The man stopped and looked down at the water spreading over his trousers.
He tried to move the bucket away from his body, but the change in his grip opened the crack farther. Water splashed onto the concrete, drawing the attention of the people nearest him.
The woman caught the rim before he could lower it.
"Someone bring a basin," she called. "Quickly, before we lose the rest."
A person ran toward the sleeping area while another pushed a cup beneath the leak.
The man tried to set the bucket down, but the woman was still holding its top, and they pulled against each other for a moment.
"Let me lower it," he told her, bending his knees. "I can’t keep hold of it."
Shichen saw the bottom split before either of them could change their grip. Water poured between their feet, and the man dropped the broken bucket as people backed away from the splash.
The woman fell to her knees, gathering the pieces as though she might still fit them together.
Beside her, someone tried to scoop water from the floor with a cup. It spread beneath the table and soaked into the edge of a sleeping mat before the basin arrived.
The person carrying it stopped beside her. She looked up at him, then down at the broken plastic in her hands.
Qinghe let out a breath and turned away from the display.
From the living compartment, Hanchuan called for Shichen.
He rose and went back to find Zhiyi sitting upright on the cushioned bench. Her blanket had been folded aside, and Hanchuan supported her injured leg while she adjusted the fastening on her ankle support.
"Is Zeyu getting ready to move?" Hanchuan asked. "We heard you talking about the road."
"It’s clearing," Shichen replied. "We should be able to leave soon. People are taking the supplies inside the building, and I’d rather be gone before they start looking over here."
Zhiyi finished with the strap before lifting her head.
"Has anyone approached the vehicle?" she asked.
"Not yet," Shichen told her. "Jingwei is watching both sides."
Hanchuan slipped an arm behind her back. "Tell Zeyu we’re coming forward," he said. "We won’t keep him waiting."
Shichen picked up the blanket before it could slide into the aisle. Zhiyi held Hanchuan’s shoulder as he lifted her, then touched the side of his neck to make him pause.
"Your sleeve is caught beneath me," she told him. "Wait a moment."
Hanchuan eased back enough for her to free the fabric, keeping her leg supported. "Is that better?" he asked, looking at her before he moved again.
"Yes," Zhiyi replied, smoothing the fold she had pulled loose. "You can stand now."
Shichen stepped aside to let them pass.
After watching so many people pull and shove outside, he found himself watching the care Hanchuan took with her. Zhiyi rested against him while he carried her through the aisle, one hand still touching his neck.
By the time Shichen returned to the displays, the woman outside had stood. She held the broken bucket against her hip while people argued around her about who had damaged it.
Zeyu waited until Hanchuan had secured Zhiyi’s belt and settled beside her.
"I can see to the end of the wall now," Zeyu told them. "We’ll take it slowly, but I don’t want to stay here waiting for another gust."
Jingwei checked both sides and warned the people nearest the apron that they were leaving. Several looked up. One man moved his bag back from the edge of the pavement, and Zeyu eased the mobile base forward.
The woman turned at the sound of the engine.
For a moment, Shichen expected her to come toward them. Instead, she set down the broken bucket and faced the people holding the food.
"They’re bringing people back," she said, looking at a man with one of the storage boxes. "Some of them could be hurt. What are we supposed to give them?"
The man pulled the box closer to his chest. Shichen couldn’t hear his reply before the mobile base passed the last pillar.
They reached the road without anyone stepping in front of them. Zeyu turned away from the burning bus and followed the concrete wall toward the next block. Dust still swept through the headlights, but the gaps between gusts lasted long enough to show the road ahead.
Shichen kept the building on the rear display. The people beneath the overhang grew smaller, their movements harder to follow.
Then headlights appeared beyond it.
"The minibus is coming back," Jingwei said, leaning toward his display. "They’ve reached the building."
Zeyu slowed while Shichen enlarged the rear image. The minibus pulled onto the apron at an angle, its side door opening before it had fully stopped.
People came out to meet it.
The daughter climbed down first, her shirt torn at one shoulder. She turned immediately and reached inside while a man lowered someone toward her.
She couldn’t take the person’s weight alone. Two people waiting near the table hurried to help, and together they eased the new arrival onto the concrete.
Others stayed beside the pillars with their bags held against their bodies.
Shichen watched the woman with the flashlight approach the minibus. The daughter spoke to her while pointing back toward the road, and the woman stopped to look in that direction.
Another set of headlights was coming through the dust.
This vehicle moved slowly, with one light much lower than the other.
Shichen leaned closer as it reached the edge of the apron. The damaged front and the crooked angle of the cab became clear beneath the building’s lights.
"It’s the delivery truck," Shichen told Jingwei. "The one that crashed beside the bus."
People were clinging to its open cargo doors. One stood with a foot on the rear step and both hands gripping the frame, his body swaying as the truck crossed the uneven entrance.
The woman on the apron raised both hands and shouted for it to stop. Behind her, people were still helping the injured passenger away from the minibus.
The delivery truck kept coming.