Marooned
By
Tooki
Chapter One
The cold salt water washing over him brought Ken Hutchinson back to the land of the living. It took him a few moments to focus on where he was or to at least realize he wasn't dead for he had no idea where he was. Hutch spit out a mouth of salt water and started to get to his knees he was laying face down in wet sand but a pain that shot through his head kept him where he was. So instead of trying to get up he just rolled over. The hot sun beat down into his face making him squeeze his eyes shut tightly. Every inch of his body hurt, he was trying to remember what happened but Hutch's head hurt too badly to think. The only thing he did know was that he was lying on a beach and it was hot as hell.
"Hutch?" came a voice off to his left. It was definitely female so he knew it wasn't Starsky. Starsky where was Starsky? He tried to sit up, this time he just gritted his teeth against the pain in his head. Once he was in a sitting position the first thing that greeted his eyes was ocean as far as he could see. He held his hand up to shield the sun from his eyes so that he could see better then he looked around to see who was calling him. Behind him past the sandy beach was for the lack of anything better to call it a jungle. Palm trees jutted out of the ground and lush green bushes covered the ground.
"Hutch are you OK?" There was the voice again.
He looked down right side of the beach debris littered the sand. To the left was just more sand. Who could be calling him and where was Starsky? Hutch put his hand to his head what he felt there was sticky when he looked at his hand it had drying blood on it. He decided he had better take inventory before he tried to get up. It was obvious that he had some kind of head wound. He looked down at his legs they seemed fine but he was missing his shoes. He had on white shorts that were now filthy. Hutch touched his chest and looked at his arms, there were small cuts on his arms and the T-shirt he had on was cut to ribbons.
Deciding that he wasn't hurt seriously Hutch tried to stand and after a couple of bouts of dizziness he finally made it to his feet. Hutch looked around again finally he spotted the woman who was calling him. She was leaning against a palm tree her left arm was in an awkward position. She had blood smeared on her face and her shirt was also torn. Slowly he made his way toward her when he finally reached her she had either fallen asleep or passed out. Hutch was betting on past out from the way her arm looked. The bone in her arm was protruding through her skin.
Using the palm tree to steady himself Hutch eased himself down next to the woman. "Are you all right?" Hutch asked touching the woman's leg. He was afraid to touch her arm. It was badly swollen and black and blue also.
Her eyes opened. "Oh Hutch thank God."
"What happened?" Hutch asked. He was racking his brain trying to think.
"You don't remember?" The woman looked at his head. "Ohhh you got a pretty bad cut on your head. "What's your name?"
Hutch gave her a quizzical look. It was apparent that she knew his name. Why was she asking him that? "Ken Hutchinson."
She smiled at him. "Well you don't have amnesia."
He smiled back at her understanding now why she had asked his name. "I know who I am I just can't remember where I am or how I got here. My head hurts like hell."
"You have a pretty nasty cut on your forehead but the bleeding has stopped." The blood from the cut was matted in to the detectives blond hair.
"Your arm looks pretty bad." He said wincing as he looked at it a bit closer.
"My arm is killing me," she said. "Do you think you could find something to splint it with?"
"Sure then you are going to tell me what the hell happened." Hutch said moving off into the jungle to find some sticks that could serve as a splint. As he search for wood Hutch tried to force his aching head to remember what had happened. Was it just so awful that he had blocked it out? Finally he found two sticks that would be usable and went back to where the woman was.
She smiled up at him as he bent down next to her. "Don't worry about hurting me I want you to straighten this out a much as you can."
"One question before we start? Was my partner with me?" Hutch asked he had to know.
"Partner? Oh you mean Starsky?" she shook her head. "No he didn't come with you."
He left out a deep breath happy to know that Starsky wasn't laying some place hurt or even dead. He looked at the woman again; she was very pretty even with the blood-streaked face. Hutch wondered how she knew so much about him and Starsky. "OK you ready?" She nodded. Gently Hutch felt her arm to see if he could feel where the break was. It seemed to be in her fore arm so as easy as he could he grabbed her wrist an the upper part of her arm and gave it a quick tug. She let out a scream and tears flowed down her face but she didn't try to move away from him. Hutch felt her arm again the two halves of the bones seemed to have slipped back into place. Then he took of the remains of his shirt and shredded it to make bandages to hold on the wooden splints. Before he put the splint on he tightly bound the wound the bone had left in her skin.
"Thank you," she said when he was finally done. "It feels much better."
"Can you walked?" Hutch asked her.
"Yeah, I wanted to pull you out of the water up on the shore but my arm was in too bad of shape." She explained.
"It's ok," Hutch said settling in next to her. "Help me remember what happened."
She sighed and closed her eyes it wasn't something she really wanted to remember. The whole ordeal was terrifying and it wasn't over yet. The weather had been beautiful when they had left for their chopper ride to see the other islands. It had taken off from the Honolulu airport the morning before. There had been the chopper pilot, a couple on their honeymoon, a young woman and a police detective. Toward the end of their ride a storm blew in quickly blowing the chopper off course. After a valiant try at keeping the chopper in the air by the pilot it finally crashed into the ocean.
