Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 ONE DAY EARLIER SATURDAY MAY 21 9:00 A.M. Dex pedaled his bike through the quiet streets of his neighborhood, his dog, Zeke, trotting right beside him. He was studying an arrow-shaped cloud in the bright blue sky when squealing shouts echoed from just ahead. "Dexter! Dexter! Buy some lemonade!" Two identical blond heads bounced up over a rosebush.

第二章5月21日星期六上午9点 德克斯骑着自行车穿过附近安静的街道，他的狗齐克在他旁边小跑着。 他正在研究明亮的蓝天上的一片箭状云，这时前方传来了尖叫声。 “德克斯特!德克斯特!买些柠檬水吧!”两个一模一样的金发脑袋在玫瑰花丛上蹦了起来。

It was the little Tucker twins, Stephanie and Bobbie. Dex wasn't thirsty, but no way could he just ignore the girls. Dex's parents and Mr. Tucker had all grown up together in Joplin. Before the twins were born, Mrs. Tucker worked at Joplin High School, where Mom and Dad both taught math. There were about 50,000 people living in Joplin, and it seemed that at least half of them were practically part of Dex's family. Dex stopped his bike in the Tuckers' driveway and dug a quarter out of his pocket. Both girls pointed at Zeke and giggled. The dog sat patiently with his tongue hanging almost down to the ground. Dex had to laugh, too. Poor Zekie was probably the ugliest dog in southeastern Missouri. Dad had it right when he said Zeke looked like a cross between a dolphin and a hyena. But who needed good looks when you were the best dog on the planet?

是塔克家的双胞胎，斯蒂芬妮和博比。 德克斯不渴，但他不可能无视那些女孩。 德克斯的父母和塔克都是在乔普林一起长大的。 在双胞胎出生之前，塔克夫人在乔普林高中工作，父母都在那里教数学。 大约有5万人住在乔普林，其中至少有一半是德克斯的家人。 德克斯把自行车停在塔克家的车道上，从口袋里掏出一枚25美分的硬币。 两个女孩都指着齐克咯咯地笑。 狗耐心地坐着，舌头几乎垂到地上。 德克斯也忍不住笑了。可怜的泽基可能是密苏里东南部最丑的狗。 爸爸说齐克长得像海豚和鬣狗的结合体是对的。 但当你是世界上最好的狗时，谁还需要漂亮的外表呢?

Dex choked down a Dixie Cup filled with warm, watery lemonade. "Delicious," he said, smacking his lips. The little girls beamed, flashing their missing front teeth. Just then, Mr. Tucker came through the front door. He was lugging two suitcases, which he dropped next to the car. "Good morning, Dex!" he said, striding over. "Hey, Mr. Tucker. Going somewhere exciting?" Mr. Tucker smiled. "Just down to Arkansas, visiting the cousins. We'll be back Monday." He gave Zeke a pat on the head. "You and your guard dog can keep the burglars away for us." Dex laughed. The only criminals in this neighborhood were the raccoons that knocked over their garbage cans. "So," Mr. Tucker said, lowering his voice. "Any word from Jeremy?" The question punched Dex in the gut.

德克斯咽下一杯盛满温润柠檬水的迪克西杯。 “真好吃。”他咂咂嘴唇说。 小女孩们笑了，露出了她们缺了的门牙。 就在这时，塔克先生从前门走了进来。 他拖着两个手提箱，丢在汽车旁边。 “早上好，德克斯!”他说着大步走了过来。 “嘿，塔克先生。去一个令人兴奋的地方?”塔克先生笑了。 “我刚到阿肯色州去拜访表兄妹。 我们星期一回来。”他拍了拍齐克的头。 “你和你的看门狗可以帮我们赶走窃贼。” 敏捷笑了。这附近唯一的罪犯就是那些打翻他们家垃圾桶的浣熊。 “所以，”塔克压低声音说。 “杰里米有消息吗?”这个问题刺痛了德克斯。

Jeremy, Dex's twenty-year-old brother, was a member of the US Navy SEALs, a special part of the military. He was overseas on a mission, but Dex had no idea where. SEAL missions were top secret. Jeremy could be anywhere in the world where there was a war to fight, terrorists to catch, or hostages to rescue. "No news yet," Dex said, his throat tightening up. Jeremy had warned him that he could be out of touch for weeks during his mission. But still, each day without hearing Jeremy's voice felt like a year. When Jeremy first became a SEAL, all Dex felt was pride. His brother was one of the toughest warriors on the whole planet! How awesome was that? Folks in Joplin said Jeremy was a hero. At school, even Dylan Elliott and his pals were coming up to Dex, dying to know every detail about being a SEAL. Dylan and Dex used to be close buddies. But over the years, Dylan had spent more and more

