Disclaimer: I do not own the guys; I just tend to play with them a bit…
Dedication: To many of my friend's that inspire and sometimes push me to write…THANK YOU ALL!
Warnings: This one may be a bit dark at times and some scenes of torture lie ahead…The views of this story are in no way reflected by the author!
No Turning Back
Chapter Seventeen
Flinging on arm over his partner's shoulder, Hutch did his best to hike Starsky up, on handed, providing a stable pair of legs for the brunet to rely on. Starsky too did his best to support himself as much as possible, trying to take as much weight as he could; off of his partner…they hastily made their way down the stairs and across the courtyard. Hutch knew that most of the employees of the camp were tending the other prisoners and trying to fix the power outage that Hutch was single handedly responsible for. It is what he referred to as creating a 'diversion'.
As they passed through the courtyard, he noticed more and more prisoners wandering around freely, with no guards to speak of. There was an occasional shout for some one to stop and an occasional bang from sporadic gunfire. They kept as low as they could, ducking their heads as far down as possible as the dashing, or rather limped across the grounds. Hutch's mind wandered, wondering what could possible be going on here that he was unaware of, the flurry of activity that encompassed them bewildered the blond detective.
It took the some time but the eventually made their way to the supply shed, Hutch looking around, making sure that no one was on their heels, the rounded the corner and Hutch's heart stopped when Billy wasn't there to greet them. He came to an abrupt stop, causing Starsky to look into his face in surprise.
"Whatsa matter?" Starsky asked as Hutch's face paled.
"It's Billy, he's not here!" Hutch whispered. "I told him to wait for me here."
Both Starsky and Hutch looked around, the panic starting to rise.
"Hutch, I'm not leaving were with out him." Starsky informed his partner.
"I know buddy, I know." Hutch answered.
"I'm right here." Billy's still high pitched voice came from around the corner of the shed as he peeked his head around the corner, making sure that the men there, were the ones he was expecting.
Starsky's battered face lit up when he saw a fully clothed Billy walking towards him. He could have done without witnessing the boys bruised face or swollen cheek, but he was glad to see him nonetheless. The boy walked up to the two detectives, the back-pack already slung over his shoulder as he received an affection scrub of the head from Hutch.
"Atta boy, I knew you wouldn't let me down." He commended the child as he pointed off to their left. "That way, I got the cart waiting for us on the other side of the fence."
As Billy led the way, Hutch continued being Starsky's human crutch, allowing his friend to place all of his weight on him, acting like his other leg. His ankle was still so swollen and sore that it was difficult for Starsky to put too much pressure on it at all.
"By the way Billy, how'd the rest of the prisoners get out?" Starsky asked the child, already expecting that he knew the answer.
Billy reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the keys that Hutch had previously bestowed on the young man.
"Ever heard of a universal or master key?" he winked as he walked away, leading the trio towards the fence towards the back of the camp.
Hutch continued to help Starsky walk, giving him as much support as possible, the brunet feeling like he was being a burden to the tall blond, but also knowing that he wouldn't have it any other way.
"L…look Hutch," Starsky panted as he leaned briefly against the wall of a building they were passing, "I'm just slowin' you two down…why don't you leave me here, I'll be okay…get the kid outta here and send back help." Starsky pled, hopping that his friend would see the wisdom of his words.
"Nothin' doin'. We either go together, or we stay together. It's that simple." Hutch stated matter of factly.
With a heavy sigh and trying to muster all of his stamina and strength, Starsky pushed himself up off the wall, into the waiting arms of his partner as they continued making their way towards the waiting cart. Once there, they would load the three of them up and head towards the hills, as far away from this God forsaken camp as possible.
Billy continued onward as he made his way to a specific area of the chain link fence that bordered the camp. The cart was just on the other side of the fence as the young man looked over his shoulder at the tall blond, giving him an inquisitive look. Hutch just tipped his head forward.
"Push against the fence," he instructed the young lad as Billy complied, nearly falling forward as a large piece of the fence fell outwards, on the to dirt ground in front of him.
Billy looked back at the two detectives with a smile, it was the first time either detective had seen the boy show any type of elated type emotion whatsoever. Starsky snorted in laughter at the boy's reaction.
"See, I told ya…every once in awhile, this tall blond lummox surprises me too." Starsky joked as Hutch smiled affectionately.
"Well Billy, now you know which one of us is the brains of this operation." Hutch taunted back.
"…and which one of us has all the looks." Starsky retorted as the young boy stooped down and made his way through the metal fence.
Hutch took Starsky's arm from around his shoulder, both of them bending as the tall blond guided hi weak partner through the hole, following close behind. He immediately returned Starsky's arm, around his neck as he pointed to the right. "Over there." He directed the boy who led the way.
Shortly the three of them made their way to the white, battered golf cart, Hutch placing Starsky as gently as possible in the passenger side, Billy instinctively climbing in the back as Hutch rounded the vehicle and took his place behind the wheel.
Hutch turned slightly, speaking to the young boy who fit perfectly in the small space on the back of the cart, "You in?" Billy nodded, " 'kay, hold on, and what ever you do, don't let go." Hutch explained as he started the cart and hit the accelerator as the mildly powered cart lurched forward.
