Complete silence followed for perhaps three heartbeats while everyone processed what had just happened. Water continued spraying wildly from the damaged irrigation line, soaking everything within its considerable radius. Shuyin looked down at herself, taking inventory of the disaster. Clothes utterly ruined. Hands are completely muddy. Hair plastered to her head with water and decorated with clumps of dirt.
Then she laughed. Not the polite chuckle of someone trying to maintain dignity. Not the quiet amusement of someone in control. Full, unrestrained, belly-deep laughter that startled even herself with its intensity and freedom.
"Run!" Yuyan laughed, already completely soaked as water splashed across her legs and torso, turning her clothes dark with saturation.
