Yellow Fever

A gust of wind swirled the leaves on the empty sidewalk into a restless dance. Angela’s boots clicked rhythmically as she walked along the pavement. She buried her mouth into her scarf and shoved her hands deep into her pockets. She had never been to this neighbourhood before. Each property stood at least half a kilometre apart from the next, with grandeur being the only common attribute. Carefully manicured yards and lawns stretched like small meadows in the front and back. Neat rows of maple and elm trees on either side of the road formed a canopy overhead. Their extended branches reached towards Angela as if to envelope her. As she turned the street corner, her boyfriend’s home came into view. She felt trepidation rise within her as the house drew nearer. She double checked the address on her phone to make sure it was right, 4 Northgate Avenue. It was an isolated house. Yellow leaves fell in a golden curtain, smothering the groomed hedges. She mentally prepared herself to meet his parents. How are you? It is lovely to finally meet you... no, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.

As she was about to ring the doorbell, the door creaked opened to reveal her boyfriend smiling. An aroma of Chinese food filled her nostrils as she stepped in and removed her leather jacket.

“Hi baby, it wasn’t too bad outside was it?”

“T’was a bit chilly, took two buses to get here, but I made it didn’t I?” Angela managed a smile. It was curious to see two Chinese lanterns hanging on either side of the door. The stairway was embossed with red engravings all the way upstairs and the carpets were the colour of dark wine. A dragon stood in the corner facing the living room watching over the dinner table. Soft Asian music played in the background. The house looked just as big on the inside as it did on the outside. Compared to Angela’s one bedroom apartment that she shared with her mother, their house was like a mansion.

“Is it Chinese New Year already?” Angela joked. Nathan laughed, his soft laughter washed over Angela like a warm breeze.

“Nah, my parents are just really into Asian stuff.”

“Really? You didn’t tell me that. I hope you guys didn’t just do all this for my benefit.”

“Of course not. But I hope it makes you feel at home,” he smiled again. Awkwardness washed over her.

***

Nathan led Angela to the living room where they found his mother sitting on an armchair, reading a book, across from a fireplace. “Hello, I’m Angela. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Angela started automatically. His mother wore a traditional qipao decorated with red and white flowers and had her golden hair tied back into a tight bun. Apart from old photos and movies, Angela hadn’t really seen anyone wear a qipao before.

“Ni hao. Call me Ling, my given name is Lorraine Hathaway, but Ling has a nice ring to it don’t you say?” She rose from her chair to shake Angela’s hand.

“Um yeah sure it does! I love your dress!” Angela commented to be polite.

“Why thank you, I had it specially made by a tailor in Guangzhou.” Angela noticed she also wore an assortment of jade bracelets around her wrist. This woman was really going all out, she thought. “Is that near where you’re from?” Ling smiled down at her.

“Um... I’m not really from China. I actually grew up in Edmonton.” Angela wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but Ling’s smile seemed to drop slightly.

Angela noticed a decorated divider separating the living room and the kitchen. A rich aroma wafted in from behind the divider along with the sound of frying. They sank into winged armchairs around a carved tile fireplace. A large calligraphy painting of two horses hung above and the tile under the mantle was inscribed with a cherry tree and a Chinese poem. Angela squinted at the lettering, but found it incomprehensible. Ling caught her gaze and, with a little impish smile, said, “It’s from the Book of Songs, the oldest collection of Chinese poetry. But I suppose you already knew that. Do you recognize the poem?”

“Um… no.” Angela felt her cheeks flush.

“Oh really? Apologies for my assumption. Do you read and speak Chinese?”

“Well, sure, I can read simplified Chinese and converse a bit in Mandarin. But it’s definitely not as good as my English.” As Angela was talking, Nathan’s dad came into the room from the kitchen. His father wore khaki slacks and a dress shirt with the top two buttons unfastened. His silver hair was combed back, revealing a receding hairline. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses framed small eyes which almost disappeared into the folds of his eyelids.

“I’m sure you’re being modest. It’s quite the exotic language, isn’t it? Hard to learn too.” Ling said.

“I guess so?”

“In this current economy, it’s the next global language.” Nathan’s dad interjected. “They’re practically taking over wouldn’t you say?” directing his question more towards Ling than the others. Ling nodded in agreement. Angela stayed silent. “I’m Michael by the way.” He smiled tightly.

