ENSLAVED

Chapter 8

The vehicles containing the cult members had all split up in and taken different routes back to the farm. Doctor Lancaster had finished his packing and was placing his last bags in his car as the first vehicle arrived back at the farm. Damn, they should have taken longer than this, thought Doctor Lancaster. It had only been an hour since they had left to free Simon. Simon climbed out of the side of the van.

"My friend, where do you think you are going? there is work for you still to be done"

"I, I was just getting ready to leave with you all" Doctor Lancaster’s voice shaking slightly, he cleared his throat "We are leaving shortly aren't we as soon as the others return?"

"Shortly, but first there is work for you to do" and with that Simon walked to the back of the van and opened the doors. Starsky lay there semi conscious, his tshirt soaked in his blood and his chest slowly moving with the shallow breaths. Simon had his men move Starsky out of the van and into the house. "Doctor, see what you can do here with night

time. Just keep him alive he is coming with us when we leave" Doctor Lancaster went back to his car. "And just where do you think you're going" shouted Simon.

"Getting my equipment, you do want me to keep him alive don't you?" snapped Doctor Lancaster getting rather tired of Simon ordering him to save the lives of those he had tried to convert or who he had used like this.

"Well get on with it then. Night time is coming with us. We leave in 30 minutes" Doctor Lancaster knew he didn't have much time to work on Starsky or to try and get help for them both. He quickly went into the house and found Starsky had been placed in the same room Hutch had been kept in earlier. The movement had been the worst thing to happen to Starsky, the bullet had moved and had penetrated his lung. He was having trouble breathing and the blood was still seeping out of the wound. Doctor Lancaster set about trying to stabilize Starsky as best he could, he knew he had to get help as he did not have the supplies to help this convert survive. The oxygen he had would only last for an hour and he only had one bag with him for the iv.

Starsky started to gain consciousness as the oxygen flowed into his lungs. He did not move, the pain in his chest with each breath was excruciating, he could only fuzzily focus on his surroundings. The memory started to come back to him, he was in the middle of gunfire and there was Simon Marcus standing over him. Darkness claimed him again. Doctor Lancaster knew that time was running out for them both. If he was to save Starsky he had to get proper medical help to him too and if he was to be free of the cult he had to find a way to leave. Hearing no movement inside the house, he made his way to the kitchen. Quietly he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the hospital.

"Yes, put me through to Detective Hutchinson" It seemed like an eternity until the call was connected. Still no one in the house. Safe so far. Dobey answered the phone "Yes, he's here, who's calling"

"I have information about Detective Starsky, I need to speak to Detective Hutchinson urgently" and with that Dobey quickly passed the phone onto Hutch who was rather slowly climbing out of bed determined to help with the search for his partner. "You're partner is at the old farm, the one previously used by Marcus before his people murdered the owner a month ago".

"Hey who is this" asked Hutch, "How do I know this isn't a hoax"

"Detective, you're partner is dying, I just want him to survive and I want to be free of the cult, we're leaving in........" Simon had entered the house and had overheard the last part of the conversation. He snatched the phone from Doctor Lancaster and pulled it from the wall.

"You dare to betray me" Simon grabbed Doctor Lancaster by the arm and pulled him across the kitchen. "I dream that you will die Lancaster" and with that Simon had his men take him to one of the farm buildings there they left the doctor safely secured to one of the support beams and set about booby trapping the barn.. The group had reassembled and had packed their few belongings. Simon went back into the house to move Starsky out to the building to die with the doctor.

The old farm thought Hutch, the old farm who they had previously used and murdered the owner a month ago. A month ago, it all came back to Hutch now. "Captain I know where they are" Hutch moved slowly towards the door trying to leave his room.

"Hutchinson, you're not going anywhere" yelled Dobey.

"Captain, just get me out of here, I know where they are. Its the old farm where we found their van up on the hill last month. Remember captain - the farmer i went to speak to about his animals being slautered, the explosion in the fertiliser shed had killed the farmer - captain thats where they are"

"Okay, but you're staying here" snapped Dobey "You're in no condition to go out there"

"Captain please, Starsky’s dying, look just put me in the ambulance, I'll ride out with them, I have to get to Starsky" pleaded Hutch. Dobey saw the look for desperation on Hutch’s face and after okaying it with the hospital he got the clearance for Hutch to travel out to the farm in the ambulance for his partner.

The cult had only left ten minutes before the first of the police cars arrived at the farm. A search was started on the many outbuildings and the house. The ambulance was approaching the farm as in the distance a loud explosion was heard. Two police officers had been killed instantly as they had opened the barn door, all that was left now was wood scattered in every direction for hundreds of feet. God no, thought Hutch please don't let that have been Starsky.