Hutch squeezed his eyes shut, he now remembered and he also remembered that the young woman sitting next to him was an EMT from New York City named Christine. That was how they had talked about Starsky. When he had learned that she was from New York he had told her that his partner had gone back there to visit his mother.
Hutch's current girl friend Shelly who was a stewardess had gotten the three of them tickets for Hawaii. But Starsky decided to go and visit his mother, he didn't really mind flying but not over that much water and he didn't want to intrude on the lovebirds. Starsky would be gone five days, Hutch and Shelly seven. Starsky was going to pick them up at the airport on Sunday.
Sunday, what is today? Hutch looked at Christine. "How long have we been here?"
"We left yesterday crashed sometime in the later afternoon. We spent the night here and I would say by the position of the sun that it's around noon." She said looking at the sun over head.
"So today is Saturday," Hutch said. "I'm suppose to leave for home tomorrow."
Christine gave a small laugh, "Well unless you are good at building a boat and have a compass in your pocket I would say we are stuck here until somebody finds us."
Hutch blew out a rush of air and looked around. "What about the rest on board?"
Christine shook her head. "I haven't seen anybody else. But I haven't really been in any shape to look either. Man I sure wish I had some aspirin." She said rubbing her arm.
"Sorry I can't help you there." Hutch said, he looked down the beach at the bits of wreckage. "I guess that is all that is left of the chopper."
"Not much," she said. "I'm beginning to think the rest didn't survive."
"I'm suppose to meet Shelly at the airport in the morning." Hutch said. Once they had arrived in Honolulu it was only a few short hours before Shelly got a call that they needed her at work. Several stewardesses had gotten sick and they needed her to fill in for them. Turned out that the flu was going around and she was forced to work the whole week. But she had promised him that she would be back in time to fly home with him even if she were one of the stewardesses on board. Hutch had been disappointed but had easily found things to occupy him.
"Well I guess we need to see if we can track down some fresh water and see about finding some food," Hutch said. "You want to come or just rest?"
"I want to come. I have been sitting here for so long alone." She said. "If you'll just help me up."
"Sure," Hutch said as he helped her to her feet.
"So what kind of food are we looking for?" Christine asked.
Hutch shrugged. "I'm use to the concrete jungle not George of the jungle."
Christine giggled and followed him into the foliage.
Chapter 2
Starsky glanced at his watch as he pulled in to the parking garage at LAX. "Shit," He mumbled under his breath. He was ten minutes late and Hutch hated it when he was late. He dashed into the terminal; through the airport security flashing his badge and tore to the gate Hutch would be arriving at.
He stopped in the waiting room gasping for breath he looked around, only a few people were milling around. He went up to the ticket girl. "Has flight 802 from Hawaii come in?"
"No Sir not yet but it should be in any minute." She said smiling at him. "They had a slight delay."
Starsky thanked her and flopped down in one of the hard waiting room seats. Five minutes later Hutch's plane was announced over the speakers. Starsky joined the other people waiting for their loved ones to disembark. The last straggler came through and there was still no Hutch. Finally the stewardess and pilots came off. Starsky went up to one of them, "Excuse me."
"Yes," one of the women said smiling at him.
"My friend was suppose to be on this fight but he didn't get off." Starsky said. "His name is Ken Hutchinson."
"Let me check the passenger list for you sir," she said going to over to the ticket counter. She spoke briefly to the girl behind the counter who typed something into the computer then turned the screen where the stewardess could see it. She nodded and thanked the girl then went back to Starsky. "I'm sorry sir, Mr. Hutchinson was booked on the plane but he didn't make the flight."
Starsky sighed, "Thanks I guess he was having too much fun and decided to stay a while longer."
"You’re welcome." She left leaving Starsky to ponder what happen to his partner.
Maybe Hutch had left him a message on his answering machine. Shelly might have gotten them on a different flight. He went to a bank of phones to call his machine. As he was standing there waiting for his phone to ring. Someone came up and tapped him on the shoulder. Starsky turned around expecting it to be Hutch but it was Shelly.
"Hey Starsky," Shelly grinned at him. "Where's Hutch?"
Starsky slammed down the receiver and looked at her. "What do you mean where's Hutch, he was with you."
Shelly quickly explained what had happened. She finished by saying. "We were suppose to fly back together but I ended not coming in from Hawaii but Denver."
"Well I just left the plane he was suppose to be on and no Hutch. Stewardess said that he didn't make the fight." Starsky explained.
"I know he had to have gotten my message. I left it Friday morning when I found out that I couldn't make it, this darn flu is really getting everybody and now I think I might be coming down with it." Shelly coughed as to make her point. "I tried to call a couple of times on Saturday but there was no answer. Guess he had an all right time with out me."
"Ok so where is Hutch?" Starsky wanted to know.
Shelly shrugged. "Let me make a phone call."
Starsky followed her to the airport offices where she placed a call to the hotel that they were supposed to stay in together. "Let me speak to Lohe," she said into the phone.
"Lohe,"
"Hey bud, how's it going?" Shelly said.
"Doing great where ya been girl?" Lohe asked.
"Work you know."