“So what do you like to do for fun? Do you play the piano?” Michael continued.

“Oh, I like reading a lot. I also draw a bit I guess. Piano, not really. I played a bit when I was young but that’s it.”

“Hmm…” Ling looked at Angela curiously as if weighing whether she was worthy for her son of not.

“So what’s for dinner, dad? I’m starving!” Nathan chimed in.

“Dumplings and General Tao chicken with rice. We made the dumplings ourselves. We know how important that is,” Ling cut in, looking pointedly at Angela, but she just smiled politely in return.

“I think the dumplings are done steaming by now. Why don’t we make our way to the kitchen?” Michael said. They rose from their seats and followed Michael. A bowl of fragrant rice, a dish of chicken in savory sauce, plates and cutlery were arranged neatly on the dining table. Michael went to scoop up the dumplings from a large steamer and heaped them onto an empty plate on the immaculate marble-top counter. He then carefully laid it down at the center of the dining table.

“Qing man yong,” Ling urged once everyone had taken their places around the table.

“Are you good at making dumplings?” Ling asked Angela, deftly picking up a dumpling with a pair of chopsticks.

“Um, I haven’t really made many dumplings. I did make it one time when I was little. My mother tried to teach me,” Angela added with an uncomfortable laugh.

“Oh how interesting… Are you close with your mother then?”

“Sure, we talk on the phone every week.” Ling seemed unsatisfied with the answer, but dropped it.

“Angela’s really good at math,” Nathan volunteered.

“Oh math! That’s always useful. Studying computer science, was it?” Michael asked.

“Yes sir, studying at Lakeshore Technical College.”

“Good. So Angela, what are your plans after graduation?” Ling asked.

“Oh I dunno, maybe pursue another degree or do something research-related in comp sci.”

“I see, well very promising careers in CS right now eh?”

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of interesting developments in A.I. and machine learning recently. It’d be really nice to be able to use these technologies to help people.”

“Ah yes of course, we all want to make the world a better place, don’t we?” Ling smiled. Angela nodded her assent.

“Was it perhaps your father who taught you the value of helping humanity?” Ling probed.

“Actually, my dad left us when I was four. Haven’t seen him since.” An awkward silence descended over them, which was abruptly broken by a loud clatter from upstairs. The sound made Ling half jump out of her chair. It sounded like something had been knocked over.

“Michael, dear, can you check on that please?” Ling said rather uncomfortably. Michael got up and hurried upstairs.

“Probably some old boxes toppled over,” Ling offered as if to comfort herself. She poked at her food while her eyes wandered around the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Michael came back and sat back down as if nothing had happened.

“It’s taken care of,” he smiled at Ling, adjusting his glasses.

***

“Would you like a tour around our house?” Ling offered after dinner.

“That would be lovely!”

There were four bedrooms upstairs, with two bathrooms. The house was bigger than what Angela imagined it to be.

“This is my collectibles room,” Ling opened the door to a space filled with Chinese ornaments. Angela stood at the door agape at the number of items. “I like collecting rare items from China. This plate for example dates back to the Ming dynasty.” She pointed to a ceramic plate decorated with blue ink designs and a drawing of a family in the center.

“Wow... I don’t know what to say... It’s all very impressive.” Angela thought Ling must have spent a fortune on these collectibles. It felt like she was walking into a Chinese history exhibit in a museum.

“This one is my favorite... It is a ceramic vase that dates back to the Qing dynasty. And it comes with a story. Legend said that this vase was given as a dowry from a nobleman to a maiden whom he wished to marry. But, the maiden was in love with someone else and didn’t wish to marry him. The nobleman however threatened to kill her family if she didn’t marry him. Leaving her with no other choice, she killed herself in her bedchambers by running head first into the vase itself. It is still said that her soul is trapped in the vase till this day. You see this woman painted on the vase? This was painted after her suicide to cover up the blood she spilled and as a tribute to her, I suppose. Quite a tragedy isn’t it?”

“Wow, yeah I can’t imagine.”

“Anyways enough ghost stories for one night, shall we continue?”

Angela nodded.

