Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 Michael's plan was going so well. His map had led him to exactly what he had gone looking for. "Eww, gross!" Michael said as he hung from the rope with one hand. He held his flashlight in the other hand, illuminating a couple of dried-out and long-gone mammals, each about the size of a loaf of bread. (For Michael, like for a lot of 10-year-olds, "gross" meant pretty much the same thing as "cool.")

迈克尔的计划进行得很顺利。 他的地图把他带到了他要找的地方。 “恶,恶心!”迈克尔一边说，一边用一只手吊在绳子上。 他另一只手拿着手电筒，照着一对干瘪的、早已死去的哺乳动物，每只都有一块面包那么大。 （对迈克尔来说，就像很多10岁的孩子一样，“恶心”和“酷”的意思差不多。）

There was no way he wouldn't be taking these treasures back home with him. He placed the flashlight in his teeth to free up a hand then reached around and unzipped the top of his backpack. No sooner had he stashed the treasure in his pack than another bat came flapping past his face in the darkness. Michael screamed. The thing about "AHHHHH!" is that your mouth has to be all the way open to say it. And the thing about having your mouth all the way open is that anything you are holding with your teeth will fall out.

他不可能不把这些宝贝带回家。 他把手电筒放在牙齿上，腾出一只手，然后伸手打开背包顶部的拉链。 他刚把财宝藏在背包里，另一只蝙蝠就在黑暗中扇动着翅膀从他面前飞过。 迈克尔尖叫。说“AHHHHH!”的时候，你的嘴必须一直张开。 把你的嘴一直张着的问题是，你用牙齿咬住的任何东西都会掉出来。

The flashlight hit the rocky cave floor, shattering the bulb and plunging Michael into complete darkness. If Michael had been a truly experienced cave explorer, he would have known to bring an extra flashlight, but he was not, and he did not. "Uh-oh," Michael said, clinging to his rope. If anything is scarier than a random bat flying at your face, it's being suspended eight feet in the air in total darkness.

手电筒打在岩洞的地板上，打碎了灯泡，迈克尔陷入一片漆黑。 如果迈克尔是一个真正有经验的洞穴探险者，他就会知道要带一个额外的手电筒，但他没有，他也没有。 “哦哦，”迈克尔说着，紧紧抓住绳子。 如果有什么比一只随机飞到你脸上的蝙蝠更可怕的话，那就是它被悬在八英尺高的空中，完全黑暗。

Michael's first reaction was to reach for the ledge he remembered last seeing in front of him. Bad idea. THUD! Michael hit the floor.

迈克尔的第一反应是伸手去摸他记忆中最后看到的那个窗台。 坏主意。砰的一声!迈克尔倒在地上。

"Owwwww," he groaned. As much as falling hurt, at least he'd gotten it over with. His only other option had been to get stuck up on the ledge. Michael felt around for his backpack, which had landed a few feet over. I need to get out of here! His map was still in his backpack. A map that you can't see isn't at all useful, but at least Michael had drawn it. He reasoned his best chance would be to retrace his steps from memory. He knew how many turns to take, but could he remember when to take them? Or would he just get more lost in the cave? Maybe he should stay put and count on Justin figuring out where he went and leading a rescue team to him? On the other hand, if he found his way out on his own, no one— especially his dad— would ever know he'd been gone. Michael made his decision. "I gotta get back," he said out loud, the words bouncing off the cave walls. He wobbled to his feet, slung on his backpack, and stumbled forward into the darkness.

“哎哟，”他呻吟道。虽然摔得很疼，但至少他已经结束了。 他唯一的选择就是被卡在岩壁上。 迈克尔摸索着找他的背包，它落在几英尺高的地方。 我要离开这里！他的地图还在背包里。 一张你看不见的地图一点用都没有，但至少迈克尔已经画好了。 他认为最好的办法是凭记忆追溯他的足迹。 他知道要转多少次，但他能记得什么时候转吗？ 还是他会在洞穴里迷路？ 也许他应该呆在原地，指望贾斯汀找出他去了哪里，然后带领救援队去找他？ 另一方面，如果他自己找到出路，没有人——尤其是他的父亲——会知道他已经离开了。 迈克尔做了决定。 “我得回去了。”他大声说，声音在岩壁上回荡。 他摇摇晃晃地站了起来，背上背包，跌跌撞撞地走进黑暗中。