Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Again, Oscar felt as though he were being attacked by a wild animal, a monster with burning tentacles and boiling breath. It grabbed him, clawed at him, and spun him around. Smoke gushed into his nose and down his throat, filling his lungs with searing poison. His couldn't open his eyes, but he knew the fire was all around him. He dropped to the ground, crawling blindly, groping for the door. But he had no idea where he was. It was like being trapped in a flaming maze. His lungs were ready to explode. Was this the end? Was he really going to die right here? And then he heard a voice.

奥斯卡又一次感到自己受到了野兽的攻击，这是一个触须燃烧、呼吸沸腾的怪物。 它抓住他，抓着他，把他转了个身。 烟喷进他的鼻子，流进他的喉咙，他的肺里充满了灼热的毒药。 他睁不开眼睛，但他知道火已经包围了他。 他倒在地上，盲目地爬着，摸索着门。 但他不知道自己身在何处。 就像被困在一个燃烧的迷宫里。 他的肺快要爆炸了。 这就结束了吗?他真的会死在这里吗? 然后他听到了一个声音。

"This way! This way!" Mama? "Turn right! Turn right!" the voice shouted, tugging him, guiding him. Oscar turned. No, it wasn't Mama's voice. It was Jennie's. "Yes! Now straight! Hurry!" And then he felt a hand on his arm, pulling him up. Seconds later he was out the door. He was just steps away from the house when there was a terrifying whoosh and an explosion of hot air. They rushed forward, and Jennie grabbed Bruno from where he had been hiding behind a barrel. They ran across the street and fell to the ground. Oscar's head throbbed; his entire body felt as if it had been roasted. He lay back and closed his eyes. For a long minute, he stayed there, trying to catch his breath. He might have stayed like that for hours. But only a minute or so passed before he felt someone

“这种方式!这种方式!”妈妈? “向右转!右转!”那个声音喊着，拽着他，指引着他。 奥斯卡了。不，那不是妈妈的声音。 那是珍妮的。“是啊!现在直!快点!”然后他感到有一只手在他的手臂上，把他拉了起来。 几秒钟后，他就出了门。 就在他离房子只有几步远的时候，突然传来一声可怕的嗖嗖声和一阵热空气爆炸。 他们向前冲去，珍妮从布鲁诺藏在木桶后面的地方把他抓住了。 他们跑过马路，倒在地上。 奥斯卡的头在抽动;他觉得整个身体好像被烤过似的。 他躺下，闭上眼睛。 他在那儿呆了好长一分钟，试图喘口气。 他可能就那样呆了好几个小时。 但只过了一分钟左右，他就感觉到有人了

breathing in his face. He opened his eyes and saw a huge curly head hovering over him with wide-open eyes. Bruno. "Hey! You not dead!" he croaked out happily. "Hush, Bruno!" Jennie whispered. "That is not a polite thing to say!" "But he not dead!" Bruno insisted, putting his face even closer to Oscar's, so his slimy little nose touched Oscar's nose. Then he put his gooey mouth to Oscar's ear and whispered, "You not dead." The kid wasn't going to quit. Oscar put his hand on Bruno's head. "I know," he said. Jennie kneeled down and gently peeled Bruno away from Oscar. "Let's give him a little room," Jennie said. Oscar managed to sit up. He stared ahead at the little house, which was being torn apart by the flames. The wood moaned and sighed as it collapsed into the fire, as if crying out in pain. It was sickening, like watching a rabbit get torn apart by a coyote.

对着他的脸呼吸。他睁开眼睛，看见一个大大的卷发在他头顶盘旋，眼睛睁得大大的。 布鲁诺。“嘿!你没死!”他高兴地嘶哑着嗓子说。 “嘘,布鲁诺!”珍妮低声说。 “这么说可不礼貌!”“但他没有死!”布鲁诺坚持说，把他的脸更靠近奥斯卡，所以他黏糊糊的小鼻子碰到了奥斯卡的鼻子。 然后他把黏糊糊的嘴凑到奥斯卡的耳边，低声说:“你没死。” 那孩子不打算放弃。 奥斯卡把手放在布鲁诺的头上。 “我知道，”他说。珍妮跪下来，轻轻地把布鲁诺从奥斯卡身边推开。 “我们给他留一点地方吧，”珍妮说。 奥斯卡设法坐了起来。他盯着前面那座小房子，它正被大火烧得四分五裂。 木头倒在火里呻吟着，叹息着，好像在痛苦地呼喊。 这让人恶心，就像看着一只兔子被郊狼撕碎一样。