In the hallway there was a large portrait of the famous historical figure Deng Xiaoping. Angela paused to look at it. A sketch of mountains served as a backdrop to his profile, a pensive smile playing around his mouth. “Wonderful revolutionary figure isn’t he? Admirable.” She stood there for a moment staring at her idol.

“Um, I suppose.”

The other two rooms were bedrooms: the master bedroom for Ling and Michael and a slightly smaller room for Nathan.

“The last room over there is nothing much, we usually keep it closed since we use it for storage,” Ling explained indicating the room at the farthest end of the corridor. Before they went back downstairs, Angela thought she heard something in the storage room, but the others didn’t turn their heads, so she followed them back down.

“You’re welcome to stay the night Angela,” Ling offered.

“That’s very nice of you, but I don’t want to impose.” Angela glanced over at Nathan shyly.

“Nonsense, of course you should stay. You can share my room.” Nathan replied.

“Like on the same bed?” Angela’s cheeks flushed.

“Oh please, we’re not that old fashioned. You two love birds have fun.” Ling said.

“Thanks then! I appreciate you letting me stay.”

***

“That was great food,” Angela commented as they were getting ready for bed. “Your parents are really into the Asian stuff eh?”

“Yeah, they’ve always been like that as long as I can remember,” Nathan said dismissively.

“Isn’t it a bit strange though? Like does she wear a qipao all the time?”

“Pretty much. Why is it strange? Isn’t it a compliment that we’re taking so much interest in your culture?”

“Well, I suppose, but I guess I didn’t expect that much. I don’t know, maybe. It’s just awkward they seem to know more about my culture than I do.”

“Don’t worry. They’re not going to judge you for it. Besides, you’re awesome the way you are!” He kissed Angela on the cheeks and then the mouth.

***

In the middle of the night, Angela felt the urge to relieve herself so she crawled off the bed to find the bathroom. She trailed along the walls, feeling her way more than seeing. As she was heading back, a low thumping sound stopped her in her tracks. At first she thought it was perhaps a tree tapping on a window, but then she realized the persistent thumping came from the locked room. A dim light leaked from the bottom of the door. Curious, Angela tiptoed towards the door and put her ear against it.

“Hello? Is someone in there?” she whispered. The thumping seemed to get more urgent. She tested the door, but it was locked. The thumping stopped abruptly and the doorknob began to turn. Angela gulped and stepped back a few steps not sure what to expect. A giant lumbering figure stood before her and she froze. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Just then she noticed Ling coming out of the master bedroom to see what was wrong. Ling came around and, with a gentle but firm hand, nudged Angela aside so she could stand in front of the towering man.

“Eddie, go back in your room please,” she said firmly as if to a pet dog. The large man obeyed promptly and went back in, shutting the door behind him. Angela stood awkwardly facing Ling, still shocked at her discovery. When she could speak again, she slowly asked, “Um, who in the world is that?”

“I see you’ve discovered our adopted son, Eddie.” Ling replied casually.

“What?”

“We adopted him from China when he was an infant. He is autistic and doesn’t respond well to strangers, which is why we didn’t introduce him to you earlier,” she smiled at Angela. “Sorry if he woke you up,” she added.

“Oh not at all, I just needed to go to the bathroom.”

“I see, hmm…” She looked at her a moment longer in the dark. “What beautiful hair you have,” she commented suddenly while she reached out to stroke Angela’s long black hair.

“Um, thanks. Sorry to disturb you, goodnight.”

“Night, night.” Angela felt Ling’s gaze on her back as she headed back to her bedroom. Angela tossed and turned for a while, unable to fall asleep. She always had trouble sleeping at a new place, but tonight she felt particularly unsettled even though Nathan was right beside her. Finally, when restlessness had overtaken her patience, she shook Nathan awake.

“Hmm? Is it morning already?”

“No, no, Nathan, I wanted to ask you something, I can’t sleep. I want to know…” she started. “Why didn’t you tell me about Eddie before?”

“Who?” Confusion clouding his face.

“Eddie? You know the adoptive brother you didn’t tell me about?” Angela crossed her arms, waiting for her words to sink in.

“Huh? Oh Eddie! Oh, I just didn’t think it was important, like I was going to tell you eventually, I wasn’t even sure if he was still living with my parents.”

