"One month, two weeks and six days. That's how long we've been out here," stated Zhou, becoming more and more exasperated with every word. "From April 17th to June 5th, 1989. That's how long we've been out here. Can you believe that?" He sighed, pushing himself off the cracked asphalt. Zhuo picked up his end of our sign, gesturing to my end. "Are you going to help or not, Bo?"

I peeled myself off the monument's steps, so exhausted from the constant marching that my muscles screamed in their own protest. I staggered a bit before I bent over to lift the heavy banner. It read, "Freedom Should Not Cost This Much", and with a passing of every miserable day, it had only become truer.

I stomped each of my feet in front of the other, tracing out a circle over 500 meters wide. "Each step is another towards freedom," I muttered to myself, ignoring the drooping of my eyelids. I found my attention drifting from a future better life to the line of soldiers surrounding our camp. "How long are they going to keep this up?" I hissed.

Zhou tripped over his own feet, collapsing to the ground. Since he was still holding the banner, I fell down with him, landing face first onto the pavement.

Zhou was clutching his knee, curling himself into the fetal position. A couple of our classmates dashed over to us, hoping that we hadn't blacked out from exhaustion. A girl, no older than fifteen, helped me to my feet. I muttered my thanks as I leaned on her for support. She walked me back to the monument, setting me on its steps.

"You boys really know how to overexert yourselves." rambled the girl. The teen sat next to me and sighed. "Name's Changying. You are?" she questioned, gesturing towards me for an explanation.

"Jian-heng, Bo Jian-heng." I rasped. Changying shook a water bottle in my direction, wanting me to have a drink.

I must have emptied it in under ten seconds.

Changying giggled to herself as I wiped the excess water from the corners of my mouth with my sweater's sleeve. "You drank that up like a sponge!" she bantered, taking her empty water bottle back from my greedy self.

"Just how old are you?" I asked, so tired that politeness wasn't one of my upheld moralities. I could hear her choke on air when I asked.

"I'm turning fifteen this year."

"What!" I shrieked, "Don't you see that this is the most dangerous thing happening in China. Maybe even the world!" Changying curled into herself, bringing her knees to her chest. "I know that kids your age care about your future, especially nowadays, but you shouldn't be doing something like this!"

"I know." she sighed, seeming to be oddly calm in the face of my anger. "I'm tired of having no say in my own life. My school was closed down before I finished my nine years. My parents were members of the Red Guard and refused to give me any more education. I was taught that everything I was ever going to do in life was for the sake of my country! Not my own! If I have no control over my own life there's no point of living it!" Changying finished her monolog, shouting in anger at the end.

Her eyes glowed with untapped fury as she stood up, taking her water bottle with her. I inched myself up, using the monument side as a support. Changying stormed off, stomping so hard I could feel the ground vibrate.

"Listen! I'm sorry for being insensitive!" I shouted, beginning to chase her across the square. I saw Changying turn a corner, weaving between the wall of soldiers, and out of the square. I chased her around the corner, managing to avoid the soldier's disgusted and tired faces.

I grabbed onto Changying's wrist before she turned the next corner. "Listen! I'm sorry for being rude. I'm just as fed up as you are! That's why I'm here!" I yelled, performing a dramatic wave of the arm to the masses of men and women protesting.

"I know that I can't take back for what I said, but I can make it up to you. Right?" I asked, pleading for an apology. I hate to beg like a dog for an apology, but I'm not making any more enemies when I'm fighting away my current ones.

"You can buy me some more water. You did drink all the mine after all," she answered bluntly, stopping her struggle against me. I let go of her arm, confused at her sudden mood change.

"Did you make this huge scene just to get me to pay for a refill?"

"Yes."

"I'm beginning to hate you." I sighed, putting my hands into my pockets. Changying strolled down the sidewalk of Eternal Peace Avenue. I followed down the path with her, trying to the best of my ability to keep up with her almost frantic walk.

Changying rounded another corner, the one leading to the marketplace. The bustle of people and animals was almost deafening. I could hear and see store owners ringing their bells, trying to get a hopeful customer's attention. The clucking of chickens and the moos of cows added to the roar, fitting perfectly along.

Changying stopped in the middle of the street, making all the people around us to go around. Her eyes scanned the area, like a predator on the hunt, looking for her next prey. She grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me into a shop. The ceiling of said shop was so low, I, even at my normal stature, hand to bow to avoid being hit.

"Good morning, Mr. Wang!" yelled Changying, still holding onto my arm. I yanked it from her grasp as a short balding man came out from a curtain door.

"Ah! Changying! I take it you're here for some more of the Wolfberry water!" answered Mr. Wang. The man pulled some jars of dried berries and a lucky iron fish, placing them down on the serving counter in front of him. The stout man flashed me a grin as I pulled out my wallet. "That'll be 82. 40 Yuan."

I handed the grinning man my cash. Mr. Wang took it, handing me the items in two separate grocery bags. I took the bags, carrying one in each hand. "Have a good day, sir!" I shouted, waving as I dragged out of the store by Changying.

