Shichen leaned forward as the man ran toward them, pointing past the mobile base at the buildings they had just left behind.
The cloth over his nose slipped when he shouted, and he pulled it up again without slowing.
"Get off the road!" the man called. "There’s dust coming across the fields!"
"How far away?" Jingwei asked through the exterior speaker.
The man stopped a few paces from the vehicle and bent over, bracing his hands on his thighs. Shichen could hear him struggling for breath through the microphone. He expected a request for water, perhaps a plea to come inside.
Instead, the man straightened and pointed west.
"You can see it from the bridge," he told them. "Find a building. Don’t stay out here."
Before Jingwei could ask anything else, the man ran back toward the intersection. A woman was trying to drag a handcart over a broken section of pavement. He caught the front and helped her lift it, calling for someone farther ahead to hold a door open.
Shichen looked toward the fields. In the fading light, he had mistaken the brown cloud for the darkening horizon. Now he could see it rising, spreading across the sky as the distant utility poles disappeared.
"We need to get off this road, Zeyu," Shichen said, looking at the buildings around them. "There’s nothing ahead to shelter behind."
"People are coming up both sides," Zeyu replied, checking his mirrors.
On the rear display, Shichen saw the crowd spreading along the road toward the repair shops. A woman dragged a suitcase with a broken handle.
Behind her, two men carried a woman in a chair, stopping every few steps to adjust their grip.
People squeezed between the mobile base and the curb, trailing their hands along its side.
When Jingwei warned them that the vehicle needed to move, some hurried past. Others kept going at the same slow pace, their heads down.
"Wait until they’re clear of the back," Hanchuan told Zeyu. He turned toward Shichen. "Can you find somewhere we won’t have to cut across them?"
Across the road stood a low building with three loading bays and a fenced yard.
Shichen couldn’t read the faded sign, but painted arrows still marked the way around its side. The gate was open, and apart from a small truck with its hood raised, the yard looked empty.
"We can pull in there," Shichen said, pointing across the cab. "The building will give us some cover from the wind."
Zeyu checked the entrance, then the people beside his front wheel. "I can make the turn once those two move."
The men carrying the chair had stopped in front of them. One lowered his end without warning, forcing the other to crouch quickly to keep the woman from sliding out. She clung to the armrests while they argued about where to go.
Farther along the street, someone was pounding on a shop shutter.
It rose a few inches. Hands reached underneath to pull in a bag, and a person crawled after it on their stomach. The shutter lifted higher as others arrived, then stopped before they could get through.
A man crouched outside and shouted into the gap. Shichen couldn’t make out the reply, but he saw the man push his arm underneath and try to lift the shutter with his shoulder.
Wind swept dust across the intersection, sending paper and a plastic bottle skittering beneath the chair. One of the men carrying it turned his face away. The other began dragging his end toward the loading yard.
"They’re moving," Jingwei told Zeyu, watching them clear the front.
Zeyu eased forward. Shichen checked the side cameras as the trailer followed, watching for anyone who might step back into its path.
The woman with the broken suitcase tried to cross in front of them. Jingwei tapped the horn, and she stopped with an arm across her face. Zeyu braked and waited until she stumbled past.
Behind Shichen, Zhiyi caught the edge of her seat. Hanchuan covered her hand with his and spoke too softly for Shichen to hear. She nodded, settling against his shoulder again.
Shichen returned his attention to the gate. It looked narrower as they approached, though he knew there was room.
He guided Zeyu through while Jingwei watched the other side, and they passed between the posts without touching either one.
The building hid the approaching dust cloud, but Shichen could hear the wind getting stronger.
Something rattled on the roof and dust followed them through the gate and swirled around the abandoned truck.
Zeyu stopped beside the wall, leaving enough room ahead to pull away.
"I’m keeping the engine running," Zeyu said, his hands still on the wheel.
No one objected.
The men carrying the chair came through the gate behind them and set the woman down beside a recessed door. One tried the handle, then slapped the glass when it wouldn’t open.
Someone inside approached but left the door locked. Shichen saw a hand point through the narrow window toward the loading bays.
The men picked up the chair again.
"They’re letting people in at the big door," Qinghe said, leaning forward to see.
One shutter was high enough for people to duck beneath it. A man stood just inside, taking their bags before allowing them through.
A woman handed him a cloth bundle and entered. He opened it at once, pushing past clothing until he found a container at the bottom. When the next person tried to pass without giving him anything, he blocked the way with his arm.
Shichen glanced toward the gate. More people were entering the yard, hurrying toward the open door. A boy lost a sandal and tried to turn back, but the woman holding his wrist pulled him along.
A gust slammed the truck’s hood shut. Several people jumped, and one of the men carrying the chair lost his grip. The woman cried out as it tipped.
Shichen’s hand went to the window before he could stop himself.
The men caught the chair and steadied it. The woman bent forward, covering her head with her arms, while they struggled to carry her the last few steps.
At the loading bay, the man collecting bags reached up and began pulling the shutter down.
People rushed toward the shrinking opening. The two men tried to lift the chair over something in their way, but others pushed in front of them.
A bag split beneath someone’s foot, spilling clothes across the concrete. Its owner crouched to grab something and disappeared behind the crowd.
"Don’t close it!" a man shouted, reaching toward the shutter.
It kept coming down.
One of the men carrying the chair let go and dropped to his knees, crawling beneath the door. His companion grabbed for his shirt but missed. Left holding the chair alone, he struggled to keep it upright as the woman reached toward the opening.
Her fingers brushed the bottom edge just before the shutter hit the ground.
Shichen saw her face through the windshield. Then dust swept around the building, hiding her and everyone beside the loading bay.
Jingwei switched between the cameras. The gate was barely visible through the blowing dust. On another screen, people were turning away from the closed doors, some feeling along the wall as they went.
Someone struck the mobile base’s door.
Shichen turned toward the side window. A man stood outside, bent over with his shirt pulled across his mouth. He hit the glass again and pointed toward the ground.
Shichen leaned closer to see past him.
The woman from the chair was lying beside the step.