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  “Yeah man, like, me and my eses were like skating yo. And then this super old car–something my tito would drive or something–ran through with this weird dude hanging from the back. Honestly, me and my eses just thought it was like a movie shoot. But we ain’t see no cameras. So we just thought, like, damn. These m[BEEP]ers just doing those… what’re they called?”

  “One shot movies.”

  “Yeah! Those one shot movies. Some fire shit, ese.”

  Lin switched off the TV. Though she just got out of the shower, she still felt a thousand-levels of disgusting. It was less the actual grime, and more the visceral event she just went through. Now they were sitting in some hideout Vincent knew.

  He was on the other bed with a first aid kit sprawled out. There would be an occasional wince, or an occasional curse, but he was primarily stoic when it came to stitching his own scratches. “Lin. I want you to explain what happened. Starting from the talisman on your neck.”

  Lin looked down and found it still around her neck. She tried taking it off, but the lace was tethered to her skin. Not like it was stitched–but like it was binded. This wasn’t some generic stone. This was a complete curse.

  “A woman gave this to me earlier,” Lin began. “She said that if I kissed anyone while wearing it, they would be bound to me. I thought she meant that this was some kind of love charm.”

  “And you just accepted a gift from a stranger?” Vincent asked. “It could’ve been laced with something.”

  “Like anthrax, I know,” Lin said. “I don’t know why, but I thought it would be a good idea to take it. And when I accidentally fell into you earlier, my entire brain just went out the window. It was like–how do I put this–when you get your wisdom teeth taken out and are just watching it happen.”

  “So the talisman possessed you to kiss me.”

  “Yeah. That sums it up,” Lin sighed. “That’s all I know.”

  Vincent nodded. He didn’t seem jarred from the event, let alone the circumstances. Instead, he walked over to her bed with a knife in his hand. “I want you to be calm right now. I need to see something.”

  Lin didn’t question it. Even though this whole curse was her fault, she felt like Vincent somehow knew more about it than she did. Or at least he knew what to do in an emergency. She sat tight while Vincent quickly scratched a cut onto her arm. “Ow.”

  The same cut appeared on his arm. He looked at the scratch and took a deep breath. “Well, that lady was right about one thing: I’m bound to you right now. I hope you’re happy, but it seems that I receive any injury that you receive.”

  “So if I die…” Lin muttered.

  “Yep,” Vincent said. “I die too.”

  He stood back up and went over to his bed. Vincent flipped over the mattress in one move to reveal piles of money. Lin’s eyes went wide when she saw the Benjamin Franklins staring back at her. “Oh my god…” she thought. “With this much, I wouldn’t have to worry about tuition for the rest of my life…”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about tuition now,” Vincent said. “Right now, we have to worry about more admirers going after you. So far, we’re counting a maniac–that turned out to be a demon–and a random guy who jumped into our car. Considering your talisman’s magic, I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t the last.”

  Lin leaned back on the bed. Even if she closed her eyes and let exhaustion take hold, she could never fall asleep. “It’s weird,” Lin mumbled. “A couple hours ago, I was tweaking out from all of my problems. And all of a sudden, it’s like they were all stupid problems.”

  “You have ninety-nine problems, until you only have one,” Vincent said.

  “Yeah. I guess you’re right,” Lin said. Then she suddenly shot up. “Oh my god! Wait! I need to call Katie! I need to tell her that I’m okay! Lemme get my phone.” Lin reached for her pocket, only to find an empty space instead. “Wait, didn’t I give you my phone?”

  Vincent looked back. “Yeah. You did. What’s left of it is in the bathroom.”

  “What’s left of it?”

  Lin went to the bathroom to find a melted box of a phone. The parts were completely unusable, while the phone couldn’t be reused even if a god tried making the repairs. “No! My phone! I had a 430-day streak on Duolingo!”

  “Yet you still can’t speak decent Chinese.”

  “I was doing French, you asshole!” Lin yelled. “Why’d you torch my phone!”

  Vincent took a moment to answer as he flipped over Lin’s bed. “Basic start for hiding from important people: stop using traceable electronics. Your addiction to video reels will get you killed,” he said. “If it makes you feel better, I torched my phone too. Can’t say I used it much though.”

  “You’re a real dick you know–”

  Lin returned to find that he was hiding guns under her bed. A whole lot of them. If she tried to count one, she’d realize that she had actually counted three. “Oh. Uh. Um. Wow. That’s. A lot.”

  “Like I said, you won’t have to worry about college anymore,” Vincent said. “I might be able to help you with your little problem, but it’ll be a tough set. Now help me put these in a duffle bag. We got a plane to catch.”

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  “Wha– a plane?”

  “I might have some family friends that might know some people. Your witch story doesn’t ring any bells, but I won’t be surprised if she’s connected to some Chinese underworld,” Vincent said. “Whether you like it or not, you’re in.”

  “Family friends? Chinese underworld? What the hell,” Lin mumbled. She helped pack up the money, since she was nervous about touching the guns. “Who are you? The yakuza?”

  “Yakuza is Japanese. Triads are Chinese,” Vincent said.

  “But the Yakuza could do diversity hires, ya know.”

  “Yakuza keep to themselves. Pretty niche set up in Japan. As for the triads, they’re not as exclusive. You’ll get boys from Mongolia, all the way to guys from Vietnam. They get who they can, chew out their usefulness, then spew them out when they’re done.”

