– for Mvernet
Hutch has lost all track of time. How long has he lain on this rocky hillside, pinned beneath his car? Stones dig into his back, dirt cakes his shirt sleeves. Has it been two days or is it three? Maybe even longer. His head aches. He has no idea how long he was unconscious before waking to his predicament.
He wonders if, after everything he’s been through in his relatively short life, he’ll die alone on this brush covered, forsaken hillside. Helpless beneath a hunk of twisted metal. He smells of sweat and blood and urine. An ignoble ending for someone who’d once been called a white knight. Hutch’s mirthless laugh bursts forth as sob and he closes his eyes against the afternoon sun.
Someone approaches singing a hymn. Colonel Sonny McPherson – a would-be savior in a faded khaki uniform. But Hutch quickly realizes Sonny is a man lost in time. While Hutch begs for help to ease the pressure on his leg, the Colonel dreams of glory and a war that has long since ended. He proudly declares Hutch a captured German spy and ambles away.
Sonny McPherson can’t help Hutch. The confused old man can’t even help himself.
Hutch’s throat is raw from calling for help. His lips are swollen and cracked from lack of water. His eyes burn from looking up into the sun. Still, Hutch prays for one more hour of daylight.
His leg no longer tortures him the way it had when he’d first awoken to his dire situation. In fact, it’s gone completely numb. Hutch tries not to think on what that means. He fights to hold his fears at bay. Even before his police training, he was good at staying calm in times of crisis. But he knows his options are dwindling. He is unable to pull himself free from beneath the crushed car frame. His shouts just echo back to him. His gun is out of reach. The police radio crackles and pops ineffectually.
What if he dies here? What if? The idea seeps into Hutch’s head the way cold wind enters a room, sneaking in through the smallest crack, no matter how hard Hutch tries to block it out. He’s not ready. There’s so much he still wants to do. He has yet to make peace with his father. He hasn’t given his mother the daughter-in-law and grandchildren he’s seen reflected in her eyes.
He tries to focus on the snake sunning itself on a rock ten feet away. An ant crawls across his pant leg. A bird flies overhead, a momentary shadow against the setting sun.
No longer able to stop it, Hutch’s mind wades through a swamp of missed opportunities. A hundred more regrets.
He thinks of Starsky. Where every best moment, every deepest disappointment, every challenge overcome, began and ended. Where is he now? What is he doing? Is he worried? Angry? Is he looking for him?
What will Hutch say to him if he gets another chance?
Hutch is out there somewhere and he’s still alive. Starsky can feel it deep in his bones. The way he can sense the honesty of a snitch or a loaded gun at his back. But for how long? It’s up to Starsky to find him. Today of all days, time is a precious commodity.
Starsky follows every lead no matter how tenuous as the clock ticks. He hears of a hitman hired to kill a cop and confronts the degenerate’s girlfriend, Carla, who turns tricks for money. Starsky pulls up a chair to face the battered woman. “Someone very very very important to me is missing.” He leans in, their knees almost touching, and speaks with the quiet intensity of an archangel. His very presence demands that Carla feel something other than numbness. That she remember what it was like to love and be loved in return.
And for just one second, looking into Starsky’s eyes, she does. “Hotel Garvey.” Carla reveals where the boyfriend’s holed up.
Leads dissolve. Shadows lengthen. Still, Starsky doesn’t give up.
A new tip takes him to Colonel Sonny McPherson, the aging warrior who fights battles only he can see. Still living for honor and glory. Starsky stiffens and salutes. He explains that the German spy the colonel has captured may be the key to the war.
The key to the war. A hope for the future. Given Starsky’s urgent tone and deference, how could it not be so? The soldier blushes and puffs out his chest. He points to exact coordinates on his map. Old and useless no more. Glory hallelujah.
The sun kisses the horizon. Starsky races against the coming night and Vic Humphries — a man intent on finishing the job the car crash left incomplete.
