Hunting in Hollywood

Katherine Bigelow and Janet Johnston rushed to the UCLA Medical Center in downtown Santa Monica, arriving just before midnight. Outside the hospital's emergency area, several police cars and ambulances were still flashing their lights, and a few private cars were haphazardly parked nearby.

Without time to look for a proper parking spot, Katherine parked her car on a patch of open ground near the hospital and she and Janet hurried toward a middle-aged Caucasian police officer.

"Officer, hello, we are friends of Simon Westeros," Katherine introduced themselves as they approached the middle-aged officer, then quickly asked, "How is Simon now?"

The officer, Charles Heck, looked at the two elegantly dressed women in surprise, then responded, "I'm Charles Heck. Please follow me, ladies. Also, do you happen to know how to contact Simon Westeros's family?"

As they walked into the hospital building with Charles, Katherine hesitated before answering, "Simon is an orphan; he doesn't have any family."

This revelation surprised both Janet and Charles.

Despite having gathered enough information from their previous encounters, Janet found it hard to believe that such an impressive young man was an orphan. She had always thought that many of the things Simon said were probably just jokes.

The officer was also taken aback by this, and as they walked, he began to explain, "We received a call and found him in an alley near Amherst Street. From what we can tell at the scene, Simon Westeros was passing through on his bike when he was attacked by five youths. However, when we arrived, Simon had already passed out. Ladies, do you know why he would be riding his bike alone in that area late at night?"

Katherine only knew from a recent phone call that a police officer had seen her contact information in Simon's phone and that he had been hospitalized after a fight.

Now hearing that Simon had been attacked by five youths, Katherine's heart raced, but she patiently explained, "Simon told me he's been working at a 24-hour supermarket lately."

The officer nodded, "That makes sense. The shift change at a 24-hour supermarket would indeed be around 11 PM."

"So," Katherine pressed, "Mr. Heck, how is Simon really doing?"

The officer shook his head, "When we found him, he was in a very bad state. However, the doctors are still assessing his condition."

Janet finally chimed in, "Were the perpetrators caught?"

Officer Heck looked at Janet and nodded, his expression slightly odd, "Yes, all five of them were caught. None got away."

As they reached the emergency area, Katherine and Janet saw five young men on stretchers with their right legs suspended in the air, all moaning in pain. They immediately understood the officer's strange expression earlier.

Katherine, unable to spot Simon among them, grew even more worried.

Janet, however, stared wide-eyed, disregarding the bustling doctors and nurses and the clearly distraught family members gathered around. She clicked her tongue in disbelief as she examined each of the suspended legs.

Noticing the last youth not only had his leg suspended but also had a swollen cheek and a sunken mouth like a toothless old lady, Janet shivered slightly.

She ran back to Katherine, her face flushed with excitement, muttering, "Too violent, too violent, that was just too violent."

Katherine, retrieving Simon's backpack from the police, saw Janet approaching and took her hand, "Let's go, Janet. Simon is in the CT room."

Just as the two women were about to leave the emergency hall, several doctors and nurses wheeled a stretcher from a nearby corridor. Simon was lying on it.

Katherine and Janet hurried over to inquire about his condition from the doctors when a group of middle-aged men and women, previously gathered around the injured youths, stormed over aggressively.

One of the women, tears streaking her face, lunged toward Simon. The police in the hall quickly intervened. Janet, seeing the woman charge at her, pushed her forcefully away, shouting, "Hey, what are you doing?"

The woman stumbled back, supported by her husband. With the police now separating them, she abandoned any further attempt to attack but glared venomously at Simon on the stretcher, "Murderer, I won't let this go; I will see him in jail."

"Ha, murderer? Are you joking?" Janet scoffed, pulling away from Katherine's grasp, pointing at the youths on the stretchers, "You are the murderers, five against one and you still ended up with broken legs. Not just murderers, but a bunch of losers. 'Not let it go?' We'll see about that."

Katherine had to step in again as Janet grew increasingly agitated, quietly pulling her aside, and they followed Simon's stretcher out of the area.