  Lin blinked. “Are you… a triad…?”

  Vincent didn’t answer. He just heaved his duffle bag and signaled for the door. “Van is waiting outside. Let me do the talking. These guys are weird, so it’s not a good idea to get friendly.”

  Lin didn’t question it. She followed him outside where a white van waited for them. “My mom said to never get in a white van with a stranger,” she thought. “But my mom wouldn’t believe whatever’s happening over here.”

  The door opened from inside, and a guy in sunglasses jumped out. “Hao jiu bu jian! Long time no see, dawg!” He dapped Vincent up, snapped his finger, and picked up their duffle bags like a glorified uber driver. “Wo cao! Who’s the beauty over here?”

  “Hi, I’m–”

  “She’s tagging along,” Vincent interrupted.

  The driver nodded. “Well, Vincent never told me he got a girlfriend. Anyway, mei nu, I’m Hong. your driver when nobody else wants to drive you. Please rate me five stars when the ride’s over. Thank you!”

  Lin laughed a little, but Vincent wasn’t amused. He silently sat inside the van with the duffle bags by his feet. “Don’t talk to him,” he whispered to Lin. “Once you get this guy to start talking, he won’t–”

  “So how was college? You were in that bitch for like–what–three years?”

  Vincent sighed. Lin definitely fucked up. “Yeah. College was nice.”

  “Sweet. Mister educated over here,” Hong chuckled. “Were you–”

  A man crashed into the van window. “I love you, Lin! Please–” Hong ran him right over, and kept driving. He yawned, “What a weirdo. He have anything to do with you two running away?”

  Lin opened her mouth, but Vincent covered it. “No questions.” Hong returned with a depressed cough, but that was all. They finally afforded themselves a few moments of peace. For some reason, all of the horrors had disappeared from Lin’s mind. She could shut her eyes and doze off to sleep. “One sheep…” she dreamed. “Two sheep….”

  Her head fell onto Vincent’s shoulder. He looked over, but let it rest there. Something about her slowed breathing comforted him. “Hong. Shut your mouth,” Vincent snapped.

  “What? I wasn’t gonna say nothing,” Hong laughed. “Girlfriend?”

  “No. You wouldn’t believe the story even if I explained it to you with a textbook.” The van ran over another admirer, though it squelched him before he could say some depraved comment. Whatever power the talisman had, Vincent knew they couldn’t just escape it. Even if they flew all the way to nowhere, some demon could still follow them. A discomforting thought–though a real one.

  If there was going to be any end to this, he had to track the curse to the strange lady. By choice or by force, he’d make her reverse the spell. Then it would be back to normal life, college, and whatever the hell he was doing in the ‘states.

  The van finally made it to a private airfield–the kind that attracted the least amount of attention. The sudden stop woke Lin. She was too sleepy to realize her head had been cradled on Vincent’s shoulder–she was reaching for their duffle bags instead.

  “Hey, did I forget to mention that I got a girlfriend?” Hong asked.

  Vincent’s eyes focused. “A girlfriend? Where’s she from?”

  “Chinese,” Hong said. “Not much in her chest, but she’s got that smile that you can’t ignore. Can’t take her out on upfront dates–no–she prefers sudden surprises. Something behind her back, you know.”

  “Got it,” Vincent said. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “No problem,” Hong replied. He got out of the driver’s seat and helped them out of the van. They only left a single bag in the car–payment. “You’re on strip three,” Hong said. “A lot of people are looking forward to you coming back to China. Be sure to say hi to your family for me, especially that crazy-ass sister of yours.”

  “Sure,” Vincent said as he walked off. “But she still won’t marry you.”

  “Worth a shot! Zai jian!”

  Lin followed Vincent to the plane. She was slowly waking back up as she carried a duffle bag of money on her shoulder. “That was pretty nice. Why didn’t you want me to talk to him? He seems trustworthy enough.”

  Vincent ignored her question. “Say, Lin. Do you have any flying experience?”

  “Huh? Me?” she asked. “Oh! I tried playing flight simulator as a kid. I wanted to be a pilot for the life of me. Then I found out I was red-green colorblind. A real buzzkill, am I right?’

  Vincent ignored her some more as they approached airstrip 3. There stood a sleek private jet waiting for them. The pilot was standing outside with a cigarette in his mouth. “Wanshang hao, xiansheng.”

  “Wanshang hao.” They loaded their bags into the plane, and walked inside. Cozy leather seats awaited them, as did the furniture associated with mafia movies. Lin was wide-eyed as she sat in her seat. “Oh my god… this is just like… Crazy Rich Asians…”

  Vincent said nothing as he sat down. Unlike Lin, he didn’t buckle his seatbelt. Even when the plane charged through the runway, and lifted off the ground, Vincent remained stoically seated without a smile on his face. “Earlier, you asked me about Hong. Why I didn’t want you to talk to him.”

  “Yeah. I mean he seems nice. A little artificial about his girlfriend, but–”

  “That’s the thing,” Vincent said. “Hong doesn’t have a girlfriend. He’s gay.”

  “What?”

  Vincent stood up and cocked a pistol from his hand. “This pilot isn’t here to bring us to our destination. This bastard’s trying to kill us.”