Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 5:00 P.M. COLUMBUS KNASAS They followed the storm east for about three miles, and then they pulled off the road. They got out and stood at the edge of a cornfield. The air was steamy and thick, and the wind was stronger. The corn plants rippled like waves on a stormy ocean. They stood for a few minutes, watching as the metal-gray cloud grew thicker and darker. Before Dex's eyes, the cloud formed itself into a giant circle. The bottom was perfectly flat, and the top

第八章下午五点他们跟随风暴向东行驶了大约三英里，然后驶离公路。 他们下了车，站在一片玉米地的边上。 空气又浓又湿，风也更大了。 玉米像暴风雨的海洋上的波浪一样泛起涟漪。 他们站了几分钟，看着金属灰色的云越来越厚，越来越暗。 在德克斯眼前，云层形成了一个巨大的圆圈。 底部很平，顶部

towered up into the sky, as though it would bump into the moon. Dex thought it looked like a UFO. But Dr. Gage had a more scientific name for it. "That is a perfect cumulonimbus cloud." He stared in awe. "Those are the clouds that make tornadoes." Dr. Gage walked to the back of the SUV and popped open the tailgate. "Let's get some sound pods into the sky," he said, grabbing the rifle. "Would you like to do the shooting?" Dex took the rifle, trying to act as if it was no big deal. But inside his brain an excited little voice was screaming, I get to shoot the pods! I get to shoot the pods! Dr. Gage grabbed four of the silver balls. He took a quick look at the weather radar. "I think the storm is actually losing strength."

高耸入云，仿佛要撞上月亮。 德克斯觉得它看起来像一个不明飞行物。 但盖奇博士给它取了一个更科学的名字。 “那是一片完美的积雨云。” 他敬畏地凝视着。“那些是形成龙卷风的云。” 盖奇医生走到SUV的后面，打开后挡板。 “让我们把一些声音舱放到空中，”他说着，抓起步枪。 “你想开枪吗?”德克斯拿起步枪，装出一副没什么大不了的样子。 但在他的大脑里，一个兴奋的小声音在尖叫，我可以射击豆荚!我来射豆荚!博士。 盖奇抓了四个银球。 他迅速看了一眼气象雷达。 “我认为这场风暴实际上正在失去力量。”

Sure enough, that UFO cloud was already melting apart, like gray ice cream left out in the sun. "But let's shoot some pods up anyway. I'm curious to hear what's going on in there. We'll go into the middle of the field. The winds will be better." Dr. Gage led Dex into the middle of the cornfield, where stalks rose up past Dex's knees. He helped Dex load the balls into the rifle. "Pull the trigger four times with about five seconds in between." Dex aimed up at the cloud. Phhttt! Phhttt! Phhttt! Phhttt! Each of the silver balls streaked up into the air, and then, Pop! Pop!

果然，那片不明飞行物云已经融化了，就像阳光下的灰色冰淇淋一样。 “不管怎样，我们还是要射一些豆荚吧。 我很想知道里面发生了什么。 我们走到场地中央。 风会好起来的。” 盖奇医生领着德克斯来到玉米地中央，玉米秆高过德克斯的膝盖。 他帮德克斯把子弹装进步枪。 “扣动扳机四次，每次间隔五秒。” 德克斯抬头望着云层。 Phhttt !Phhttt !Phhttt !Phhttt !每一个银球都飞向空中，然后，砰!流行!

Pop! Pop! One by one the pods burst open, releasing the balloons. They rose up through the sky, like four brave soldiers ready for a daring mission. "Perfect!" Dr. Gage exclaimed. Dex's heart leaped up, and he thought of Jeremy. His brother would love this! Dex could imagine Jeremy's chiming laugh, how his blue eyes would gleam, how they'd talk about this for weeks. And then came the familiar gut stab of worry, as Dex wondered where on earth his brother was. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the pictures of exploding bombs and burning tanks that flashed through his mind. And then, boom! For a second, Dex thought a bomb had blasted out of his mind and into the field. But when he opened his eyes, he saw bolts of lightning tearing open the storm cloud. The cloud

流行!流行!吊舱一个接一个地爆裂，释放出气球。 他们在天空中升起，就像四个勇敢的士兵准备执行一项大胆的任务。 “完美!”盖奇博士叫道。 德克斯的心跳了起来，他想起了杰里米。 他哥哥会喜欢的!德克斯可以想象杰里米的笑声，他的蓝眼睛闪烁着光芒，他们会谈论这个话题好几个星期。 接着是那种熟悉的担忧，德克斯不知道他哥哥到底在哪里。 他闭上眼睛，试图不让炸弹爆炸和坦克燃烧的画面在脑海中闪过。 然后，砰!有那么一瞬间，德克斯以为一颗炸弹从他的脑海里炸开了，掉进了田里。 及至他睁开眼睛，就看见闪电划破了暴风云。 云

had turned black and was billowing like smoke. Boom! Dex could actually feel electricity pulsing through the air. The hairs on his arms stood straight up from the shock. Boom, boom, boom! Lightning bolts shot out of the cloud, like flaming spears.

变黑了，像烟一样翻腾。 繁荣!德克斯真的能感觉到空气中的电脉冲。 他手臂上的汗毛因震惊而竖立起来。 砰，砰，砰!闪电从云层中射出，像燃烧的长矛。