“You don’t think mentioning that you had a brother was important!?” Angela stared at him incredulously. “Well clearly he is here and he scared the shit out of me earlier.”

“What do you mean? He’s harmless really. He’s supposed to usually stay in his room.”

“You know what, never mind. Are there any other secrets you want to tell me about?” Angela frowned accusingly.

“Hmm, not that I can think of... besides that you’re the cutest girl I’ve ever met!”

“Oh shut up, that doesn’t erase the fact you didn’t tell me!”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

“But why do your parents even keep it a secret?”

“I don’t know, maybe they thought it would be awkward. Besides, he’s not very good with strangers.”

“That’s what your mother told me,” Angela grumbled under her breath. She noticed Nathan dozing off again and decided to drop the subject.

***

The next day, Nathan’s family insisted that they go shopping in Chinatown and that Angela should stay another night. Angela felt like she was being watched and couldn’t let the tension from the previous night go. She smiled politely and did her best to be good company. On their way back, Ling announced that they were having guests over.

“Who are the guests, mom?” Nathan asked when they reached home.

“Oh, just some old friends from the golf club. You’ve seen them before. You’ll find them a pleasure, Angela. They’re from China as well.”

“I’m sure I will.” Angela didn’t bother correcting Ling of her origin again. She felt mentally exhausted already and it was barely nightfall. She helped them prepare dinner in silence. The doorbell rang and Ling promptly went to welcome her friends. A formally dressed Chinese couple entered the kitchen and greeted everyone. The woman was a plump middle-aged woman. A large diamond necklace hung around her neck, complementing her golden rings and bracelets. Her red dress hugged her body comfortably emphasizing her bosoms. Her small eyes squinted at Angela assessing her from head to toe. Her husband was a tall, neatly shaven man besuited in a crisp blazer, which exuded the faint smell of cologne. His gray hair was precisely parted along the side of his head. He shook Angela’s hand firmly and, through a thick Chinese accent, introduced himself as Li You.

“Lovely young lady you have. She with Nathan?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s my girlfriend,” he said affably.

“How is the research going along?” Michael inquired when they sat down for dinner.

“Not bad at all! We’re making good breakthroughs in more smooth consciousness transference. We comb through much bugs,” said Li You.

“We recruited more millennial helpers. They’re more… how you say... tech savvy, you know,” his wife, Li Mei added with a mischievous smile.

“Ah yes, that is good to hear indeed!” Ling exclaimed excitedly. They continued talking about business and research for a while. Angela didn’t follow their conversation and zoned in and out.

“…Aiya my unfortunate nephew…didn’t even graduate high school. Can you believe it? What he do with his life? He works in coffee shop, and wants to be hairdresser la. My poor sister, so sad. Look at my son, graduate top of his class at Harvard. My nephew needs to be more like him. That’s why we came to you. You can help him.” Li Mei said.

“Of course! It’ll be our pleasure to match him up with someone who will bring him to a higher level.”

“Such good people! Only we know you sooner!”

After dinner, Ling served them all cups of tea sweetened with condensed milk. Shortly after, with many pleasantries exchanged, the Li couple went home.

***

Later in the night, Angela heard thumping from Eddie’s room again. Nathan remained sound asleep beside her. She got up quietly and knocked lightly on Eddie’s door. He opened the door, looking timidly around it. Angela felt silly for being scared when she first saw him.

“Shh,” she put a finger to her lips. “It’s alright. Are you okay? I keep hearing thumping from your room. Was that you?” He nodded and retreated inside his room, leaving the door ajar. Angela took a few tentative steps into Eddie’s room, unsure whether she was welcome. His room was sparsely furnished. Apart from a bed that looked too small for Eddie’s frame, most of the space was taken by an old desktop computer resting on a small desk. He sat on the chair facing the computer and, seemingly oblivious to Angela’s presence, resumed whatever he had been doing on the computer.

Curious, Angela looked over his shoulder. She was surprised to find that he was browsing through one of those obscene sites catering to men looking to date Asian women. Eddie looked at each woman intently as though he was inspecting produce on a supermarket shelf. He suddenly seemed to take notice of Angela and stared right into her eyes. His gaze took her off guard and she stepped back a few paces.