杰里米，德克斯20岁的弟弟，是美国海军海豹突击队的一员，这是军队的一个特殊部分。 他在海外执行任务，但德克斯不知道在哪里。 海豹突击队的任务是最高机密。 杰里米可能在世界上任何一个有战争要打，有恐怖分子要抓，有人质要救的地方。 “还没有消息。”德克斯说，喉咙发紧。 杰里米警告过他，在执行任务期间，他可能会失去联系好几个星期。 但是，听不到杰里米声音的每一天都像过了一年。 当杰里米第一次成为海豹突击队队员时，德克斯感到的只有骄傲。 他的兄弟是世界上最强壮的战士之一!那有多棒啊? 乔普林的人们说杰里米是个英雄。 在学校里，就连迪伦·艾略特和他的伙伴们都来找德克斯，渴望知道作为海豹突击队队员的每一个细节。 迪伦和德克斯以前是好朋友。 但这些年来，迪伦花的钱越来越多

time with guys from his baseball team. Dylan and Dex never had a fight, or even exchanged a mean look. But somehow an invisible wall had risen up between them, and Dex had no idea how to break it down. And so it was a happy surprise for Dex that suddenly Dylan and his pals wanted to sit with him at lunch. They'd crowd around him, begging to see the picture of Jeremy in his night-vision goggles with his M16 rifle strapped to his chest. They'd ignore their chocolate milk and French toast sticks as Dex told them everything Jeremy could do: parachute into a war zone, scuba dive one hundred feet down into the sea, survive an arctic blizzard or desert sandstorm. "Did he ever have to eat a raw lizard?" asked Mike Sturm, who had replaced Dex as Dylan's best friend. "Quiet, Mike," Dylan snapped. "They don't eat lizards, do they, Dex?"

和他棒球队的人在一起。 迪伦和德克斯从来没有吵过架，甚至都没有恶语相向。 但不知何故，他们之间竖起了一道看不见的墙，德克斯不知道如何打破它。 所以，迪伦和他的朋友们突然想和他一起吃午饭，这对德克斯来说是一个惊喜。 他们围在他周围，乞求看到杰里米戴着夜视镜，胸前绑着M16步枪的照片。 当德克斯告诉他们杰里米能做的一切时，他们忽略了巧克力牛奶和法式吐司棒:跳伞到战区，潜水到100英尺深的海里，在北极暴风雪或沙漠沙尘暴中幸存下来。 “他曾经吃过生蜥蜴吗?”迈克·斯特姆(Mike Sturm)问道，他已经取代德克斯成为迪伦最好的朋友。 “安静，迈克。”迪伦厉声说。 “它们不吃蜥蜴，对吧，德克斯?”

"No," Dex said. "They can eat some kinds of bugs, though. They're really high in protein." That sent them all into fits of groaning giggles, and the happy sounds echoed through Dex's mind all day. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed Dylan, and how good it would feel to be one of the guys. But over the past couple of weeks, something strange had happened to Dex. He didn't want to tell stories about Jeremy. He didn't want to think about Jeremy. Because it had suddenly dawned on Dex that his brother — his best friend in the world — might not make it home in one piece. Jeremy could get shot, blown up, kidnapped… or worse. Last night, Dex had lain sweating in his bed, actually counting the ways his brother could get hurt. Dex couldn't admit this to the guys; they'd think he was a little coward, and he sure didn't want to talk about it with mr. Tucker right now. He said, a quick, bye,

“不，”德克斯说。“不过，它们可以吃一些虫子。 它们的蛋白质含量很高。” 这让他们都发出一阵咯咯的笑声，这些快乐的声音在德克斯的脑海里回荡了一整天。 他没有意识到自己有多么想念迪伦，也没有意识到成为他们中的一员的感觉有多好。 但在过去的几周里，德克斯身上发生了一些奇怪的事情。 他不想讲杰里米的故事。 他不想去想杰里米。 因为德克斯突然意识到，他的哥哥——他在世界上最好的朋友——可能不会完好无损地回家了。 杰里米可能会中枪，被炸死，被绑架，甚至更糟。 昨晚，德克斯躺在床上满头大汗，数着他弟弟可能受到的伤害。 德克斯不能向他们承认这一点;他们会认为他是个小懦夫，他当然也不愿意和他的丈夫谈论这件事。 现在是塔克。他说，很快，再见，