After the incident, the hospital quickly arranged a separate room for Simon.

Several busy hours later, Katherine

 and Janet finally sat on either side of Simon's bed.

Looking at Simon, still unconscious and hooked to an IV, Janet rested her chin on her hands beside the bed, remarking, "He really can take a beating, all those injuries yet not a single broken bone. Those five losers got comminuted fractures; they said it will take several surgeries to recover. Tsk tsk."

Katherine, however, wasn't as optimistic, staring at Simon's sleeping profile with concern.

Simon had been unconscious for several hours, which wasn't a good sign.

Furthermore, the doctor had just informed Katherine that while Simon's external injuries seemed mild, the numerous attacks he endured made it difficult to rule out internal bleeding, necessitating at least a week's hospital observation.

Janet, noticing Katherine's silence, followed her gaze to Simon's face, then expressed relief, "Thankfully, his face wasn't harmed; he's still so handsome."

Saying this, Janet reached out to touch Simon's face, then slid her hand under the sheet, exclaiming, "Wow, so strong."

Katherine glared at her, "Janet, can you stop messing around?"

"Alright, alright," Janet retracted her hand guiltily.

But as Katherine looked away, Janet's other hand sneaked under the edge of the sheet.

Given Simon's disheveled appearance upon arrival, his clothes had been cut off by the doctors. Now, the boy was only covered with a temporary paper undergarment.

However, just as Janet's hand touched Simon, she suddenly felt a strong grip on her wrist.

Startled, Janet yelled, trying to pull back, but instead dragged Simon's arm along.

Feeling her wrist clamped as if in a tiger's jaws, and the grip tightening as she struggled, Janet soon cried out in pain, "Ow, ow, little man, you're awake, aren't you? Let go, it hurts, let go, or I'll bite you, I really will. Hmm, Kate, help, it hurts!"

Katherine, initially thinking Janet was playing a prank until tears began to fall, quickly moved around the bed.

After examining Simon's grip on Janet's hand and trying unsuccessfully to loosen it, Katherine turned to the unconscious boy, "Simon, are you awake? Please, let go of Janet; it's very painful."

Simon remained unresponsive on the bed.

As the noise in the room escalated, the doctors, nurses, and the two police officers stationed at the hospital came into the room.

The small hospital room quickly filled with people.

"Kate, I think I'm going to die. Tell this little bastard when he wakes up that I'll come every night to talk to him. Also, tell my family I won't go back to Melbourne; I want to be buried in Los Angeles, I love the sunshine here."

"Doctor, can you think of something, please?"

"Ma'am, try to relax, don't struggle. This is a stress response from the patient; the more you struggle, the tighter he will grip."

"When we found this kid, he was holding a baseball bat just like this; we barely managed to take it from him."

"Ow, you little rascal, this is my hand, not a baseball bat."

After much commotion, Simon's grip on Janet's hand showed no sign of loosening.

Seeing Janet's tearful state, Katherine again turned to Simon, suddenly got an idea, and gestured for silence from everyone.

Leaning down by the bed, Katherine whispered gently into Simon's ear, "Simon, can you hear me? I'm Katherine, you are safe now, everyone is here with you, it's all over..."

Patiently, Katherine murmured soothing words, and everyone in the room fell silent, watching.

After several minutes, as Katherine stopped whispering, everyone came to their senses, and Janet realized she had somehow been freed from Simon's 'claw.'

Yet, her previously fair wrist had turned into something resembling a carrot.

After being checked over by a doctor and returning with ice packs on her hands, Janet glared at the still-sleeping Simon, seeing Katherine nonchalantly reading a magazine, and grumbled, "I should have bitten him earlier, the little devil."

Katherine looked up and smiled, "It's your own fault."

"Wah, you're siding with him? I'm jealous, Kate," Janet complained, and seeing Katherine's indifferent expression, she 'stirred the pot' further, "I think deep down, this little devil is a real brute. We should stay away from him in the future."

"Not at all," Katherine shook her head, her gaze tenderly on the boy on the bed, her voice full of pity, "He's just lacking in security, that's all."