Bo could tell this man didn't even know
Uncle Jesse or whether or not he had any money, but why else take Bo
like this. Bo shuddered in fear as it hit him, maybe this guy was going
to kill him, that was one of the reasons Uncle Jesse had told all of them
not to hitchhike, cause you never knew what kind of nut would pick you
up. He had always thought that Uncle Jesse was exagerating, just trying
to scare them so they would mind him, now though, now he was terrified
that his uncle had been telling the truth all along. Knowing he couldn't
just let this man kill him, he began searching the trunk trying to find
something he could use as a weapon. No luck, not even a tire iron or
jack handle, looked like this guy wasn't taking any chances. Bracing
himself, Bo got ready to launch himself from the trunk as he felt the
car coming to a stop.
Seemed this guy knew what he was doing, when the trunk popped open
Bo was disappointed to see the man standing several feet away from the
car, giving Bo no chance to jump him. Motioning for Bo to climb out
of the trunk the man forced him into an old shack at gunpoint. When
they came inside Bo saw they were in an old moonshiner's shack, there
was very little furniture in the place an old bed, a stove, and a table
with a couple of rickety chairs. So far the man hadn't told Bo his name
or even spoken much so he still didn't know what the man wanted with him,
but he was more and more afraid the man would kill him. Forcing Bo to
lay down on the bed, he quickly secured Bo's hands to the headboard,
pulling his boots off so he wouldn't be able to do as much damage if Bo
kicked he left his feet free.
When ten-thirty arrived with no Bo, Jesse sent Luke out to look for
him, knowing Luke would have a better idea of where Bo might hang out.
Luke took the pick-up and started out to look for Bo, 'dang Bo you
sure messed up now boy, Uncle Jesse is gonna tan your hide for sure.'
Luke drove up to Hazzard Pond first knowing the kids hung out up there
a lot, after there he checked the old indian caves again with no luck.
As he drove around Hazzard searching for his cousin Luke became more
worried than mad when he found no trace of him, then he saw them. The
Jensen boys, taking off after them he soon forced them to pull over.
"Bobby, where's Bo at?" he asked the oldest of the Jensen brothers.
"How should I know, I ain't his babysitter." Bobby answered, laughing
at his own joke. He soon stopped laughing though when Luke slammed him
into the side of the truck.
"Now look I'm not gonna ask you again Bobby. Where is my cousin?"
Seeing the anger in Luke's eyes Bobby figured he better start talking,
"We dumped him out on the highway 'tween here and Capitol City, he wouldn't
steal any shine from your uncle so we figured he needed a lesson."
"A lesson? So you just dumped him out? When did you leave him and
where?" Luke asked, barely resisting the urge to plow his fist into
Bobby's smirking face.
"It was about nine o'clock and I'm not sure where, about halfway
'tween there and here I guess." was the stuttered answer.
"You better hope nothings happened to him, now if I was you boys I'd
get on home while I still could."
Driving towards the highway Luke cb'd Uncle Jesse to tell him what
was going on. After assuring his uncle he would find Bo and bring him
home, Luke began to pray that he hadn't just told a lie to his uncle.
As soon as he had finished talking to Luke, Jesse got on the phone
to Rosco and reported what had happened. Rosco assured Jesse he would
start looking for Bo and told him to have Luke radio him if he found Bo
first.
Back at the shack Bo was confused and scared, first the man ties him
to the bed and then he goes outside and had yet to come back. Not that
Bo wanted him to come back, but this waiting and not knowing what was
coming next was wearing on his nerves. He had tried to get loose from
the ropes with no luck, all he'd managed to do was make his wrists sore
and wear himself out. Jumping when he heard a step at the door Bo tensed
not knowing what was going to happen. Was this it? Was this when the
man would kill him? Would his family ever know what had happened to him?