They had only been on the run for about 15 minutes before Hutch looked over and noticed his partner, slumping forward, further and further.
"Billy, I'm gonna need you help." Hutch explained as Billy rose to his knees and leaned forward. "Hold his shoulders; make sure he doesn't fall out." Hutch instructed as Billy willingly obliged.
Hutch kept one eye on his partner, the other on the road as he concentrated on getting them as far away as possible. Starsky was completely drained, his body settling momentarily in a narrow comfort zone, allowing his body to relax and turn off, even briefly. Rest and sleep had finally taken over; the strong and iron-willed man was now overpowered by his physical body that insisted on rest.
They had traveled for just under an hour, Hutch felt the small cart lurching forward and sputtering in response to any command he would give it. His eyes widened in worry as he looked over at Billy who was having a little more difficulty hold Starsky in place, partly do to weakness and fatigue, and partly because Hutch had chose to leave the beaten path some time ago and the new route they traveled was rough and treacherous. The golf type cart bounced roughly when deep holes in the ground were hit by unsuspecting tires, Hutch struggling to keep control of the wheel. He felt the cart begin to revolt and refuse even the easiest commands, like pressing the accelerator or turning the wheels. The cart lurched and sputtered one final time as it slowly rolled to a stop, the life drained from its engine like a dying old mule that had just crossed the Sahara.
Once it had completed ceasing to move, Hutch jumped out and ran around the backside of the vehicle. He pressed one hand against Starsky's shoulder as he looked over at the young man in the back.
"Come on Billy, we're gonna have to walk from here. Think you can make it just a little further?" Hutch asked as he bent down to bring himself level to his partner's face.
"I can make it." Billy answered as he hopped out of the back and hurried to the tall blonde's side, just in case he needed any help.
Hutch looked up, through his brow as he pled with the brunet. "Hey buddy, come on, time to wake up." he said soothingly, trying to gently coax his friend back to reality.
Starsky moaned throatily as his head lobbed to the side away from Hutch. The blue eyed man cupped his partner's cheek softly as he pulled his face back towards him.
"Starsky, c'mon. It s'me. I need you to wake up for me." Hutch encouraged him.
The curly haired man moaned and groaned slightly as his body shook violently, abruptly lurching back into the world of consciousness. He let out a startled shout as he pulled himself out of Hutch's grasp, trying to break free from any contact whatsoever as Hutch tightened his grip.
"Hey, hey, hey…it's okay, its me buddy." Hutch assured his friend "It's alright, it's me Hutch."
Starsky's eyes opened wide, the fear that the blond saw, deep inside them, disturbed him deeply, gnawing at the very core of the Nordic. It took the brunet a moment to orientate himself with his surroundings, his eyes darting widely back and forth, around him, making sure that nothing was going to jump out at him, seemingly frightened of his own shadow.
"Ah, jeez buddy, what the hell did they do to you?" Hutch asked as Starsky calmed down enough, relaxing in Hutch's grasp, the blond leaning his head forward in obvious distress over the situation.
"I…I…m…m okay Hutch, I'm here, s'okay." His voice trembled as Starsky struggled to control it. "L…lets get outta here, 'kay?" Starsky stuttered as he leaned towards Hutch allowing his partner to help support his as he struggled to stand, his body still screaming in agony as he fought through the pain, holding his breath and then exhaling hard.
Together they stood up as Hutch looked around quickly, canvassing the area, he looked down at Billy and then pointed off to his right, "That way," he directed the young man as Billy scurried ahead of the duo.
Hutch struggled slightly as he lifted Starsky's right arm and draped it over his shoulder, his other hand wrapped around his partner's waist, supporting him with everything he had left. Billy took charge of the heavy backpack, filled with supplies that they would need to survive if they were left out in the woods for any length of time at all.
As they walked along the uneven ground, Starsky occasionally tripping, and Hutch nearly losing his grip, allowing him to fall, they traveled deep into the woods, into the denser part of the forest, allowing them more protecting and a better view if someone tries to sneak up on them. They had only been on foot for about 20 minutes before Hutch determined that Starsky needed to rest, he was weak and injured, the extent of his injuries were still not completely clear.
He struggled to pull Starsky up to the base of a tree, trying to be as gentle as possible, he help to lower him to the ground, propping his back against the might oaks trunk. Billy was already opening the backpack and pulling out the canteen of water handing it to Hutch.
Hutch unscrewed the top on the canister, cupping Starsky's chin with one hand and placing the cold metal mouth of the container to his lips. He gently lifted the water and allowed a small amount to flow into Starsky's mouth, satisfied to see him swallow at least some of it, as the rest dribbled from his mouth and over his shirt.
The brunet's deep blue eyes, darkened by his recent experience, looked pleadingly and almost embarrassedly at Hutch's icy blue orbs, "its okay, its just water, you'll dry off." Hutch joked as he also took a small drink and handed it to Billy, making sure that he did the same.
"Hutch," Starsky voice was rough and raspy, speaking in a barely audible whisper. Hutch leaned his ear closer to the dark haired man.
"Yeah Buddy? What is it?" he asked, wanting to be there for him in anyway possible.
"My back, what'd they do to my back?" Starsky questioned him, their eyes locking once again as Hutch struggled to swallow the large knot forming in his throat, nearly choking him.
To Be Continued…