Bruno wriggled closer to Oscar until his small shoulder pressed against Oscar's arm. "My house," he said, pointing sadly. Oscar didn't know what to say, so he just put an arm around the boy. The fire burned so bright that it lit up all their faces. It was the first time Jennie had the chance to get a good look at Oscar. Now Oscar waited to see the shock in her eyes when she realized who he was. But there was no flash of recognition. She looked exactly how Oscar felt: scared, dazed, and amazed to be alive. Their eyes locked together, and Oscar could tell that Jennie didn't recognize the kid she'd tricked at the train station. She saw a different boy, the boy who'd helped her and Bruno escape from the fire. And as Oscar looked at Jennie, he didn't see a helpless orphan or a ruthless thief. He saw a brave girl who watched over her brother all by herself, whose voice had led Oscar out of the blazing house in the nick of time.

布鲁诺扭动着向奥斯卡靠近，直到他的小肩膀紧贴在奥斯卡的手臂上。 “我的房子，”他悲伤地指着说。 奥斯卡不知道该说什么，所以他只是搂住了男孩。 火烧得很旺，照亮了他们所有人的脸。 这是珍妮第一次有机会好好看看奥斯卡。 现在奥斯卡等着看她意识到他是谁时眼中的震惊。 但他并没有认出来。 她的表情和奥斯卡的感觉一模一样:害怕，茫然，为自己还活着而惊讶。 他们的眼睛紧紧地盯在一起，奥斯卡看得出珍妮认不出她在火车站骗过的那个孩子了。 她看到了一个不同的男孩，那个帮助她和布鲁诺逃离火灾的男孩。 奥斯卡看着珍妮的时候，他看到的不是一个无助的孤儿，也不是一个无情的小偷。 他看到一个勇敢的女孩独自照顾着她的哥哥，她的声音在关键时刻把奥斯卡从熊熊燃烧的房子里救了出来。

And then there was Bruno, who grinned at Oscar as though they'd been best friends all their lives. "I Boono," he said, looking up at Oscar and puffing out his chest. "I'm Oscar," Oscar said. "Occar," Bruno said. "I'm Jennie," Jennie said. They all sat there a minute, looking at each other. Had he and Jennie really only just laid eyes on each other tonight? Oscar eased his arm from around Bruno and struggled to his feet, brushing the dust and ashes off his burned clothes. His body ached, but his mind felt surprisingly clear. He knew exactly what to do. "We need to get to the Palmer House hotel," he said. He said the word we very clearly. "My mother is there," Oscar said. "The hotel is fireproof. We'll be safe there." Oscar picked up Bruno and held out his free hand to Jennie. She took it, and gripped it tight.

然后是布鲁诺，他对奥斯卡咧嘴一笑，好像他们一辈子都是最好的朋友。 “我不喜欢，”他抬头看着奥斯卡，挺起胸膛说。 “我是奥斯卡，”奥斯卡说。“奥卡，”布鲁诺说。 “我是珍妮，”珍妮说。 他们都在那儿坐了一会儿，面面相觑。 难道他和珍妮今晚才真正见面吗? 奥斯卡松开搂着布鲁诺的手臂，挣扎着站了起来，掸去烧焦衣服上的灰尘和灰烬。 他的身体疼痛，但他的头脑却出奇地清醒。 他很清楚该怎么做。 “我们得去帕尔默宾馆，”他说。 他把“我们”这个字说得很清楚。 “我妈妈在那儿，”奥斯卡说。 “酒店是防火的。我们在那里很安全。” 奥斯卡抱起布鲁诺，把空着的手伸给珍妮。 她接过它，紧紧地抓着。

And together they began their journey through Chicago's burning streets.

他们一起开始了穿越芝加哥燃烧的街道的旅程。