Or would they spend the rest of their lives thinking he'd ran off, not
knowing that he had been murdered? Maybe that would be better, maybe
it would be better if they never knew, never knew of whatever suffering
this man had planned for him. He couldn't believe this was happening,
things like this didn't happen in Hazzard, he was going to die and he
didn't even know the name of the man who was going to kill him. Bo
tensed as the door swung open and the man who was holding him prisoner
stepped inside.
"What's you name boy?" the man asked as he sat on the bed beside Bo.
When Bo failed to answer, the man slapped his face, "Answer me, what's
your name?"
"B...Bo Du...Duke" Bo stuttered not sure if he should answer, but
afraid not to.
"Bo, that short for Beauregard?"
When Bo nodded the man smiled, the sight of that smile made Bo sick,
though he wasn't sure exactly why. The man didn't say anything for a
while, he just sat there staring at Bo, every once in a while running a
hand down the side of Bo's face or across his chest.
"Well Bo we're going to get to be good friends, okay? Guess I should
tell you my name if we're gonna be friends, name's Roy Terrell." As he
finished speaking his hand drifted down towards Bo's jeans and began
unfastening them.
Suddenly Bo knew exactly what Roy meant when he said they were going
to be friends, struggling furiously he tried to get away from Roy. But
tied the way he was there was nowhere for him to go, as he felt Roy's
hand slip inside his underwear the tears began to fall, as Bo gave into
the terror he was feeling.
BANG! The door slammed open and Rosco rushed in gun at the ready.
"Freeze! Step away from the boy" Rosco yelled.
Knowing that he had no chance to get away Roy Terrell slowly stepped
away from Bo and placed his hands behind his head. Quickly cuffing him,
Rosco put him in the back of his patrol car and went back inside to see
to Bo. Walking over to the bed he was relieved to see that though the
boys jeans were open, they were still on him where they belonged. 'Thank
God he had gotten here in time.' When Jesse had called and told him about
Bo being out there on the highway he had immediately started looking,
hoping he would find the boy in time, before Roy Terrell did. 'Damn,
how was he going to tell Jesse Duke that his nephew had been held prisoner
by an escaped killer and child molester? How was he going to tell him
that Bo had come very close to being his next victim? At least he wouldn't
have to tell him Bo was dead or that he had been raped by that monster.'
Knealing down beside the bed, Rosco reached out to release Bo from the
ropes, mildly surprised when Bo flinched from his touch.
"Bo it's alright son, your safe now he can't hurt you anymore."
"Sherriff Coltrane? Is it really you? I ain't dreaming am I?" Bo
asked, in a voice that shook with his fear.
"No Bo you ain't dreaming, you think you can sit up?" Rosco asked
gently, not wanting to startle the boy. Realizing he couldn't take Bo
back to his uncle in the same car as Roy Terrell, Rosco excused himself
and went outside to call Luke on the cb. Telling him where they were,
he went back inside with Bo to wait for Luke to arrive, dreading the
conversation he knew was coming.
Luke pulled up to the old shack, sparing a look of anger at the man
in the back of Rosco's patrol car, he rushed inside to his little cousin.
"Bo! You okay?" Luke asked as he ran inside and saw his cousin sitting
in a rickety chair at the small table, Sherriff Coltrane sitting beside
him. Seeing the bruise forming on Bo's cheek Luke knew he had been
right in his anger at the man in Rosco's car. "Bo? How badly did he
hurt you?"
"It's not that bad Luke, he just slapped me a couple of times, I'm
okay, really" Bo tried to reassure his cousin. It might have worked
better if his voice hadn't shook in fear, and if he could have stopped
the tears from falling down his face.
Looking at Rosco for answers, Luke was horrified when he was told
what had happened to his cousin. Dang those Jensen boys, this was all
their fault, if it hadn't been for them Bo would never have been at the
mercy of that monster. Wrapping his arms around his cousin, Luke did
his best to comfort him, tried to reassure him that he was safe. Deciding
it would probably be best if they waited until Rosco left, Luke stood
holding Bo as Rosco left the shack. Hearing Rosco's car start and move
away from the building, Luke started heading Bo towards their uncle's
pick-up.