"Tell me about," he laughed. "So what's up?"
"Looking for that guy I put up there, Ken Hutchinson." Shelly told him.
"OH!" Lohe exclaimed.
"What?" she asked not liking the sound of his voice.
"I hate to tell you this Shell but he went down in a chopper crash."
"WHAT?" Shelly gasped. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean what do I mean?" Lohe sounded annoyed. "You boyfriend, a honeymoon couple and a young woman went down in a storm Friday afternoon."
Tears begin spilling down Shelly's face. Starsky leaned over the desk. "What's wrong what happened?" he whispered.
Shelly said a few more tearfully words into the phone and hung up. "Oh Starsky, I don't know how to tell you this. Seems Hutch went on one of those chopper tours of the islands. There was a storm and the chopper crashed. Nobody has seen them."
Starsky just sat with his mouth open for a few seconds then said. "Get me a fight I'm going to Hawaii."
Twelve hours later after going home to pack and call Dobey to explain what was going on Starsky was disembarking an airplane in the Honolulu airport. A beautiful young woman placed a lea around his neck and welcomed him to the islands. He went straight to The Royal Hawaiian, where Shelly and Hutch were supposed to stay together. Starsky went to the front desk and asked for Shelly's friend Lohe. He was more than shocked by the young man that came to greet him. He was average height had blond hair and green eyes, Starsky had been expecting a large Hawaiian guy with a flowered shirt on. The only thing he had been right about was the brightly flowered shirt Lohe was wearing.
Lohe smiled at Starsky, "Shelly told me to be expecting you. I’m very sorry about your friend."
"They have given up searching already?" Starsky asked in a panicked voice. It's only been three days. Not even that if they went down late Friday afternoon."
Lohe shook his head. "The coast guard is still going out but nothing so far." He handed Starsky a slip of paper. "Here is the name and address of the helicopter Tour Company."
Starsky opened the scrap of paper and read what was on it. "Magnum Helicopters? Is this a joke?" Starsky asked.
"Joke?" Lohe asked.
"Never mind," Starsky said. "Where can I get a car?"
Hutch and Christine managed to find a small stream with fresh water. They followed it deep in to the jungle suddenly the bushes and vines opened up to reveal a small clearing where a pool with a beautiful waterfall flowed into. Hutch plunged into the water he cupped his hands and took several cool drinks of water. Christine stepped in after him, she tried to scoop up some water with one hand but it was awkward and not much water reached her mouth. Hutch scooped up a hand full of water and held his hands out her. She smiled and drank greedily it had been a long time since either of them had drank.
There was a fallen tree next to the pond, they both sat down on it and looked around. "Now what?" Christine asked.
Hutch shook his head, "I guess we find something to eat and build some kind of shelter."
"I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help," she said rubbing her arm that was throbbing again.
"Don't worry about it." Hutch said. "I guess I should built some kind of a lean to on the beach so we can see if any one comes looking for us."
She nodded in agreement. "And build a signal fire." She added. Being from New York she was just as much out her element as Hutch was but there were some common sense things that she knew.
"Good idea," Hutch said smiling. "See you are helping."
"Oh boy," Christine laughed. "Maybe I can scout around for something we can use as cups. Not that I mind your hands but you are going to get tired of getting me a drink."
They headed back to the beach, birds flew over head and small animals scurried in fright as they walked back along the path they had made. The sounds of the jungle made both of them uneasy as neither was sure what they might face especially with darkness approaching soon. Back on the beach Hutch hunted palm fronds to cover the large branches he had braced against palm trees and planted in the sand. It wasn't much shelter and probably wouldn't hold up in a storm but at least it was shade from the sun.
Christine hunted the beach and the edge of the jungle for anything they could use. She found several coconut shells that they could use for cups and some large shells for bowls. Christine was a ways down the beach when she saw something washing up on the shore. Thinking it might be something that they could use she hurried toward the object. But what she found made her stomach churn. "Hutch!" She screamed but couldn't rip her eyes from the body floating in the shallow water.
Hutch had just emerged from the brush carrying more fronds when Christine screamed. He dropped his load and tore down the beach. She was kneeling in the sand crying by the time he got to her side. "What's the matter?"
Christine pointed out in the water. Hutch followed her finger until his gaze rested on a body of a man. The Detective waded out into the water to get a better look. It was their chopper pilot, his face was cut to ribbons from either the windshield of the chopper or a rock he might have washed against, his whole body was bloated and a grayish blue. Hutch took a hold of the mans arms and pulled him ashore. Hutch sent Christine back to where he had been building the shelter and he spent the next hour digging a shallow grave in the sand to bury the pilot in. After piling rocks on top of the make shift grave Hutch went back to the camp they were making.
The sun was beginning to go down and there as a slight chill in the air as it blew in off the ocean. Hutch gathered more rocks and made a ring near the lean to. Then he gathered up smaller sticks and dried grass and weeds and place it in and around the sticks. Finally he found to larger sticks and began rubbing them together.
Christine laughed in spite of her self, it had been a shock to see the pilot floating in the water. She had seen her share of dead bodies but nothing like that. She shook her head at Hutch, "Do you really think that will work?"