A few minutes more, a few minutes more, Starsky breaths as he presses his foot on the gas pedal. The car bucks in response. Around the next bend he brings the Torino to a screeching halt.
Starsky flings open the door and races down the hillside, catching Humphries then letting him fall. He isn’t what’s important.
In the waning light, Starsky sees Hutch’s flipped car and beneath it, a twisted body. The last rays of sun illuminate familiar golden hair.
Starsky scrambles around the car and slides down in the dirt beside Hutch. He gently lifts his partner’s face and holds it between his hands. Edges of moonlight reveal purpled bruises and streaks of blood. Hutch blinks up at him and manages a smile.
“We made it, partner,” Starsky whispers as twilight finally arrives. They don’t mind. The night is no longer a threat.
They’ve survived summer’s longest day. Tomorrow will bring a new dawn. They vow not to waste it as Starsky leans in ever closer and they share one perfect kiss.
I love your writing, Spencer. The descriptions are always clear and unique. Hutch’s doubts sneaking into his consciousness like cold wind through a crack. This is indicative of your writing and I just love it. I know that Mvernet is smiling down on you and saying, ‘That’s my partner. That’s my girl.’ <3
You’ve shown us their bond, their strength and their fear in just a page. Spencer, you have such a beautiful way with crafting a scene.
CE is right, Mvernet is patting you on the back, saying “Another winner!”
What a great glimpse into their thoughts while each were going through their own hell! You make it come even more alive. I love that you dedicated it to your dear friend, Mvernet.
Thank you for this lovely gift. Even though we know the outcome, my heart rate went up while reading it.
I love survival fics, I love to see how you describe that beautiful moment when Starsky holds Hutch’s head in his hands
Thanks so much for the story! You did a fine job with it.
Others voiced my very thoughts before I had a chance to read this, Spencer, and they got it absolutely right: Mvernet was watching over your shoulder as you wrote this and I can feel how proud she is. This is beautiful from both POVs and the ending? Utterly perfect! Thanks so much for this lovely gift.
Beautiful writing 🙂
What everyone else said.
I believe the strong, bright sunshine I see outside my house today is because Mvernet is smiling so big because of your excellent story-craftmanship! She is so proud of you!
thank you for this beautiful story, Spencer.
HUGS and KUDOS
Beautiful!
Oh, this is so beautiful. Survival is one of my favorite episodes and you do it justice here.
This is quite great : Where every best moment, every deepest disappointment, every challenge overcome, began and ended.
Lovely writing!
I love how your short sentences in this story really convey the urgency of the situation without losing detail or emotion. I think “distilled” might be an apt description of the style, which is appropriate since the situation is distilling what is important to both Starsky and Hutch, leading to that wonderful kiss.
I think my favorite paragraph is:
The key to the war. A hope for the future. Given Starsky’s urgent tone and deference, how could it not be so? The soldier blushes and puffs out his chest. He points to exact coordinates on his map. Old and useless no more. Glory hallelujah.
Aww, love this! I especially love this line, “He thinks of Starsky. Where every best moment, every deepest disappointment, every challenge overcome, began and ended.” Beautifully said.
And “Glory hallelujah” for Sonny is really nice.
Such a powerful, emotional story told with such excellent writing. Well done as usual, Spencer! Thanks for writing and sharing.
Love Survival stories. This is all everyone says and more. Perfectly written. Mvernet is with you all the way. Thank you. Big hugs.
Loved it. You could just feel the unrelenting sun beating down on Hutch.
You’ve truly captured the intensity of emotion from the ep. Beautifully done, Spencer.
This was absolutely beautiful Spencer. You always capture our boys so well and this showed the intensity of each of their points of views just perfectly. I know that your beloved friend Mvernet is smiling down on you. Thank you for sharing this lovely story.
This is just lovely. You’ve done Mvernet proud. This line especially moved me: Old and useless no more. Glory hallelujah.
Thank you!