Eyes abruptly widening, Eddie said in a strangled whisper, “Run.” He grabbed her hand and slipped a piece of paper in her hand. His head then fell forward as though he was going to faint. Angela reached out to try and catch him, but his head snapped back and he nonchalantly returned to his screen. Angela almost stumbled as she shut Eddie’s door quickly behind her, holding the scrap of paper tightly in her hand. She breathed heavily and her heart pounded in her chest.

From what or who does she need to run? Surely in a neighbourhood like this, there wasn’t much danger was there? She felt too agitated to return to bed now. She crept downstairs to get a glass of water, walking carefully to avoid making the floors creak. She grew calmer after gulping down some tap water. The silence in the house felt deafening. She heard neither the wind outside nor the vents inside.

“Okay, Angela, don’t lose it now,” Angela whispered to herself under her breath. She brought Eddie’s scrap of paper near the window to let the moon’s light illuminate the white sheet. She studied it and recognized the scribbled form of a dragon. She scanned the house, her eyes landing on the dragon facing the living room. She remembered her mother telling her that dragons symbolized luck and power; it usually guarded something important like the doors to the celestial heavens. She padded towards the dragon, and felt around it for a knob or something. Finally, she slowly reached her hand inside the dragon’s gaping mouth, half-afraid that the jaws would snap shut around her arm. Her hands closed around something cold and metallic. She lifted it out and a rusty key lay in her hands. She looked around and saw a locked door she had at first thought was the laundry room. More secrets downstairs? She slipped the key in the keyhole, and the door creaked opened, leading down into the basement. Darkness swallowed the staircase. She pulled out her phone to light the way and crept down slowly, feeling the steps with her feet.

After what felt like half an hour, she reached the bottom of the staircase. What she discovered left her lightheaded and stopped her heart in her chest. On the basement floor, lay dozens of bodies of young women. They were arranged side by side in a tight grid like packaged products. Angela shone a light on one of the faces, willing herself to be brave. As far as Angela could tell, the girl’s chest was still. She poked the girl gently, and as her fingertips brushed against the girl’s face, Angela pulled back in surprise. The skin was still warm.

“Hey, girl, wake up!” Angela shook her. The girl remained unresponsive.

Angela checked on the other girls, one by one. Each of them was the same. She also realized that they all looked like her; not exactly the same, but similar facial features, build and ethnicity. Angela’s heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of her chest. The truth dawned on her.

Eddie’s warning.

Her light flickered and her phone died. She stumbled climbing up the stairs. She stopped in her tracks. What about all these other women, she couldn’t just leave them here. The police have to hear about this. She needed evidence, or the police would think she was tripping. Eddie!

As Angela made her way upstairs, the first light of daybreak already slipped through the windows. She ran upstairs as fast and as silently as she could and knocked quietly on Eddie’s door. He let her in without question and went back to his computer.

“Eddie, you got to listen to me,” her voice frantic. He didn’t turn his head, but she hoped he was listening. “You know your parents got women bodies in the basement? Look, I—I don’t know which side you’re on, but you’re my only hope. All those women down there need help, they’re all asleep or something I don’t know. But I need evidence for the police. If you have anything, anything at all. Please help me. Please, they don’t deserve this. It’s not right. Please, Eddie!”

Eddie typed away at his computer as if Angela hadn’t said a word. Just as she was about to give up in exasperation, Eddie stopped suddenly. Angela turned back and looked over at his computer screen. He had abandoned the dating site for an auction site. On the webpage, numerous male and female Asians were put on the bid. He hit an enter key and files started transferring. With a swift motion, he pulled the USB stick from his computer and handed it to Angela without looking up. Angela didn’t waste any time. Tucking the USB stick under her bra, she bolted out the door and almost collided into Ling.

“You were careless, Angela,” she towered down at her. “You dropped the key on the way up here. You know, I wake up very early for my morning yoga and bible prayers.”

“Please... don’t hurt me. What do you want?”

“Oh child, don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to make you shine!”

“Huh? What?”

“Surely, you would have figured it out by now?” She prompted.

“That you’re trafficking innocent young women?”

“Trafficking? Goodness no! What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“One who keeps women bodies in their basement! What is your obsession with us anyways? What do you want?”