"Hey I use to be a Sea Scout," Hutch assured her and kept rubbing the sticks. Finally they began to smoke and the dried grasses caught a fire. "See I told you." He breathed a sigh of relief he hadn't been so sure if it would really work. Matches would have been much easier.
Christine clapped her good hand against her leg, "Bravo! Now we just need something to eat."
Hutch looked around and picked up another stick and a rock. He began rubbing the end of the stick on the rock until he had formed a sharp point. "I'll be back…I hope." Hutch walked out to the water where an outcropping of rocks were. He stood silent, unmoving for what it seem to Christine forever. She kept tossing sticks on the fire to keep it going. Then in one fluid motion Hutch jabbed the stick into the water, when he pulled it out there was a fish wiggling on the end of it.
He came back to Christine with his prize. "Well I guess we won't starve, at least not tonight."
Chapter Three
Starsky stood out side a broken down hut, he looked at the scrap of paper that Lohe had given him. It was the right address. He looked past the hut there was helicopter that looked as if it had seen better days sitting on a small pad of cement. Starsky saw a tall man with brown curly hair walking up the side of the road. "Excuse me?" Starsky called to him. "Is this Magnum Helicopters?"
"Yep," the man drawled in a surprising southern accent. The man towered over Starsky, he was wearing a bright red shirt with equally bright yellow flowers all over it.
"You know the pilot?" the detective asked.
"Yep," he drawled again.
"Could you please tell me where I can find him?" Starsky said getting agitated.
"Ya looking at him." The man said.
Starsky blew out a breath of air trying to calm himself and not jump down this man’s throat. "I need a pilot to help me look for my partner."
"That so?"
Starsky ignored the comment and continued. "He went down in a chopper on Friday during a storm."
"That was a shame, Ronnie was a good man," he said. "Coast guard is looking."
"I know that." Starsky said frustrated. He felt like he should be doing something. "And what do you mean was?"
"I doubt anybody lived from the crash," he said simply. Few live when they go down in a chopper in the ocean. They usually sunk like a stone trapping its occupants and if they get out the fish get them.
Starsky looked at him stunned by his bluntness. Hutch couldn’t be dead, he couldn’t be. "But they could be alive."
"Sure anything is possible, stranger things have happened." The man answered.
"Would you help me look?" Starsky asked.
The man thought for a moment then shrugged, "Sure why not."
"Great!" Starsky said heading toward the helicopter.
"First thing in the morning."
"But it’s still light," Starsky protested.
"I need to gas her up, run a check, that takes about an hour." He explained. "It’s after four, we wouldn’t get very far."
Starsky looked from the helicopter to the pilot. He sighed. "All right, but first thing in the morning."
The detective started to walk away. "Thomas," the man called after him.
"Pardon?" Starsky said turning to look at him.
"Names Thomas," the man said
"Davy Starsky," Starsky said. "See you in the morning.
The morning dawned clear and bright, Hutch rolled over to find the biggest hairiest spider he had ever seen right by his head. He leaped up stumbled over Christine’s legs and went sprawling in the sand face first. "What’s wrong?" She asked startled.
Hutch pointed to the spider that was calmly crawling back in to the bushes. "There was a spider by my head. That thing was as big as a rat."
Christine laughed. "You want to see rats come to New York."
"I think I would rather have a rat than that thing." He watched as it disappeared then he asked. "How’s your arm?"
She rubbed her arm, "It really hurts and the swelling isn’t going down any. I think it might be infected.
Hutch felt her arm it was burning hot. He grabbed the remained of his shirt and went down the edge of the water to wet it. Hutch wrapped it around Christine’s arm. "Better?"
She nodded but still looked worried. "I hope somebody finds us soon."
"I guess I should see if I can catch some breakfast." Hutch said picking up the stick he had used the night before.
"Fish again?" she teased.
Hutch laughed as he headed toward the water. "I’ll see if I can rustle up some steak for lunch."
Christine smiled then when Hutch was gone she grimaced in pain. Her arm was getting much worse, she was afraid that gangrene might be setting in. It was swelling and puss was oozing from the wound.
After breakfast they decided the next thing they should work on was making a signal fire in case somebody came looking for them. Once again Hutch went into the jungle looking for dead limbs and dry grass. Christine wanted to come and help but Hutch insisted that she stayed put, her arm was looking worse by the minute.
He finally sat down next to her, his body wet with sweat. He had built a huge bond fire on the beach that they could light if they heard a boat or plane approaching. "We’ll have to make sure we keep this small fire going," Hutch said. "It would take too long to light the bond fire without."
Christine nodded but he wasn’t sure she understood him. Her face was sweaty even though she had been sitting in the shade. He reached over and felt her fore head she was burning up. Then he examined her arm; carefully he unwrapped the bandage he had place around her arm. He sucked in his breath when he saw her arm it was beginning to turn black and smelled awful.
Hutch looked up at Christine’s face she had huge tears in her eyes. "It’s gas gangrene."
"That’s bad isn’t it?" Hutch asked.
She nodded, "I’m going to die."
"Don’t talk like that, you are going to be just fine." Hutch tried to comfort her.
