Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 Tata froze and looked up, searching the crowd frantically with his eyes. The guard screamed at him, "Move! Move now!" At last Tata spotted Marcus. He dropped his shield and ran toward him. Seconds later, Marcus was in Tata's arms. "It's not possible!" Tata whispered, hugging him so tightly that Marcus could hardly breathe. "How did you get here?" "Festus brought me here after you were sold," Marcus said, barely able to choke out the words. "But Tata! How… why…"

塔塔僵住了，抬起头来，眼睛疯狂地在人群中搜寻。 卫兵对他尖叫道:“走开!动了!”最后塔塔发现了马库斯。 他放下盾牌，朝他跑去。 几秒钟后，马库斯就在塔塔的怀里。 “这不可能!”塔塔低声说，紧紧地拥抱着他，马库斯几乎无法呼吸。 “你怎么到这儿来的?”“你被卖了以后，非斯都把我带到这里来了，”马库斯说，他几乎喘不过气来。 “但塔塔!如何……为什么……”

Not even in Marcus's nightmares could he have imagined anything worse than this: Festus had sold Tata to the gladiators. Marcus buried his face in Tata's chest, breathing in his familiar smell. Every day — every hour — Marcus had wished for this moment. And for a few seconds he let himself believe that they were really back together, that his prayers had been answered. But, of course, the opposite was true. Two guards grabbed Tata's arms, tearing him away from Marcus. And then the lanista appeared. "What's this!" he spat. "How dare you stop my parade!" The musicians were silent, the jugglers and acrobats still. All eyes were on Tata and Marcus. "Have mercy!" Tata said, struggling in the guards' grip. "This is my son!" The lanista stared at Marcus, his cold, fishy eyes looking him up and down. "Maybe you'd like to join your father in the arena?" he sneered.

即使在马库斯的噩梦中，他也想象不到比这更糟糕的事情:非斯都把塔塔卖给了角斗士。 马库斯把脸埋在塔塔的胸膛里，呼吸着他熟悉的气味。 每一天，每一小时，马库斯都盼望着这一刻的到来。 有那么几秒钟，他让自己相信他们真的又在一起了，他的祈祷得到了回应。 当然，事实正好相反。 两名警卫抓住塔塔的手臂，把他从马库斯身边拉开。 然后拉尼斯塔出现了。 “这是什么!”他啐了一口。“你竟敢阻止我的游行!”乐师们沉默了，杂耍演员和杂技演员也安静了。 所有的目光都集中在塔塔和马库斯身上。 “可怜!”塔塔说着，在卫兵的手里挣扎着。 “这是我的儿子!”教练盯着马库斯，冰冷的鱼眼上下打量着他。 “也许你想和你父亲一起去竞技场?”他冷笑道。

Then the lanista looked to the crowd. "What do you think?" he bellowed. "A father and son against Cyclops!" A few people shouted. "Bring him!" "Yes!" "What a show it will be!" "Or maybe you should fight each other?" the lanista said, rubbing his hands together. "Run from here, Marcus!" his father cried. "Go!" But instead, Marcus grabbed the lanista's arm. "I beg you! Please let my father go!" The man ripped his arm away and snatched a spear from one of the guards. He pointed the blade at Marcus's eye. "Ever wondered how Cyclops lost his eye?" he taunted, lunging at Marcus. "No!" Tata shouted. Marcus staggered back. He lost his balance and fell, smacking his head on the stone curb. His head exploded in pain. He struggled to sit up, and through the blur he could see Tata being dragged away, the guards jabbing him with spears. The

然后拉尼斯塔看了看人群。 “你觉得怎么样?”他吼道。 “一对父子对抗独眼巨人!”几个人喊道。 “带他!”“是的!”“这将是一场多么精彩的表演啊!”“或者你们应该互相打一架?”拉尼斯塔搓着双手说。 “快跑，马库斯!”他父亲喊道。 “走吧!”但相反，马库斯抓住了拉尼斯塔的手臂。 “我求你了!求你放了我父亲吧!”那人挣开他的手臂，从一个卫兵手里抢过一支长矛。 他用剑指着马库斯的眼睛。 “你有没有想过独眼巨人是怎么失去眼睛的?”他嘲笑道，扑向马库斯。 “不!”塔塔喊道。马库斯踉跄着退了回去。 他失去平衡摔了一跤，头撞在石路边。 他的头痛得炸开了。 他挣扎着坐起来，透过模糊，他看到塔塔被拖走了，卫兵用长矛刺他。 的

lanista's wicked cackle rose up over the merry music. As Tata disappeared, all of the strength drained from Marcus's body. These past two months, he'd always had the hope that he and Tata would be together again. And that speck of hope — a tiny glowing ember — had been everything to him. But now… Marcus lay back in the gutter, closing his eyes. How would he go on? In his mind he pictured Festus's face, heard his barking orders. He imagined the slaves who'd been working in the villa for years. Their bodies were crooked and scarred, their eyes dead like statues'. And then Marcus thought of the heroes from his favorite stories. They had desperate moments, too: Odysseus, who was lost at sea for ten years on his way home from Troy. Hercules, pinned down by a bloodthirsty lion. Those courageous men knew terror and hopelessness, as Marcus did now. But their stories hadn't ended with fear and defeat.

拉妮斯塔恶毒的咯咯声盖过了欢快的音乐。 随着塔塔的消失，马库斯身上所有的力量都耗尽了。 在过去的两个月里，他一直希望他和塔塔能再次在一起。 而那一点希望——一个小小的发光的余烬——曾经是他的一切。 但现在，马库斯躺在阴沟里，闭上眼睛。 他将如何继续下去?他的脑海里浮现出了非斯都的面孔，听到了他吼叫的命令。 他想象着那些在别墅里工作多年的奴隶。 他们的身体歪歪扭扭，伤痕累累，眼睛像雕像一样死气沉沉。 然后马库斯想起了他最喜欢的故事中的英雄。 他们也有绝望的时刻:奥德修斯在从特洛伊回家的路上在海上迷失了十年。 赫拉克勒斯被一头嗜血的狮子压住了。 那些勇敢的人体会到了恐惧和绝望，就像马库斯现在一样。 但他们的故事并没有以恐惧和失败告终。

Marcus's eyes snapped open. He sat up and struggled to his feet. He understood. He would try to save Tata, even if it killed him.

马库斯的眼睛猛地睁开。 他坐起来，挣扎着站了起来。 他理解。他会尽力拯救塔塔，即使这要了他的命。