“Angela, dear. Relax, those women are perfectly fine. They are simply asleep. They feel no pain, no nothing. My venture of course is a rather personal one, but of course my husband has a more entrepreneurial spirit. For me, I’m collecting these Asian women for aesthetic purposes. You have the luxury of having such youthful features for so long, I simply want to wear your skin. We’re also collecting them for your brains. There must be a reason most of your people are so successful.”

“How is this possible?” Angela scrutinized Ling’s face, bewildered. Then she connected the dots. “The couple earlier that talked about consciousness transference, is that what they are referring to?”

“See, I knew you are a smart one. Indeed, they are. They keep an eye out for the unfortunate ones; you know the ones who need a bit of help to be better at life. We just want to make the world a better place. It is really very painless and rewarding. Imagine, I would be wearing your face and doing all sorts of revolutionary work you wouldn’t even imagine. I’ll make you famous.”

“What the hell! No! I don’t want to, I want to be me! I don’t want you inside me!”

“Oh I know, at first it might be a bit hard with the adjustment and what not, but after a while it would be just like falling in a deep sleep. You would be watching life unfold as an observer,” she smiled encouragingly. Angela wanted to run, but then Nathan and Michael woke up to their conversation and joined Ling, forming a circle around her.

“Nathan! You’re with them! How could you?” Her eyes stung with tears of betrayal.

“Simple, I’m the bait,” he smiled, shifting his hair to one side and yawning wearily. “If it makes you feel any better, you were my favorite.”

“You little son of a bitch!”

“Hey, now calm down. Don’t insult my son…” Ling started.

“Eddie! He’s not really autistic is he? He—he must be one of your experiments gone wrong or something. What have you done to him?”

“He helps us with a variety of things.” Michael added slowly, “He’s good at computing. Although his inability for speech was a slight error on our part, he was one of our first prototypes, you see. He looks for potential Asian people for our campaign. See, it’s such a competitive job market out there. My work is to transfer willing individuals into their bodies so they will acquire their memories and brain functions. We had an incredible success rate so far, you wouldn’t know the difference between one of them and a real Asian. We’re just trying to level the playing field. You understand right?”

“Please, let me go. I don’t want to do this. I swear, I won’t tell anyone about this if you let me go...”

“You’re cute. You already know too much. Besides, I think I want to wear your skin first, there’s just something about you that is… special.”

“No please, no.” As Angela protested, Nathan and Michael surrounded her and grabbed her by the wrists and shoulders. Trembling, tears flowed down her cheeks, helplessness choking her.

“Angela, dear don’t be selfish. You should share your beauty and brains with the rest of the world you know. I promise it will be absolutely painless. Don’t be afraid. It would be a lot easier for everyone if you came without protest.”

Just then a loud noise came from Eddie’s room, as if someone punched a wall. Ling was startled.

“Goddamn Eddie!”

Eddie came crashing from his bedroom, rage written on his face.

“What in the world Eddie! Go back to your room this instant!” Ling commanded firmly like chastising a child. This time, Eddie didn’t respond to her command, he charged at her with his fist in the air. Ling screamed as he wrestled her to the ground.

“Michael! Do something!” she shouted. Eddie, grabbed one of her ornaments, another expensive vase by the looks of it, and smashed her head knocking her unconscious.

“Dad! The serum!” Nathan said still holding on to Angela tightly, “Go get it, I got Angela.”

“Eddie. I need you to calm down. Remember what we talked about. Go to your happy place.” Eddie growled at him like an animal and picked up another ornament. He threw it at him, but missed. Michael went for the stairs, but Eddie blocked him and he kicked him in the stomach. Michael almost lost balance, but caught himself on the stair rail.

“Eddie! For Chrissake, stop this nonsense.” Michael tried again, thinking he could somehow reason with him. Eddie’s anger rose and he lunged at him again. Michael lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs. He groaned at the bottom, but didn’t pass out. Eddie went after him. In the moment of chaos, Angela twisted away from Nathan and kicked him in the balls. Still recovering from the shock of his parents being thrown down by Eddie, Nathan doubled over in pain. Angela bolted downstairs running over Michael’s bruised body and escaped into the open air. Eddie crashed out the door and ran frantically past Angela almost knocking her aside as he escaped. Making sure the USB stick was secure, Angela ran after him into the night.