"No I’m not. If I got medical attention right now yeah I would be fine but gas gangrene moves very quickly. If we had antibiotics I might have a chance. I will most likely will go into shock, renal failure, a coma, then die. It’s not going to be pretty Hutch."
Hutch sat and looked at her in horror. "Isn’t there something I can do?"
She shook her head at first then nodded. "You can be here for me. You can give a message to my family. But you can’t save me." She let out a bitter laugh. "Sometimes it’s hell being in the medical profession. I know all the gory details."
Hutch didn’t laugh, "I’m not going to let you die you hear me Christine. I don’t want to be in this god forsaken place alone."
She took his hand, "I’ll hang on as long as I can."
Chapter Four
Starsky was back at the pilot’s shack just after the sun had come up ready to go. Thomas was not where to be seen he knocked on the door nobody answered. Starsky walked out to the chopper thinking maybe the man was getting it ready. But again he found no one. Starsky sighed wishing he had just found another helicopter pilot the night before. He was just about to leave when Thomas came though some foliage on the other side of the chopper.
"’Morning," he drawled. "She’s all checked out we can leave when ever you are ready." Starsky was rather surprised that they were ready to leave. "Hey I might not look very dependable but I am."
Starsky blushed a bit at being caught in his thoughts. "Well I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be." The thought of going up in the small helicopter didn’t excite the detective at all in fact it frightened him to death. If it weren’t for Hutch being missing he wouldn’t even consider getting in it.
Once they were up Starsky relaxed a bit and took in the view. "Pretty ain’t it," the pilot said.
"Yes it is," Starsky agreed. "How do we find my partner?"
"Just look," Thomas said. "I called the coast guard this morning. I got a list of islands that they have checked out." He pulled the list from his pocket and handed it to Starsky. "There is a map under your seat."
The detective pulled out the map and looked at it. Thomas handed him a pencil and told him to circle the places that had been check. "There is a lot places they could be." Starsky said looking at all the tiny islands on the map.
"If they went down on or close to one we have hope. If they went down in the ocean there is none." Thomas said.
Starsky wished he would stop saying that. "Where do you think we should look?"
"Well, I did a little research last night found out which direction the storm blew in from. Then I plotted a course where they possibly could have been blown to." He pointed to a small group of islands. "I think they could be some where in here if they made it to land."
"Didn’t the coast guard do this?" Starsky asked.
"Doubtful," Thomas answered. "This storm caught a lot of people off guard so it just wasn’t your friend that is in trouble. They have been doing a pretty meticulous job of searching all the outer islands. "Several people have been rescued but they were in boats that had been slammed into the shore. There have been several not so lucky. There are many tiny islands around here some not even on maps so we will just have to hunt and hope they have a flare gun or were smart enough to build a signal fire."
Starsky digested all the information the man had just given him. Hutch was smart, street smart but this wasn’t the streets not by a long shot. Then he remembered Hutch telling him he was a Sea Scout. He wasn’t sure what a Sea Scout was but hopefully it had something to do with the sea and Hutch would remember.
Hutch spent most of the rest of the day sitting with Christine. He could tell she was going down quickly. He was amazed at how fast the gangrene was sitting in. Christine went in and out of consciousness several times Hutch would go and wet the rag and place it on her forehead to keep her cool. She moaned and talked in her sleep, her waking times were less and less frequent, and when she was awake she wasn’t always lucid.
Finally hunger drove Hutch into the jungle to look for food. He took a big shell that he had found to carry back water for Christine although she wasn’t drinking much any more. He knew she was dying just like she said. The thought of being on the island dying a slow lonely death was almost more than he could bear. He wondered if there might be some type of poisonous plant that he could eat to end it all if he got sick or injured so badly he couldn’t take care of himself. He didn’t want to just lay on that god-forsaken beach and shrivel away. Hutch also knew by now that Starsky had to be looking for him. He also knew that his partner was like a dog with a bone and would drive any one crazy if they didn’t do a thorough search. Content with that thought he went in search of food.
Hutch found some coconuts and some other kind of fruit he wasn’t sure what it was. It tasted good and he figured that if it killed them it didn’t really matter. After getting the water he headed back to the beach and Christine. When he got there she was laying just as he had left her, her eyes close. He kneeled next to her placing the large shell of water next to him. He picked up a coconut half and scooped up some water. Gently he lifted her head but she didn’t respond to him didn’t wake.
"Christine?" he called softly. He shook her lightly her head bounced on her shoulders. He lay her back down and leaned over to listen to her chest. Her breathing was very shallow and he could barely hear her heart beating. "Don’t leave me, please."
Hutch knew it was only a matter of maybe minutes and she would be gone. How could something so awful happen? It was bad enough that they had crash, they had lived through that. Now Christine was dying and there was nothing he could do about. He gently pulled her into his lap cradling her head in his lap. "It’s going to be all right Christine." He cooed softly to her.
Suddenly she took a deep breath, he thought she was going to wake but then her body totally relaxed and he knew she was gone. A tear slid down his cheek and then he begin to sob, for Christine a young woman he barely knew, for himself knowing that he might never be found and for Starsky whom he knew was searching tirelessly for him.
