BURIED ALIVE
A/N: Based on a real event that occurred on July 15, 1976 in Chowchilla,California when 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped and held for ransom. Beta read by Brandicoot26.
CHAPTER ONE
"Come on, Starsk," Hutch cajoled his reluctant partner. "You'll see. It'll be great. It's just for the weekend."
"Fine," Starsky whined. "Then you can go have a good time. You know I don't like camping."
"I'm already going, mush brain," Hutch reminded him, smiling indulgently. "But, we still need one more chaperone."
"So, naturally, you just had to volunteer me without even bothering to ask me first." Starsky sighed dramatically and looked at his partner with a dejected expression. He knew that he would give in. He always did when Hutch wanted him to do something, even if it was something he didn't want to do.
"Come on, buddy," Hutch coaxed. "Do it for the kids."
Hutch had been a big brother for almost three years to an Hispanic youth named Kiko, and this weekend, the local chapter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters association was having a retreat for the children they served. Hutch had been talking about it for weeks. Kiko and his adopted sister, Molly, were both going.
At the last minute, one of the other chaperones that had been scheduled to go on the trip had been forced to cancel, and Hutch had immediately volunteered Starsky to take his place.
"Yeah…but why does it have to be a camping trip?" Starsky said glumly. "Why couldn't they just take them to Disneyland or something?"
Hutch chuckled. His partner was a big kid himself sometimes, and Disneyland would be more his idea of a good time than a camping trip. Starsky was a city boy and anything out of his element made him uncomfortable. But, despite his complaining, Hutch knew that Starsky would have a good time once they got to the camp grounds
"Come on, pal…what do ya say?" Hutch said.
"Okay, okay. But, if I get ate by a bear, it's gonna be all your fault."
Hutch smiled fondly. "You're not going to get 'ate' by a bear. Maybe just nibbled on by a hungry raccoon." He ignored the dirty look Starsky gave him as he walked into the kitchen to get them both a beer.
Returning with two cans, he handed one to his partner and sank down on the sofa beside him. "You better get to bed early tonight," he suggested. "We have to be out of here by six-thirty in the morning. The buses are leaving at seven."
"Geez, why couldn't they wait a couple of hours?" Starsky asked, taking a long swallow of his beer. "It's not like the camp grounds are gonna go anywhere."
"Because it's almost a three hour drive from here, and we have to be there before eleven." Hutch explained patiently. Starsky was not a morning person and he tended to sleep in on his days off. "My stuff is already in the car. Why don't I just crash here tonight?"
"Suit yourself." Starsky said, finishing his beer and setting the can on the coffee table. "How about a pizza? I'm starved."
"As long as you leave the kitchen sink off my half," Hutch told him. Their dietary habits were just another one of the differences between the two friends. While Hutch tried to eat a nutritious and healthy diet, Starsky craved junk food loaded with empty calories and carbohydrates.
Starsky nodded and shoved himself to his feet to call in their order.
When their food arrived, they finished it and the six-pack in Starsky's refrigerator while watching a movie on television.
Hutch was awake at five-thirty the next morning. He took a short jog around the block before returning to Starsky's apartment to wake up his partner.
Starsky was buried in his blankets, nothing showing except his thick curls. Hutch raised the blind, flooding the room with early morning sunlight.
"Come on, Starsk," he said cheerfully. "Time to get up."
Starsky mumbled something unintelligible and burrowed further under the covers. Hutch grabbed the covers and gave them a yank, pulling them off the slumbering brunet.
"Hey!" Starsky yelped, making a futile grab for the blankets.
Hutch grinned and stepped back, holding the royal blue comforter just out of his reach. "Get your ass out of bed and hit the shower," he ordered, dumping the blanket on the floor beside Starsky's dresser. "If you hurry up, we'll have time to grab something to eat before we leave."
Muttering under his breath, Starsky reluctantly climbed out of bed and padded towards the adjoining bathroom.
Hutch grinned as he headed towards the kitchen to put on some coffee. A creature of habit, Starsky wouldn't be able to face the day without a strong cup of coffee first.
Half an hour later, the two men were on their way to the Big Brother/Big Sisters office where they would be meeting up with the rest of the group going on the trip. Besides Starsky and Hutch, there would be two other adults chaperoning the sixteen children that were going on the retreat. Both were staff members of the organization and would be driving the two mini buses that would transport the group to the camp grounds.
When they arrived at the parking lot behind the building where the agency had its offices, they were greeted enthusiastically by Kiko and Molly. At fifteen, Kiko was one of the oldest boys going on the trip. His adopted sister, Molly, was fourteen and one of the older girls. The rest of the children ranged in age from six to fourteen. The group was split up, with 8 adolescents and 2 adults to each bus. Hutch and Molly would be on one bus, while Starsky and Kiko were on the other one.
The staff member in charge, a pretty, long-legged blonde, introduced herself as Linda Page. She identified a second staff member, as Charlie Hodge. He was an older man with a heavily lined face, gray hair and a heavy frame. He would be driving one of the buses while Linda drove the other. She reminded the teenagers and younger children of the rules they were expected to follow during the ride to the camp grounds and stressed the importance of obeying the adults in charge. Although Kiko, Molly and the two staff members knew that Starsky and Hutch were police officers, the other children did not. After she had finished her instructions, Starsky and Hutch ushered the children under their care onto the proper bus.
Starsky felt a twinge of envy as he settled down in a seat four rows behind the driver. He knew that Hutch would be taking advantage of the situation and flirting with the pretty blonde driving the lead vehicle. He sighed heavily as the buses pulled off the lot and merged into the flow of early morning traffic.
"Hey, Starsk," said Kiko, who was sitting in the seat behind him. "How did Hutch talk you into going along? I thought you hated camping." The Hispanic youth smiled mischievously as he waited for the brunet's answer. "After that last camping trip you took with Hutch, you swore you'd never go camping again."
"Hutch volunteered me and then told me about it afterwards," Starsky told him with a crooked smile. "He made it kinda hard to say no."
Kiko chuckled. "This is supposed to be a nice place. I know a guy who went last year, and he said that they have cabins and everything."
"If Hutch had his way, we'd be sleeping on the ground," Starsky grumbled. But, his spirits were lifted by the thought that he would be sleeping in a cabin and not outside in a tent. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.