Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Dr. Gage turned the SUV around again, and they raced away from the tornado. He punched 911 into his phone. A woman's voice came over the speaker. "Nine-one-one emergency." "This is Dr. Norman Gage. I'm a storm chaser. There is a massive tornado on the ground in southwest Joplin. It could be a mile wide. And it is rain-wrapped and almost impossible to see. People need to be warned right away!" Dex's heart pounded. Had he heard right? Could a tornado really be one mile wide?

第十章盖奇博士又把越野车调头，他们从龙卷风中疾驰而去。 他用手机打了911。 扬声器里传来一个女人的声音。 “九一一紧急。”“这是博士。 诺曼计。我是风暴追逐者。 乔普林西南部的地面上有一场巨大的龙卷风。 它可能有一英里宽。它被雨水包裹着，几乎看不见。 人们需要立即得到警告!”德克斯的心怦怦直跳。 他没听错吧?龙卷风真的能有一英里宽吗?

If the tornado kept going in the same direction, it would wipe out some of the most crowded parts of the city — Dex's school, the St. John's hospital complex, Dex's church, all the stores and supermarkets and fast-food restaurants that lined South Range Line Road… And Dex's neighborhood. The wind shook the windows of the SUV. The air was filled with leaves, branches, and black roof shingles. "This is a huge tornado and very strong," Dr. Gage warned. "Please get the sirens going!" He hung up with the 911 operator and handed the phone to Dex. "Call your parents," he said. "Tell them both to take cover and to spread the word." Dex glanced at the time; it was almost 5:40. Were they home from the graduation yet? With shaking hands, Dex called home. All he got was a fast busy signal. Same thing when he tried to call Mom's cell, and then Dad's.

如果龙卷风继续向同一个方向移动，它将摧毁城市中一些最拥挤的地区——德克斯的学校，圣。 约翰的综合医院，德克斯的教堂，所有的商店、超市和快餐店，沿着南山脉线路，还有德克斯的邻居。 风摇动着SUV的窗户。 空气中充满了树叶、树枝和黑色的屋顶瓦片。 “这是一场巨大的龙卷风，非常强劲。” 计警告说。“请让警笛响起来!”他挂了911接线员的电话，把电话递给了德克斯。 “给你父母打电话，”他说。 “叫他们俩都躲起来，把消息传出去。” 德克斯瞥了一眼时间;差不多5点40分了。 他们毕业典礼回来了吗? 德克斯用颤抖的双手给家里打了个电话。 他只收到一个忙音信号。 他给妈妈和爸爸的手机都打过同样的电话。

Was cell service cut off? Just then a piercing shriek rang out through the air — finally, the tornado sirens. Yeeowwwyeeeowwwyeeeoww! But was it too late? And would people pay attention? Would Mom and Dad know to run to the basement? Would Zeke go with them? His dog hated it down there. How many people in Joplin knew what was coming? It was now pouring rain, and the gray cloud was completely invisible. A massive tornado was about to hit Joplin, and nobody could see it. Dr. Gage's terrifying words came back to Dex. Black walls of death. The wind was getting stronger, gusting in howling breaths. Trees swayed back and forth.

手机信号断了吗?就在这时，空中响起了一声刺耳的尖叫声——最后是龙卷风警报。 Yeeowwwyeeeowwwyeeeoww !但是否太晚了? 人们会注意到吗? 妈妈和爸爸知道要跑到地下室吗? 齐克会和他们一起去吗?他的狗讨厌那里。 乔普林有多少人知道会发生什么? 现在下着倾盆大雨，灰色的云完全看不见了。 一场巨大的龙卷风即将袭击乔普林，但没有人能看到它。 盖奇医生可怕的话回到了德克斯的脑海里。 死亡的黑墙。风越来越大，一阵阵呼啸而过。 树木前后摇晃。

A huge limb broke off and flew across the street. Dex noticed a new color on the radar map — pink. "Dr. Gage," he said softly. "What are those pink dots?" They were scattered across the red blobs like sprinkles. Dr. Gage glanced at the screen, his face grim. "Debris," he answered finally. Debris. It took Dex a few seconds to get it. Those pink dots were pieces of houses and buildings and cars that had been sucked thousands of feet into the sky. Dex's eyes flooded with tears. Joplin! His city was being torn to pieces. Dr. Gage picked up the handset of his ham radio, which would work even when cell service was out. "Jimmy, Sara, you there?" There was a loud crackle, and then Sara's voice.

一根巨大的树枝断了，飞到街对面。 德克斯注意到雷达地图上出现了一种新颜色——粉红色。 “盖奇医生，”他轻声说。 “那些粉点是什么?”它们像糖屑一样散落在红色的斑点上。 盖奇医生看了一眼屏幕，脸色阴沉。 “碎片，”他最后回答。 碎片。德克斯花了几秒钟才拿到。 那些粉红色的圆点是房屋、建筑物和汽车的碎片，它们被吸到了几千英尺高的空中。 德克斯眼里噙满了泪水。 乔普林!他的城市正被撕成碎片。 盖奇博士拿起他的业余无线电听筒，即使在手机信号中断时也能工作。 “吉米，萨拉，你们在吗?”啪的一声巨响，然后是萨拉的声音。

"Norm, where are you? We're heading into Joplin. I wish you could see this! It's massive! We're following it in." "Stay back!" he said. "It's right behind us, on Twentieth Street!" Dex gasped as he watched a telephone pole break in half and slam onto the road in front of them. The wires erupted into a spray of sparks. Dr. Gage dropped the handset and hit the brakes. "Norm!" Sara called. "Norm!" The car skidded on the rain-slick road. It whipped around in a circle, around and around, like a sickening carnival ride. They were heading right for a huge oak tree, and Dex braced himself for a terrible crash. The car swerved at the last minute, and they missed the tree. Instead, they plowed into a chain-link fence, breaking through the metal mesh and finally lurching to a stop.

“诺姆，你在哪儿?”我们要去乔普林。 我希望你能看到这个!这是巨大的!我们正在跟进。” “退后!”他说。“就在我们后面，在二十街!”德克斯倒吸了一口气，他看到一根电线杆断成两半，摔在他们前面的路上。 电线迸发出火花。 盖奇博士放下手机，踩下了刹车。 “标准!”莎拉。“标准!”汽车在雨后光滑的路上打滑。 它绕着圈打转，一圈又一圈，就像一辆令人作呕的嘉年华车。 他们正朝着一棵巨大的橡树前进，德克斯准备好迎接可怕的撞击。 汽车在最后一刻突然转向，他们错过了那棵树。 相反，他们撞进了铁丝网，冲破了金属网，最后蹒跚地停了下来。

They sat there for a moment, too stunned to speak. They were in front of Peter's Garage, where Dad took his car to be fixed. A chunk of the roof tore away and smacked into the car. A stop sign shot past them like an arrow. The wind was really howling now, branches and roof shingles swirling in the air. Dr. Gage jammed the SUV into reverse and tried to back up.

他们在那里坐了一会儿，目瞪口呆，说不出话来。 他们在彼得的车库前，爸爸把他的车开到那里修。 车顶的一大块裂开，砸在汽车上。 一个停车标志像箭一样从他们身边飞过。 现在风真的在咆哮，树枝和屋顶瓦在空中打旋。 盖奇医生把越野车倒车，试图倒车。