ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS
CHAPTER 9
The darkness was all around him. His hands were behind him secured by handcuffs around some sort of pipe or pole which was attached to the wall at his back. All this registered as Hutch tried to analyze without seeing. His other senses helped him figure out exactly what his condition was.
Without a shirt, his chest was exposed to the chill air. His bare feet skimmed the floor identifying the surface as cold metal. Thankfully he still had his pants, which brought some comfort, knowing that he wasn't completely naked.
He realized there was something very wrong. His leg felt strange, almost like it wasn't part of him.
The left pant leg flapped against his skin, causing a burning sensation. If felt wet like blood but there was something more which he couldn't immediately identify. But he did finally understand that he was blindfolded.
He forced himself to breathe evenly. Not being able to see made him feel disoriented. He needed to know Starsky was close by. That would help his growing uneasiness.
Hutch listened closely but heard no other noises, voices, cars or anything else that gave away his location. He cleared his throat but hesitated to speak for fear of the consequences. Were they alone? Was he even in the same place as Starsky? He cleared his throat again, coughing up saliva. He spit to the side as best he could but still felt wetness slide down his chest. He was reminded of his earlier allergic reaction to the ants which had attacked him. The itching returned although it was not as intense as before. It was hard to ignore but for the time being, he forced himself to remain still. He wasn't sure where he was but also he was reluctant to draw attention to himself in case the person or persons responsible for his confinement were near. What he really wanted was to know where Starsky was.
"Starsky?" He whispered at first, still not sure if his friend was there or if they were alone.
"Hey, buddy, you here?" He listened intently and thought he heard moaning. Hutch kicked his foot out to the side, hoping to connect with the source of groaning that continued. Instead of gaining more knowledge of the surroundings, moving his leg confirmed his fear that the limb was either broken or severely bruised. He remembered that the two of them had fallen over the hill and he'd landed in brush and tree roots. But that still didn't tell him where Starsky was now.
From somewhere close by, a voice tried to find itself. At first, a moan and air moving through burning lungs was all that Starsky was aware of. The dark haired man forced the fogginess from his brain. His eyes felt heavy but his first thought was of Hutch.
"Hu.. Hutch?" Starsky's voice was low and dry. He tried to sit up but the pressure in his chest hindered any further movement. He tried again to speak.
"Hey, you okay?" Starsky asked quietly. He wasn't sure about Hutch's condition until his tentative question was rewarded by a nervous laugh.
"I'm just dandy! Can you see?" Hutch drew in a deep breath as he tried to make sense of what was going on.
Starsky looked around. Yes he could now dimly make out Hutch's body on the opposite wall. They were in some sort of metal shed or box car. As for his own predicament, he swore when he tried to straighten.
"I'm across from you on the floor, hooked somehow to the wall of this tin can. Your back is to me, can you move?"
A link of chain rattled against the floor as Starsky tried to stand. His ankles were shackled to the wall but his hands were free. The chain seemed long enough to allow him to change his position. He didn't have the energy yet to test its length because his immediate physical condition grabbed his attention as he realized that his situation was not only inconvenient but suddenly he was aware of a bigger problem.
"Hutch, I think my left arm is broken." Starsky let out a grunt when the movement caused the broken bone to shift. He felt and heard the grinding in his shoulder with long waves of pain down to his fingers.
He tried to control the pain, forcing the sensation out of his head and concentrated on their immediate problem. He hitched a breath and tried to find a comfortable position, one that wouldn't put too much pressure on his left side.
Starsky ignored the pull to his back as he tried to get a better view of the structure that they were in. In one corner up near the ceiling, there was a hole which let in some light. The chain rattled as Starsky scooted for a better position.
"What happened?" Starsky was anxious to know of his friend's condition. Hutch was too quiet. A few moans and clinking handcuffs was all he heard at the moment. There was no way he could physically get up to be near Hutch but he still needed contact. He wanted to be able to see Hutch's face.
Hutch turned his head until he connected with his upper arm. He rubbed the blindfold against his bicep, trying to loosen or dislodge the material completely. Not being able to see made him nervous and agitated. Once he got his bearings, he'd be able to think. Suddenly the binding fell away and he blinked rapidly, adjusting to the difference in light even though it was still dark but much lighter in comparison. He let out a grateful sigh and twisted around until he was facing Starsky.
At that point, both men took in the other and at the same time let out the same words,
'Oh shit!" Both men were shocked at the other's appearance and now more than ever needed to provide comfort.
Starsky stared at Hutch, who obviously had a broken bone in his leg. At the very least only the ankle was involved but his leg was swollen up to the knee. Someone had cut away the pant leg as if they tried to relieve some of the pain. But all that had done was give the injury space to swell further up the leg. Also, the rash that had previously started this whole adventure had returned and spread over Hutch's chest and face. His eyes were red and swollen.
Hutch also got a good look at his friend. Starsky held his left arm close to his body but still it hung limp. The left side was disfigured in appearance and the blond winced in response to their conditions. Along with the broken arm, Starsky's shirt was bloodied and ripped as were his pants. A dark stain near his knee hinted at a gash there. The material was cut away and sliced up to the knee where the blood stained his jeans. He was missing one blue Adidas.