The sun was setting before Hutch was able to console himself enough to move. He covered Christine with the remains of his tatter shirt. He would have to bury her in the morning not something he relished. He though of catching a fish but didn’t have the heart so he just curled up on the other side of the fire from her body and fell in to an uneasy sleep.
The next morning Hutch awoke to see storm cloud boiling on the horizon. The fire was nearly out he knew that was his first order of business. He glanced over at Christine’s body, the only thing he felt like doing was curling up in a ball and dying. Then he thought of Starsky, who had to be tirelessly looking for him. He had to stay alive as long as he could for his partner. He knew if it were Starsky there that he wouldn’t give up.
Slowly Hutch got to his feet, he was starving he looked toward the ocean but the fire came first. He went into the trees to find fuel for the ebbing fire. After making sure he had a roaring fire going once again and extra kindling he then grab his stick and went in search of fish. He knew he was going to have to have something on his stomach for before burying Christine.
The first few spatters of rain hit Hutch’s bare back just as he put the finishing touches on the make shift grave of the young woman. He said a quick prayer over the pile of rocks then headed for cover. Soon the rain was driving in sheets; it quickly put out the fire. Hutch sat huddled under the jungle foliage hoping it would stop soon. As he sat there he decided once the storm was over he would began a search of the island he would have to see if there was a more suitable place to hold up when storms came. This storm was nothing more than a summer shower but the rain was blinding and the wind tore at the trees if there was a full blown storm he could easily be blown from the island.
It was nearly dark; Thomas turned the chopped and headed back toward the big island. Starsky realized they were turning. "Hey," he shouted. "Where are we going?"
"Listen my friend, we won’t do your partner any good if we crash ourselves." Thomas told the upset detective. Starsky reminded silent the whole way back, all he could do was wonder if Hutch were dead or alive and he knew that the odds of him living diminished every hour that he wasn’t found.
Thomas landed the helicopter then turned in his seat and looked at Starsky. "Mr. Starsky," he began. "If your friend was floating in the water he would have mostly been found by now. So that means he is either drowned or on one of those islands and we just have to find the right one."
Starsky nodded as he stared out the windshield of the chopper. "Please call me Dave."
"Ok Dave, what is your gut feeling?" Thomas asked seriously. "Is your partner alive?" Starsky turned and looked at him. Thomas gave him a brief smile. "I know a bit about partners especially close ones and from the way you are acting you and your partner are close."
"Yeah we are close, like brothers."
"Okay so is your partner alive?" Thomas asked again.
Starsky closed his eyes like he was trying to telepathically reach Hutch. He took a deep breath then opened his eyes and looked at Thomas. "Yes Hutch is still alive, I can feel him."
Thomas smiled at Starsky. "That’s good enough for me. We’ll go up first thing in the morning.
Chapter Five
Starsky arrived at Thomas’s shack early the next morning to find the man standing out side looking up at the sky. Without taking his eyes off the darkening clouds he said. "We are going to have to delay our take off Dave."
The detective looked up also; he hadn’t even noticed the blackening sky. "Storm?"
Thomas nodded, "A mild one it should pass in a hour or so but we can’t go up in it."
Starsky knew better than to argue. Thomas was on his side he had felt it last night during the conversation while sitting in the chopper. "All right I’ll be back when the weather clears."
"How about some breakfast?" Thomas asked, he knew that the man probably hadn’t had a good meal since he had arrived in Hawaii.
Starsky shrugged, "Sure it beats sitting alone in that hotel waiting."
Thomas motioned Starsky to come with him. They went through the trees on a small path, just a short distance though it opened up into a huge green expanse of freshly cut grass. A large white house sat in front of them. Thomas walked across the grass and up the steps of the house. Starsky stood opened mouthed staring. "You coming?" Thomas called from the front door.
Starsky hurried across the lawn. He had the idea that Thomas lived in the run down shack by the helicopter. He went up the steps two at a time until he was standing next to Thomas. "This yours?"
"Yep, you didn’t think I lived in the repair shack did you?" Thomas asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
"I-uh," Starsky stammered.
Thomas just laughed and pushed open the door. "Mo I’m back! Got company think you could rustle us up a bit of breakfast?"
A lovely petite Hawaiian woman came into the hall wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Sure Thomas," She smiled at her husband then looked at Starsky. "Welcome."
"This is Dave Starsky," he said. "Dave this is my wife Maureen."
"Nice to meet you Maureen." Starsky said holding out his hand to shake hers.
She took it then patted his hand with her other one. "I’m really sorry about your partner Dave. If anybody can find him Thomas can." She said proudly looking at her husband.
"And call me Mo please," She said as she started back toward the kitchen. She stopped and turned to look at them. "Why don’t you boys sit on the back porch I’ll bring your breakfast out there."
Thomas lead him through house to the back porch, it was screened in and gave them a beautiful view of the beach. After they sat down Starsky looked at Thomas, "Wonderful place you have here."
Thomas chuckled, "You had me pegged from some lonely old hermit living on tourist’s money." Starsky looked rather embarrassed. "Don’t worry about it Davy. That is the impression I project. I just pretty much wanted to be left alone here with my family."
