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 Eighteen
"Starsk, I don't wanna talk about that right now, I just want to concentrate on getting you out of here." Hutch spoke softly, knowing that there was little chance that his partner was going to let it go that easily. The blond busied himself, trying to make Starsky more comfortable as Billy rifled through the supplies of the backpack.
"Hutch, I gotta right to know." Starsky spoke and then inhaled sharply as a sharp hot spear of pain shot through his body, slicing deeply.
The concerned light blue eyes of Hutch's locked instantaneously on his friend as he quietly rode the wave of pain with the brunet, holding his breathing and peaking like a cresting wave, before crashing down and slowly dispersing back into the vast ocean.
"I know you gotta right to know, just not right now, okay?" Hutch pled him to drop the matter.
"Jew." Billy's one word answer shocked the tall blond as his head whipped around, glaring at the boy. Billy looked up, connecting with Hutch's eyes, shrugging his shoulders, "What? He's gonna find out sooner or later." Billy started to unbutton his shirt, quickly pulling it off his shoulders and exposing a faint scar across his upper back, revealing the word that Hutch was starting to hate. "We all get that, it ain't a big deal, its sort a like branding." Billy looked back at Starsky, seeing the hurt in the man's eyes. "We are what we are, there ain't no changing that."
Hutch finished taking a quick look at his partner, trying his best to assess his injuries and determining whether or not they would be able to continue any further with damaging his partner. It bothered the blond when he felt Starsky's body trembling slightly under his touch, a far off gaze in the brunet's eyes, warned the Nordic that Starsky was far from being okay, physically or emotionally. Hutch looked over at the youth beside them.
"Listen Billy, I need you to do me a big favor, it would help us all out a bunch. I need you to look around the area here, not going too far, and collect firewood, anything you come across that you think might help us, can you do that for me?" he dipped his head down, and looked up through his brow at the pre-teen.
"If you wanna get rid of me, just so you two could talk, all you gotta do is just say so." Billy answered.
Hutch broke a slanted smile as he realized just how smart this young man was. Billy set the back pack and its belongings aside as he stood and trotted off, in search of nothing in particular, just giving the two men a moment alone.
"They really did that Hutch. I have that carved into my back?" Starsky asked, his gaze fixated on the leave that covered the ground beside his left thigh.
"Yeah buddy, they did. But it doesn't look too deep, an' I'm sure with the right plastic surgeon, it won't be noticeable at all." Hutch assured Starsky as he placed a supportive hand on the brunets shoulder, squeezing slightly, just reminding him that he is not alone in any of this.
Starsky inhaled sharply causing the blonde's head to snap up. "You okay, you in much pain?"
"Nah, nah…m'okay. Just tired I guess." Starsky said as he wrapped both of his arms around his chest, trying to get rid of the bone chilling cold that had invaded his body.
"Wanna talk about what happened?" Hutch tried to encourage his partner to let things out, knowing full well that he would only divulge what he was comfortable with relating.
"I think you're right, maybe we should just talk about this later." Starsky answered.
"Might help if you let it out." Hutch replied.
"I said later Hutch!" the curly haired detective snapped at his friend, something he was not accustomed to doing.
"Okay, okay…later it is. Now let me take a look at that ankle." Hutch requested as he reached down to examine the injury.
His heart leapt as Starsky twitched and shouted out in pain as Hutch laid his hand on the severely swollen area. "M'sorry pal, I didn't mean to hurt cha? You okay?" The tall blond looked back at the reactions on his partner's face, being able to read his facial expressions and he knew he would have to rely on that seeing how he wasn't exactly telling him the truth.
Hutch finished his examination of Starsky's ankle, gently placing it back on the ground in front of him.
"You know Andrews is gonna come after us." Hutch conferred with his partner.
"I know, we need to be ready for him." Starsky agreed as he looked around, scanning their surroundings. "You didn't by chance grab a couple more weapons did ya?" He asked optimistically.
"Sorry, m'lucky I got out with this one." Hutch said sheepishly as he too looked around, scanning the area.
"D'ats okay, just give me a couple rocks, I got a great arm." The brunet joked, winking at his partner, managing a crooked smile as he inhaled sharply, riding a wave of pain that shot through him like a hot knife.
"I couldn't believe that Andrews was mixed up in this shit," Hutch started to orate, "m'sorry buddy, if I had known, this never would have gone this far." The blond was beginning to feel the pangs of guilt for the pain his partner had to endure at the hands of these masochists. "It never should have gone this far anyways, but I couldn't get you out, I tried, I really tried."
Hutch's pale blue eyes locked with Starsky's, the pain that the blond had been feeling shot through the brunet like an arrow. "Don't do this to yourself buddy." Starsky responded, breaking his gaze as he looked away.
Hutch smiled as he looked over his shoulder, seeing Billy running back towards them carrying just two sticks, one in each hand. "Was I gone long enough?" The boy asked, his honesty and candor bringing a smile to both detectives' face.
"Is that the best you could do?" Hutch asked sarcastically, noting the two pathetic twigs the boy held.
"Come on now, you really think that I believed you were gonna start a fire, just to tell them where we are? It'd be like lighting a signal fire, and I don't think you want to do that just yet." Billy retorted.
"Kids' got you there Blondie!" Starsky snorted in laughter as he watched his fair skinned friend blush in embarrassment right before a fit of coughing seized the brunet, making him bend forward grabbing his ribs with one hand, the other hand rising to cover his mouth.
Hutch reached forward, placing a comforting hand firmly on his partner's shoulder, squeezing it gently.
"Easy there buddy," Hutch tried to assure his partner. "You okay?" He tipped his head and asked his friend.