The market seemed to emptied. There were only a few souls out, and those who were ran for cover. But from what? The sky was clear, the air hadn't a single bug in it. So why?

A rumble.

A crack of gunfire.

Screams.

"What the heck is that!"I screamed, hearing the hissing of an engine coming close. Changying grabbed onto my arm, hiding behind me. The screams began to come with ones of agony as even more guns fired. I felt the hairs on my neck stand on end as I ran towards the scene.

This was a bad idea.

The flames of burning banners flooded my vision. I could feel the heat of the blue flames even from my distance. A bullet zoomed past my head, colliding with the wall behind me. I ran over to a building, hiding behind the front wall.

Changying remained attached to my arm, her eyes growing wider with every second she viewed the scene. "What..." she breathed. "What happened!"

"I have no idea." A line of soldiers was cornering a group of protesters, making sure that not a single one escaped, even if it means killing them. Zhou was among them. His face was stern and guarded, despite the gun pressed to his forehead.

Another bang.

Zhou fell.

I don't think I've ever actually ever suffered from tunnel vision before. But at that moment, my mind blocked out all other stimulants. All I could see was Zhou falling to the ground.

Dead.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I'm afraid of leaving." sighed Zhou, running his hand through his frizzy hair, performing his usual worried tick. I sat across from him in the tree, him on the left side of the trunk, me on the right. My book lost my attention at Zhou statement, so I placed it down on the root next to me.

"Why? I thought you'd be excited to go to college?" I commented, think of how it contradicted all his pass statements of excitement. "You've been want to attend Beihang since you started school. Why are you scared now?"

Zhou didn't respond. He pulled his knees to his chest, curling in on himself. His hand appeared from out of his jacket, exposing it to the cold winds of the day. His fingers danced around in the dirt in front of him, drawing something.

A name.

'Hu Yaobang,' it read. The dust started to warp and smear as a chilling wind blew pass us. Zhou wiped off his fingers before pointing down at his writing. "Do you know who this is?"

"Yeah. He used to be the General Secretary. Didn't he?" I answered, confused about where he was taking the conversation.

"That's it. Yaobang is a symbol for anti-corruption. Did you know that?" he asked, his voice beginning to warp, falling apart like his crude writing.

"No," I answered, shaking my head enough to make my hair brush against the tree's trunk. "Where'd you even get that idea?"

"Wei Jingsheng," Zhou replied coldly, handing me a booklet. I took it and flipped through the first few pages. They were handwritten notes on Jiansheng and his work. I looked through the booklet in complete silence, unsure of how to react.

"You're going to get arrested one of these days, Zhou." I smiled through my crooked grin. I took care of hiding the booklet away carefully in my lunchbox, so as to not be found with it even if I am searched.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I didn't sleep that night or the night after it. There was so much in that little book, so many ideas, so many hopes that it became my own moral compass. Guiding me more than that stupid little red book.

But, then again, that's how I got where I am today. Watching in slowed time, the murder of my best friend, my brother unfold in front of my very eyes.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Zhou!" I screamed, trying to run to him. Changying grabbed onto my arm, shaking her head violently. "Please! I have to help!" I screamed again, reaching out for Zhou.

Changying tried to pull me out of the soldier's way. But I refused. "We need to get away! As far as we can! We'll get killed if we stand here much longer!" She tried once again to pull me away, but I stayed firm in my spot. "Fine! Suit yourself! I'm not dying today!" Changying shrieked, releasing my arm and running off.

I don't know how long I stood there.

In shock.

A rumbling came from my upper right. I felt stiffer than a board as I turned around. A tank rolled down to the square, preparing to fire.

I could feel them on my cheeks, tears. They were leaking from the corners of my eyes, making it hard to see. I lifted up my sleeves to wipe them, making my grocery bags hit together. I guess I was still carrying those.

The tank busted through another crowd blocker, clearing the Avenue of Eternal Peace of all protesters. I didn't even feel anything happening as I walked in front of them. It stopped.

One tank.

Two tanks.

Three tanks.

They all stopped in front of me, not moving at all. I stood there, my feet planted firmly on the road. The first tank tried to go around me. But I moved. It tried again. But I moved. I keep moving until the tank stilled once again. I had this feeling starting to well-up inside of me. I had to let it out.

"Do you not see what is happening!" I yelled, waving my arm back to Tiananmen Square. "We do not want this! You do not want this! Why can we not protest in peace! Do we deserve to die?" I could not control my own actions as I climbed on top of the first tank.

A man emerged from the hatch, his eyes filled with a cold yet understanding stare. "I know how you feel, sir. But you must understand that you are challenging the entire Republic of China as you stand in front of me. I do not wish to inflict harm upon you, I want nothing more than to leave this behind myself, never to think of again of this. But, you and only you stand in my way. Move it."

And I did.

I climbed off the tank and walked out of its path. It jolted forward, moving.

So did I.

"Move it already!" the man shouted, flailing his arms in anger. I could see how his eyes glittered in the early morning light. Was he starting to cry?

"No," I answered, my own tears drying.

Bang.

Everything went black.