9 SINGLE FILE

CHAPTER 9 SINGLE FILE The UPSTAIRS BASEMENT was huge, dark, and chilly. It looked like a downstairs basement, except on the thirteenth floor. Alexander put down the bucket and ran his finger along the wall. There were long, deep gouges scratched into the stone. GURG-G-GG-GG. A high-pitched growling came from up ahead. "It's too dark I can't see," whispered Rip.

第九章排成纵队楼上的地下室又大又黑又冷。 它看起来就像楼下的地下室，除了在十三楼。 亚历山大放下水桶，用手指在墙上摸了摸。 石头上有又长又深的刻痕。 GURG-G-GG-GG。前方传来一声尖厉的咆哮。 “太黑了，我看不见。”瑞普小声说。

"Rip-monsters can't see in the dark, but jampires can!" said Nikki, squinting. "It looks like a machine. It's shiny, and metal. And sharp."

“撕裂怪物在黑暗中看不见，但jampire可以！”尼基眯着眼睛说。 “它看起来像一台机器。它很闪亮，而且是金属的。 和夏普。”

KSSHHHH!!! An explosion of sparks lit up the room. The machine-thing spun toward Alexander, Rip, and Nikki. Sparks flew from where its metal pointy parts scraped the stone floor. "Look out!" Nikki shouted. The three friends dove in different directions, leaving the still-steaming bucket near the door. The spinning whirligig tilted left. "OW!" Rip yelped as part of the spinning thing scraped his boot. He scrambled up the wall, using the deep scratches as toeholds.

KSSHHHH ! !火花的爆炸声照亮了房间。 机器向亚历山大、里普和尼基旋转。 它的金属尖头刮到石头地板上，火花四溅。 “当心!”尼基喊道。 三个朋友朝不同的方向跑去，把还在冒热气的水桶留在门边。 旋转的陀螺向左倾斜。 “噢!”里普尖叫起来，因为旋转的东西刮到了他的靴子。 他爬上了墙，用那些深深的划痕作为立足点。

SCRITCH-SCRITCH! The metal machine-thing spun in place, like a top. Alexander's eyes were finally adjusting to the light. The spinning thing stopped. It looked like a silvery metal pig-bear. Its back was covered in hundreds of sharp, poky tines. The blood drained from Alexander's face. "I know this monster!" he shouted. "It's a forkupine!"

SCRITCH-SCRITCH !金属机器在原地旋转，就像陀螺一样。 亚历山大的眼睛终于适应了光线。 旋转的东西停了下来。 它看起来像一只银色的金属猪熊。 它的背上布满了数百个锋利的小刺。 血从亚历山大的脸上流了下来。 “我认识这个怪物！”他喊道。 “那是叉叉机！”

FORKUPINE Metal rodent, covered with forks. Loves spaghetti. Rip scratched his head. "The boss-monster is a forkupine?" he asked. "No," said Alexander. "I think this monster's more like a guard dog." "What's it guarding?" Rip asked. That!" said Nikki. She pointed to a metal box in the corner. "I bet our notebook is in there!" Rip said. "I remember what forkupines like! I'll lure it away from the box!" said Alexander. He ran toward the bucket.

叉齿动物金属啮齿类动物，全身有叉。 喜欢意大利面。瑞普挠了挠头。 “怪物老板是头叉叉吗？”他问。 “不，”亚历山大说。“我觉得这个怪物更像是一只看门狗。” “它在守卫什么？”Rip问道。 那个！”尼基说。她指着角落里的一个金属盒子。 “我打赌我们的笔记本在里面！”Rip说。 “我记得叉叉是什么样子的！”我要把它从盒子里引开！”亚历山大说。 他朝水桶跑去。

CLAP-CLAP! "Hey! Poky!" he shouted. The forkupine spun behind him. "Nikki!" Alexander shouted. "Kick the bucket!" Nikki ninja-kicked the bucket. Spaghetti splattered everywhere. The forkupine zipped over to the wet noodles. The creature twisted and twirled around, smiling. Alexander dashed over to the box. He opened it. There was no notebook. Just a gray file folder stuffed with lists, maps, and photos.

CLAP-CLAP !“嘿!波奇！” 叉叉机在他身后旋转。 “妮可!”亚历山大喊道。 “见鬼去吧！”妮基忍者一脚踢死了。 意大利面溅得到处都是。 那辆叉式马车迅速驶到湿面条边。 这个生物不停地旋转着，微笑着。 亚历山大冲到箱子前。 他打开了它。没有笔记本。 只有一个灰色的文件夹，里面塞满了清单、地图和照片。