"Yes Sir." Starsky answered without realizing the Freudian slip that he had been conditioned to answer. He looked up at saw the intense pain in Hutch's sky blue eyes, pain mixed with a certain amount of pity that Starsky had wish he hadn't seen. He hated pity, always thought that it was a useless emotion.
"Starsk…" Hutch whispered as he tipped his head, toughing his forehead to the side of Starskys temple, causing the brunet to crack a slight smile, realizing his mistake.
"Sorry, didn't mean it." He replied. "I'll try and work on that."
oooooOOOOOooooo
Andrews, Hudson and Montag were huddled together, trying to come up with a plan for attack. Rigsby was escorted into the room by two men; his eye blackened his face flushed in embarrassment.
"What happened to you?" Montag asked as he moved closer to his friend.
Kent, fucking Kent Cummings happened to me. He got my pistol and took my keys." Rigsby answered as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, "He tied me up and threw me in a storage closet behind building 3."
"First of all, his name isn't Kent Cummings, it's Detective Sergeant Ken Hutchinson, and that Jew you brought in for conditioning was his cop partner. I can't believe you idiots allowed this to happen. You've truly ruined everything!" Andrews shouted, his nerves becoming evident in his voice as it quivered slightly. "Now, we need to get out there and find them, before they make it back to the cops. I want to split up in to pairs. Rigsby and Hudson, and then Montag and me, lets move out!" Andrews enjoyed the feeling of being in control for the moment, being in charge, it excited him.
The four men broke off into pairs, all but giving up on trying to catch the other prisoners that were running in several different directions, some of them out the gate, or finding the hole that Starsky and Hutch had made in the back of the grounds.
Andrews and Montag loaded into a 1976 Ford LTD, closing both doors tightly, Montag behind the wheel, the headed out into their forested surroundings, hunting down the three fugitives and their golf carts.
oooooOOOOOooooo
Hutch offered Starsky more water, trying his best to make his partner as comfortable as he could given the present circumstances. As Starsky took a longer drink off the canteen, enjoying the cool fluid as it flowed down his throat, his head tilted backwards. Starsky's head was cleared of the shadows as Hutch's eyes witnessed a swollen lump on the front of Starsky's just above the hairline. He had been so busy with the escape, the boy and getting them to safety, that he hadn't thoroughly examined his friend. Instinctively, he raised his hand, trying to gently move his hair aside so he could examine the area. Starsky jerked back as even the lightest touch caused him discomfort, wincing in pain and sucking air in through his teeth.
"Sorry buddy. Let me take a look, I'll try not to hurt you." Hutch explained.
"Yeah? Well you're a little too late for that aren't ya?" Starsky quipped.
Hutch pulled himself back, not sure if Starsky meant the pain he just inflicted or the pain that Hutch had allowed to be inflicted on his friend over the past few days.
Starsky looked at the hurt expression that washed over the blonde's face. "M'sorry Hutch, I didn't mean it like that." Starsky reassured his partner as Hutch shook it off and continued to examine his partner's head.
"How's you vision buddy, any blurriness? Headache? Nausea?" Hutch rattled off his questions.
"How's about all of the above, and now your questions are making me dizzy." Starsky retorted, snorting slightly as he laughed. "Hutch, I wanna lay down…m'hurting." The brunet finally admitted as his body started to fall to the side, Hutch catching him and easing his body to the ground, shucking off his jacket quickly and placing it under the brunet's head.
"Billy, grab me the blanket it out of the back pack, help me cover him up." Hutch instructed as Billy snapped to, and jumped into action.
"Okay Starsk, I'll let you lay down, but no sleeping, not just yet. Not with that knot on your head." The blond explained.
"Yes Mom." Starsky snapped back as he struggled to keep his eyes open, squeezing them tightly, trying to stop the earth from spinning so quickly.
"Look, I need to check out the area, looks heavily wooded, I just need to see if there is anyway out of here. Think you'll be okay for a few?" Hutch asked his partner as he and Billy covered the detective, tucking in the ends around the brunet. Hutch looked up at Billy, "I want you to keep an eye on him, don't let him go to sleep, keep him warm. If something happens, I want you to yell at the top of your lungs for me, you got that?" Hutch instructed the frightened teen.
Billy nodded nervously as Hutch smiled and scrubbed the top of his head. "Atta boy!"
Hutch looked around and then stood, heading off into the thicket of trees and brush, maneuvering it professionally, as he covered the ground quickly, leaping and sidestepping anything that got in his way. Billy watched at the tall blond made his way through the area.
The boy looked back down at Starsky, noting that the brunet was shivering subtly; he attempted to rub his hands over the detective's body, trying to warm him up.
Only moments had passed, even though it seemed like hours. Billy sat there keeping Starsky company, exchanging semi light banter, both of them reminiscing about their fathers affectionately.
The dark woods made the oncoming headlights hard to miss. The saw the beams that illuminated the trees in bouncing sequences, as the approaching car apparently hit the same rough patches that their small cart had earlier.
"Billy, run!" Starsky ordered the boy, whose eyes were wide with fear, "hide, and what ever you do, don't come out! No matter what, you got me?" Starsky asked as he pulled the boy down, to meet his face, jerking on the child's shirt, gripping it in his fist.
Both of their hearts accelerated, their breathing increased as panic started to set in. "GO!" Starsky commanded as the boy looked at the brunet, his eyes welling with tears. He nodded in understanding and rushed off, staying low to the ground, moving among the shadows.
A large sedan type car pulled up, the passenger door opened, Starsky winced, squinting his eyes, blinded by the glare of the headlights. He heard the one thing that caused him to jump out of his skin. "Well, well, well, look what we found here!" Andrews voice whistled through the leaves of the shrubs and the branches of the trees.
To Be Continued…