Mo soon brought out their breakfast after she left Starsky’s curiosity got the best of him. He had been wondering about it since their talk the night before. "Thomas you sound like you had a partner at some time."
Thomas looked at the detective over the rim of his glass. He sat it down and took a deep breath. "Yes I did have a partner. I was a cop some twenty years ago. I lost him when he was kidnapped I didn't find him in time."
"I'm sorry," Starsky said knowing how he would feel if it was Hutch, it was Hutch it wasn't the exactly the same but Thomas knew how he was feeling.
Thomas looked down at his lap. "I know it wasn't my fault but still I felt responsible. It took me along time to get over it."
Starsky looked out over the lush green surroundings as the rain pelted down. He wished it would stop soon. He wanted to ask Thomas more, how he came to live in Hawaii more about the case where his partner was kill but he sensed that it had taken a lot of him to just tell the little he had. The man was sitting across from him with a pained expression. Starsky now understood why Thomas has almost seemed reluctant to help him at first, this was bringing back bad memories. "Thank you Thomas for helping me."
"We will find your partner I promise you that." Thomas said. Even if his partner was dead when they found him they would bring him back give Starsky something to bury unlike him. There wasn’t much to bury of Rob just tiny pieces after the explosion.
Finally the rain subsided and Hutch ventured out of the trees he had been taking cover under. Palm fronds littered the beach and a lot of debris had washed up also. He walked along the waters edge looking for anything that he could use. Hutch found a small metal box half buried in the sand. He pulled it out there was a red cross on it. A first aid kit, he gave a bitter laugh but he knew even if they had it earlier it still wouldn’t have been enough to save Christine. Hutch carried it with him thinking it could be useful later on if by chance he got hurt.
Finding nothing else of value Hutch headed back to his now smoldering fire. The rain had washed it out so he immediately began working on a new one. Everything was pretty wet so he spread some kindling out on the beach to dry. The bond fire that he had built was now strewn all over the beach blown by the strong winds. He decided to let it all dry out before rebuilding the signal fire. Now that the storm had passed the sun was beating relentlessly down on the island. Hutch sat down on a rock and opened the first aid kit to see if anything in it was still of use. The Band-Aids and gauze were soaked but there were several tubes of antibacterial ointment that were fine, a small bottle of eye drops might come in handy, and there was a ace bandage which he could dry out. Hutch found a small metal vile in the bottom of the box he pulled it out and opened the top. He was delighted with what he found, waterproof matches. He counted them carefully there were twelve. He hoped he would need no more than that. Hutch put them back in the metal vile and stuck them in his pocket for safekeeping.
He was hungry again, seemed like he was always hungry. He knew that he should work on building the signal fire back up but Hutch decided he would try to catch several fish, find some fruit and have a feast that night. He went to the pond that he and Christine had found their first day there and sat down on the edge dangling his feet in the water. Then he striped off the remainder of his clothes and jumped in. The water felt good and he swam for a while before getting out and laying on a large rock in the sun to dry.
Hutch was almost asleep when he heard some rustling not to far from in the underbrush. He sat up slowly looking around; he caught sight of some kind of bird foraging under a bush. He didn’t know what kind of bird it was but it was his.
Hutch was on his way back to the beach clutching the dead bird when he heard it. Dropping the bird he made a mad dash for the beach. The noise was clearly that of a helicopters blades, he got to the beach just in time to see the chopper turn and head away from the island "NO NO," he yelled running into the surf. "COME BACK I’M HERE!" He fell to his knees in the water. "COME BACK!" Hutch bounded the water with his fists. "Come back come back," he sobbed and threw himself into the salty sea water. He could just take a deep breath and it would be all over. What were the chances that the chopper would come back? Slim to none. He was now stuck on this island alone…alone forever.
Hutch’s will to live was even stronger than he knew for after a while he stood up and walked back up on the sand. He looked at the make shift lean-to he had built then retraced his steps to find the bird he had dropped. Then he got the fire going cursing himself for not taking the time to do it before. Letting his hunger drive him instead of doing what he should have done. After the fire was going he then built back up the signal fire praying as he worked that the chopper might return.
Once his work was done he got his sharpened stick and caught a couple of fish to go with his prize bird. He had been proud that he had been able to sneak up on the bird and capture it with out it hearing him. Hutch gathered some bananas while the bird and fish were cooking. He had cleaned both catches and stuck them on sticks so he could roast them over the fire.
When the food was cooked Hutch ate greedy finishing it all. It was the first time in several days he had felt full.
After the meal he lay next to the fire and fell in to a deep dreamless sleep. It was nearing midnight when his cramping stomach woke him. It hurt so badly he couldn’t even move. Hutch thought he must have eaten something that was poisonous maybe one of the fish he had caught was uneatable. He lay doubled up and groaning the beach wishing that he had drown him self earlier.
Chapter Six
After the weather had cleared Thomas and Starsky had spent the rest of the day searching many of the small island on the maps. Starsky would X out each island as they flew around it searching. They saw no signs of life on any of them. One had caught their attention for a bit and they buzzed the beach several times just to make sure it was just debris they were seeing.
