Chapter 15: Midnight Concerns
Chapter 15: Midnight Concerns
Nancy kept a close eye on Martin's movements through the camera, still somewhat anxious. She turned to the assistant director and said, "Double-check that the lifeguards are ready."
A moment later, the assistant director returned, "I've reminded them. They're on high alert."
"Good."
Nancy lifted her megaphone and began issuing instructions.
"Lighting and cameras, in position."
"Martin, I need you to move quickly, especially for the jump into the lake."
"Got it. Ready!"
"Action!"
Wearing just his shorts, Martin jogged toward the small wooden dock at the lake's edge. A chilly winter breeze swept through, making the onlookers outside the camera shiver.
It wasn't that they were cold—it was sympathy for Martin braving the frigid water.
Though winter in California wasn't harsh, the night air was chilly, especially for a summer scene. Martin, however, had to act as if it was a warm, sunny day.
Nancy watched intently, hoping he wouldn't show even the slightest shiver.
But Martin's performance was flawless. It was as if he was completely immune to the cold.
He jogged to the dock with a relaxed, cheerful expression, tossed his shirt aside, dove gracefully into the lake, and started swimming, his strokes strong and confident.
In the water, Martin moved like a fish. The water seemed to offer no resistance, and even the lifeguards on the shore couldn't help but admire his swimming skills. "This kid can really swim!"
"Perfect!" A satisfied smile appeared on Nancy's face.
…
After the swimming scene wrapped up, Jessica came over to bid Martin farewell.
Her role in the movie was done, and she would be leaving the set.
"Martin, if I call you a lot in the future, would that bother you?" she asked shyly.
"Not at all. I wouldn't have given you my home number if I minded. Call me anytime. Chatting with a beautiful girl is always a pleasure," Martin replied warmly.
"Do you really think I'm pretty?"
"Of course!"
Jessica's face lit up with a sweet smile, and then she pointed off to the side, "Martin, look over there!"
As Martin turned to see what she was pointing at, Jessica puckered her lips, aiming to give him a quick peck on the cheek. But just then, Martin unexpectedly turned back, and their lips met instead.
Jessica's eyes widened, taken by surprise.
Martin, however, was secretly amused. Did you really think a simple trick like that could fool a succubus? He even took advantage of the moment, lingering in the kiss a bit longer as his hands found her waist.
After a moment, their lips parted.
Blushing, Jessica stammered, "I-I didn't mean to kiss you on the lips… I was just aiming for your cheek! This was my first kiss! You don't think I'm… a bad girl, do you?"
Martin chuckled. "This was my first kiss, too. So, if you're a bad girl, I'm a bad boy. We're a perfect match."
Jessica laughed, her cheeks flushed but her heart happy. "Really? That's so sweet! I have to go now, but keep in touch, okay?"
With that, she skipped away like a little sparrow, occasionally turning to wave at him. "Martin, make sure you answer my calls!"
Martin touched his lips, a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
Wonderful. These sweet feelings are the most perfect nourishment…
…
Meanwhile, back in the trailer, Jennifer was engrossed in Martin's manuscript, her eyes locked onto the page as the story reached a suspenseful climax.
"No, wait, what happens next? What's the final challenge?"
Her frustration mounted as she reached the last page, only to realize the story had stopped right at the climactic scene where the five main characters were closing in on the ultimate Easter egg.
Jennifer felt a surge of irritation at the abrupt ending. She glanced up in frustration, only to find Martin sitting across from her, watching her with a grin.
"Martin? When did you get back?"
"When you were slapping the table and cursing the main villain—Nolan," he replied with a chuckle.
Jennifer glanced at the clock. "What time is it?"
Martin pointed to the digital display in the trailer. "9:40."
"Oh no, I need to get going! I got so absorbed in the story that I lost track of time," she said, quickly gathering her things. But before she could stand, Martin gently pressed her back into her seat.
"Heading out at this hour isn't a good idea," he said. "It takes at least two hours to drive from here to USC's campus. You know better than I do how bad the area's security gets after dark."
USC's main campus was located in South Central Los Angeles, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, with a predominantly African-American and Latino population. The area was notorious for three things: gun violence, drug trafficking, and gang activity.
To ensure student safety, USC had one of the strictest security protocols of any American university. Its campus was surrounded by walls and fences, and ten of its eighteen gates closed at 9 p.m. sharp. The remaining gates were guarded by armed security officers, and students needed their IDs to enter, even in residential areas.
Since the early '90s, USC had experienced several incidents involving campus shootings and student disappearances, which led the university to maintain rigorous security measures.
In addition to the restricted campus access, the school bolstered its security presence, installing multiple safety systems, fingerprint scanners in dorms, and dispatching campus police. The Department of Public Safety's white cars patrolled around the clock, staffed by both LAPD officers and USC's own campus police, who held similar authority to railroad police and could enforce campus laws independently.
Every evening, local residents, referred to as "community ambassadors," also patrolled the area from sunset until 6 a.m., wearing yellow T-shirts with "USC Safety Ambassador" printed on them. This practice earned the neighborhood the monikers "the rich island in a slum" and "the fortress."
But USC wasn't the only area with severe security issues. Greater Los Angeles had similar problems.
Anyone who had visited Los Angeles would know that nearly every neighborhood was marked by wrought-iron fences and barbed wire.
Wealthy areas were lined with homes equipped with advanced security systems, with police patrolling constantly.
In middle-class neighborhoods, with fewer patrols, homes were enclosed with fences, and nearly every household owned a dog.
In fact, Los Angeles dogs were known not just as pets but as protectors, unlike the docile family dogs of the Midwest. Here, dogs were trained to guard and defend.
As famously depicted in Crash, "In any real city, you walk, but in Los Angeles, nobody touches you. We're separated by metal and glass. Maybe we miss touching so much that we crash into each other just to feel something."
It was a city divided—a place where strangers, the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy all kept their distance. Here, you could never be certain if someone approaching you on the street was asking for directions or planning to rob you at gunpoint.
Martin's concern was warranted.
For someone like Jennifer, a beautiful young woman driving alone late at night near the slums, it could very easily end in a headline-making tragedy.
[•———•———•———•]
𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:
• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮
• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝
• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲
𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!
👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.
𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