Đông Anh sat frozen on the bed, clothes already on in case he had to bolt. His ears strained for any sign from outside, but all that came through were clipped, half-formed sentences and the heavy thud of boots pounding past. None of it told him what was actually happening, only fanning the unease already burning in his gut.
"I'll be right back." He remembered what Dung had said and wondered how much time had slipped away, how long before someone came back through that door. Without thinking, Đông Anh began rubbing the hem of his pants between his fingers, as if that could soothe the churn inside him.
"Send more men over!"
The sudden, clear order made his heart jolt. As if reminded of something, Đông Anh darted to his suitcase and rummaged through it. Sweeping the flashlight over every corner, he still couldn't find what he was looking for.
"Where's the bag Hiền gave me? Don't tell me…" Đông Anh bit his lip, thinking hard. "No… I have to slip out. Lord, please watch over me. I have to find them."
To avoid being spotted, Đông Anh kept the flashlight off and felt his way through the dark. At last he made it to the open courtyard outside the student quarters. The moon hung high and white, casting a clear shadow—one that was running toward the athletic field out back. Without another thought, Đông Anh gave chase.
He crouched into a corner when he arrived, watching. The shadow reached the flagpole and pulled something long and cloth-like from his bag. He fastened the cloth to the flagpole. From this distance, Đông Anh couldn't make out the man's face, so he decided to risk moving in. He already had a hunch who it was.
Đông Anh crept forward like a cat closing in on prey. When he was just within range for a flying kick, he stopped, flicked on his flashlight, and barked:
"Freeze, hands on your head!"
The beam lit up the broad back of a tall man. Đông Anh's eyes locked onto his every move.
"Turn around."
The man obeyed. Seeing his suspicion confirmed, Đông Anh snapped:
"Hiền, what the hell are you doing?"
Without waiting for an answer, Đông Anh swung the beam toward the flagpole. On the cloth, bold letters came into view. He strode forward, but Hiền stepped in his way. Đông Anh didn't hold back, slammed a punch into Hiền. Then he stormed forward. Grabbing the cloth, he snapped it open. It read: "Oppose schools becoming military training grounds."
"You lied to me," Đông Anh shot at Hiền. "You swore you wouldn't pull this crap again, asked me to keep those things for you and then, you snuck into my room to steal the bag back, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry. I'll explain later. You need to get out of here. This is dangerous for you."
"I'm not going to be part of your troublemaking."
Đông Anh tried to tear the banner from the pole, but Hiền grabbed his arm.
"Don't. Please, just go!" Hiền pleaded.
"You gave me that bag so Dung wouldn't find out, didn't you? You were just using me, weren't you?!"
As they struggled, the beam of another flashlight sliced through the dark and landed straight on them.
"Freeze. Move and I'll shoot," a voice barked.
Hiền whispered to Đông Anh, "Don't let them see your face. When I distract him, you run."
Đông Anh didn't respond. He could hear the stranger's footsteps drawing closer.
"I'll count to three," Hiền said. "One—two—"
Thud.
Before the third count, Đông Anh heard a body collapse. He turned his head sharply.
"Dung?!"
Quick as lightning, Dung lunged in and socked Hiền right in the face.
"I told you," he growled, "stay the hell away from my Út."
Seeing Dung about to land another blow, Đông Anh rushed over to stop him.
"Dung, calm down!"
Dung shoved him aside, eyes flaring.
"And you—why didn't you listen to me? Who said you could come out here?"
"I..."
Before Đông Anh could explain, Dung's gaze snapped to the cloth hanging on the flagpole. His fury flared anew. He grabbed Hiền by the collar and snarled:
"You idiot. You think a scrap of cloth is gonna stop the whole damn system? You want a revolution? I'll show you one!"
Dung flung Hiền to the ground and stormed over to the soldier lying unconscious nearby. He ripped the grenade from the man's vest.
"Dung, what the hell are you doing?" Hiền shouted in panic.
"Dung, don't—" Đông Anh ran toward him, fear in his eyes.
"Út, run. Head straight for the front gate!"
"But what are you doing? Put that down!"
"Just do what I say—go!"
"No! What about you?"
"I'll follow right behind you," Dung said, locking eyes with Đông Anh. "I swear. I'll wrap this up fast—but only if you get out of here right now. If you keep hesitating, all three of us are dead meat. Go!"
"If I get to the gate and don't see you, I'm coming back."
"GO!"
Once Đông Anh had run off far enough, Hiền snapped,
"What the hell are you really trying to do?"
"Teach you how to raise some real hell," Dung muttered, tossing Hiền a lighter. "Room 3—next to yours—is already soaked in gas. Go give it a spark."
"You're insane."
"You wanna disrupt the semester, right? Burn it down. Tomorrow the press'll be all over it."
"This could hurt so many people. I'm not that crazy."
"You don't get to choose anymore. Unless we cause chaos, you and your two protest buddies are done for."
"I..."
Before Hiền could finish, Dung pulled the pin from the grenade and hurled it at the flagpole. The explosion knocked them both off their feet.
"Having fun yet?" Dung spat, scrambling to his feet and bolting.
"You bastard!" Hiền yelled after him.
Dung turned back mid-run and shouted:
"Your turn now!"
The explosion drew in a wave of soldiers, forcing Hiền to make a run for it.
As for Dung, after sprinting a short distance, he ran straight into a group of officers. Realizing he couldn't shake them, he changed his expression in a flash and rushed up to them, pretending to panic.
"Explosion! There was an explosion over there! You gotta go check it out!"
The officers barely had time to question him when cries of fire rang out in the distance.
"Oh God, it's burning too! Everything's going to hell!" Dung cried, grabbing their arms and tugging at their sleeves, doing everything he could to stir up panic. "Fire here, explosion there, what are we supposed to do now?!"
"Calm down! Head to the main gate immediately!" one of them barked.
"No—Mr. Út! He's still in his room!"
Dung clutched at his hair in faux distress, then bolted off at full speed. He melted into the swarm of people scrambling to get out. By now, flames had turned the sky blood-red. Screams rang out from every direction like some hellish vision come to life.