Starsky had been the one to catch sight of the wood on the beach. "Hey Thomas looks like somebody tried to build a fire or something down there."
Thomas agreed and flew lower so that they could get a better look. There was a lot of driftwood on this beach much more than any of the others even after the storm. Starsky got out the binoculars so that he could scan the edge of the jungle praying he would see some signs of human life.
"Anything?" Thomas asked.
"No, I guess it’s just from the storm," Starsky said dejectedly, it had been the closest they had come.
"We got to be getting back Dave, sun will be setting soon." Thomas said as he made one last pass over the beach. If they had just looked back they would have seen Hutch clad only in his white shorts run out onto the beach waving his arms.
Once they had landed Starsky thanked Thomas again for helping him. "Will we try again tomorrow?" he asked. Thomas nodded.
As he was getting in his rental car Thomas leaned in the passengers side window, "Hey Dave why don’t you come stay at the house? We got plenty of room, Mo would like somebody else to cook for besides me and the kids."
Starsky only thought about it for a moment then agreed he was tired of stewing in his hotel room alone every night. Thomas got in as he offered to ride to pick up the detective’s things. They drove in silence for a while then Starsky asked, "Got kids do you?"
Thomas smiled, "yea they were in school this morning. Kimmie and Mary."
Dinner that night was anything but dull, Kimmie who was twelve and Mary who was fourteen couldn’t take their eyes off their dad’s new friend. They flirted with Starsky shameless until Thomas finally sent them to their room to do their homework. Both Thomas and Mo apologized endlessly for their daughter’s behavior but Starsky just laughed it off. It had been the first time in so many days that he hadn’t been completely distraught over Hutch.
The morning dawned rainy and strong storms were predicted which kept Starsky and Thomas grounded. They spend most of the morning combing over the map to see what islands they hadn’t been too. Starsky started to put an X on the last island they had looked at the day before but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Thomas watch Starsky his pen poised over the dot of an island. "Gut feeling?" he asked.
Starsky looked up he hadn’t even notice that Thomas had been watching him he had been so lost in thought. "Yeah I guess. Something just keeps nagging about that island. The debris on the shore was different like it had been place not washed up."
"I agree," Thomas said. "It could have been a signal fire that got blown around from the storm or the surf could have disturbed it."
"I think it’s worth another look." Starsky said looking at Thomas.
"I think so too." Thomas smiled and slapped Starsky on the back. "How about a drink?"
Starsky took a deep breath and nodded some how feeling a bit closer to Hutch. It could be nothing, it could be somebody else stranded on that island but the feeling it was his partner was very strong.
Three days later and the weather still hadn’t let up. Starsky had taken to pacing out on the porch; Mo kidded him that he was going to wear a path in the flooring. It had now been over a week since Hutch went down in the chopper. It was madding for Starsky he wanted to get back to that island the feeling just wouldn’t leave him and the more time that passed he was sure that Hutch was there.
The girls had gotten use to Starsky being around and had more or less adopted him as their uncle and stopped flirting. Thomas got after them several times to leave him alone but Starsky love the distraction and would have surely gone crazy with out them.
It was early on the fourth morning at the house when Thomas came in and woke Starsky just before dawn. "The weather has broken. We can get the chopper up."
Starsky was up and dressed in just a matter of minutes. Thomas was waiting on the front porch with two cups of coffee. They crossed the yard and headed to the helicopter. It took Thomas an hour to do his routine check of the chopper. Meanwhile Starsky clean the pad of broken limbs from the storm. Once up in the air they headed in the direction of the island.
Hutch came out from a little out cropping of rocks he had found four days ago when the rain started. Thankfully his stomach cramps hadn’t lasted too long, he figured it must have been him eating so much after having so little. Now he was really hungry, the rain had kept him from the beach and forced him to live on what fruit was near by.
The sun felt good on his face, he made his way toward the beach knowing that once again his signal fire was gone as well as his cooking fire. But at least it would give him something to do after the hours and hours of sitting confined in the small outcropping. He began at once gathering up driftwood to get his fire going. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. He would eat later once everything was in place and ready to go.
Hutch had just put the finishing touches on the bond fire when he heard what he though was a helicopter again. At first he thought it was just wishful thinking, then he saw it. The chopper was coming straight for the island. There was no way they were going to miss him this time. He ran for the cooking fire that he had lit earlier grabbed a burning branch he ran back to the signal fire. He touched it to the grass around its base. At first it just smoldered then the fire took hold and began to burn. He waved his arms as the chopper got closer.
The helicopter landed up the beach, Hutch took off running for it. He tripped and fell into the water but he leaped up and kept going. He could see two people getting out; they were running toward him. One of them looked like Starsky, he though then Hutch’s heart leapt as he realized it was Starsky running toward him.
"Hutch!" Starsky called as he ran toward his partner.
"Starsky!" Hutch said tears coursing down his cheeks. He stumbled again but this time Starsky caught him in his arms.
They both went down in the water on their knees, "I’m here man I’m here," Starsky said as he hugged Hutch tightly.
THE END