Arriving home a short while later, Luke took Bo straight to their room,
not even giving Jesse a chance to say anything, he told him he'd explain
in a few minutes. Coming back out of their room, Luke told Jesse what
all had happened.
Jesse trusted Luke and he didn't think Rosco would lie about something
like this, but he had to be sure. He called Dr. Appleby and asked him
if he could please come out to the farm, not telling him exactly what
was going on, knowing that Mabel was probably listening in. When the
doctor arrived he was told the situation and then Jesse took him into
the boys' room to examine Bo. When the doctor came out a short time
later he assured Jesse that Bo was fine physically, other than the
bruise on his cheek and a few abrasions on his wrists. Dr. Appleby
told Jesse and Luke that he thought Bo would probably heal alright
emotionally given a little time, though they should probably expect a
few nightmares in the coming weeks. Luckily Roy Terrell had only had
time to touch the boy a little bit and scare him a lot, but he hadn't
had time to rape him which would have been a lot harder to heal from.
The doctor suggested that they simply be there for Bo, reassure him as
he needed but let him set the pace of his healing.
Later that night Bo woke up screaming in terror, in his dream Rosco
hadn't gotten there in time and Roy Terrell had raped him. He knew
Luke and Uncle Jesse had been told about what Roy had done to him, what
he didn't know was how they felt about it. Did they blame him? After
all he had been hitchhiking, and he'd been told not to do that, had been
told it was dangerous. Maybe they thought he'd gotten just what was
coming to him for disobeying Uncle Jesse.
"Uncle Jesse I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know you said not to hitchhike.
I'm sorry I disobeyed you...I wouldn't blame you if ya took the switch
to me. I ought to be whipped for getting myself into trouble, probably
would've served me right if Roy had...."
"Bo Duke don't you ever let me hear you say that again!" Jesse yelled
when he realized what Bo was saying. "How could you ever think,...Bo
son don't you know you don't deserve, nothing you could do would make
you deserve what that man planned to do to you, don't you know that? I
know you disobeyed by hitchhiking, but the Jensen boys didn't leave ya
with much choice, so you won't be getting a whipping. I'm just real
grateful Rosco found you before that man could do what he wanted to, but
I do wish he could've found you before he even had the chance to touch
you. I love you Bo, we all love you and ain't nobody in this family
that's going to blame you for what happened tonight."
"What about Daisy? She don't know yet, maybe she'll think I deserved
it. And Luke ain't said nothing, maybe he thinks I was weak to let Roy
tie me up like that, maybe he thinks..."
Luke's jaw dropped in shock, how could Bo think..."Bo, Uncle Jesse's
right, I don't blame you and I don't think you were weak. You're just
a kid Bo and Roy Terrell is a grown man, a man who has done this sort
of thing before, you didn't have a chance against him. I'm just glad
like Uncle Jesse is that Rosco found you before it was too late and I
guarantee you Daisy will be too."
Relieved more than he could say, Bo threw his arms around his Uncle
Jesse as the floodgates opened and he sobbed out the terror and disgust
he had felt after what Roy Terrell had done to him. Finally crying
himself to sleep, Bo didn't even feel it when Jesse gently laid him on
the bed and tucked him in under the covers.
The next morning when Daisy returned home from Sally Jo's she was
told what had happened. Proving Uncle Jesse right she was quick to let
Bo know that she didn't blame him in the least for what had happened.
Making sure that Bo knew she would be there for him, that she would
help him get through this she left him alone, while she put her things
away. Over the course of the next few weeks Bo proved the doctor right,
he had a few nightmares, but with the help of his family and the resilency
of children he was soon back to his old self, though he would never
forget those few hours of terror, he also would not let them change his
life or who he was.
The End