Hutch almost missed the swollen eye and bruised face because of his scrutiny of Starsky's other more serious injuries. The bruises on his face were left from the beating he'd endured before they'd fallen over the hill. Now his eye was so swollen that Hutch doubted Starsky could see out of it and the right side of his face was marred by a deep purple color that even in the poor light, Hutch had no trouble noticing.
Their eyes locked, providing the only comfort available at the moment. Starsky's eyes narrowed as he surveyed Hutch's restraints. Then he looked back at his own chains and pulled on them in frustration.
"How did we get here? I know we fell over the hill but I don't remember anything until a few minutes ago." Starsky pushed himself against the wall and cradled his arm.
"I think my friend Billie is responsible." ,Hutch said in a miserable voice. Not only did he regret his earlier contact with her, but now it was his fault that they were both in such a mess.
"I accidentally figured out that she's involved with drugs and I'm pretty certain this is her way of getting me out her way."
"Ya think Harry Hawkins wanted us to find out about it? We already know he's got a weird way of givin' us information." Starsky sucked in a breath as a particularly sharp pain ran the length of his arm. He couldn't stop himself from reacting to the sensation. His breath quickened as he tried to get past the pain.
"Starsky, just breathe evenly. C'mon, listen to my voice. Look at me." Hutch's voice got stronger and more insistent. "Look at me and concentrate on me." Hutch's frustration mounted at his inability to comfort his friend with anything other than empty words. But nevertheless, the slow, steady words reached Starsky as his breath evened out and the pain began to lessen.
Starsky's gaze never wavered from Hutch's. Sweat stung his eyes and ran down his temples but finally the pain subsided.
"All I can say," Starsky winced at another jab of pain but tried to talk around it, "I sure hope she was worth it. 'Cause she sure is one vengeful lady."
"By the way, buddy, you never did tell me the rest of YOUR story. Why did you leave my car? Or better yet, just where exactly IS my car?" Hutch shifted and immediately regretted moving. He let out a long moan as he felt the bone in his leg burn.
Starsky heard the cry and struggled to get to his knees. That made him dizzy so he sat back down and tried to push himself closer to Hutch. The chain gave only so much, just enough for him to reach toward his friend. He grabbed Hutch's good ankle to attract his attention.
"Hutch, don't move. Your leg looks pretty bad. But we'll be okay. We've been in deeper shit than this." Starsky inched as close as his restraints would allow. He reached over as far as he could until his right hand landed on Hutch's thigh. The two men stared at each other, gaining strength and confidence.
Hutch sucked in his breath and let his head fall forward. Starsky wasn't sure if he was responding to the attempted joke or if the blond wanted to hide his amount of pain. Either way, Starsky grew more concerned about his friend.
Deciding they both needed distracted, Starsky opted to tell Hutch the truth about the LTD.
"Remember I told you about Beth and her boyfriend?" Starsky tapped at Hutch's good leg, making sure the blond was looking at him and concentrating on his words. The dark haired man tried his best to divert his friend's attention away from the pain or at the very least to help him think of something else.
"Yeah, I think you said you tried to reach her tonsils with your tongue?" Hutch offered a wobbly smile.
"Hey, she kissed me! Anyway, that's when the muscle bound idiot attacked me." Starsky hesitated. He had trouble at the moment ignoring his own pain so he stopped in order to get in a better position. He moved back toward the wall a bit to relieve the pressure on his ankles from the chains.
"Don't stop now… I can't wait to here the rest." Hutch spoke softly despite wanting to sound angry. He really didn't have the energy for a good fight. His leg was numb and he felt like he was going to pass out. He forced himself to pay attention to Starsky. But both men wanted only to help the other. Keeping a conversation going was the only way they knew of to work together until a solution to their problems presented itself. Hutch had no idea how they were going to get out of this but he had to hang on for Starsky.
"Well, there I was layin' on the ground, helpless and bleeding…." Starsky continued with his exaggerated explanation. ---"they took advantage of me bein' passed out otherwise, I woulda decked that guy!"
"Starsky, quit stalling and tell me what happened!" Hutch's voice rose with an attempt to show anger but it was more a way to hide another wave of pain and nausea. His head fell back against the wall and he closed his eyes.
"What next?" Hutch kept his eyes closed and waited for Starsky's voice to bring him back to the present.
"Well, uhh… they stole your car! But before you bitch at me, I want ya to know I cleaned out your damn old car while I was waitin' for you." The energy began to fade from Starsky. He also felt like he was close to losing consciousness. He struggled to keep his brain functioning but without much success.
Hutch responded but his voice was barely a whisper. He worked at keeping himself oriented but the words didn't completely reach Starsky.
With slurred speech, Hutch tried to respond to what Starsky had just said.
"Stolen?" Hutch's head bobbed up and down. The strength in his neck was slowly giving way. He didn't have the power to keep his head up.
Likewise, Starsky was having trouble dealing with the pain. His eyes refused to stay open. Passing out seemed to be the only option. He forced out one more sentence before darkness over came him too.
"Couldn't help it…"
He peered at Hutch who seemed to have passed out. Starsky's chin dropped to his chest and all was quiet.