Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Mel wasn't the only one who saw the grizzly. From somewhere behind her, back up the hill, Mel heard voices and clapping. "There's a grizzly!" a man shouted. "The show's about to start!" Flashlight beams lit up the bear, which was about twenty feet in front of Mel. Its eyes glowed green in the lights. And those eyes were drilling

第十六章梅尔并不是唯一看到灰熊的人。 从她身后的某个地方，回到山上，梅尔听到了说话声和掌声。 “有只灰熊！”一个男人喊道。 “演出要开始了！”手电筒的光束照亮了那只熊，它在梅尔前面大约20英尺的地方。 它的眼睛在灯光下闪着绿光。 那双眼睛在钻

right into Mel. She didn't move. She didn't breathe or blink. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. She just had to walk away, get back to the chalet. Like she had the other night at the cabin. But something about this grizzly kept Mel's feet glued to the ground. It was coming toward her without making a sound. Its ears were pinned back. It was acting just like the sow that had attacked Steve. And Mel knew — in her bones — that this grizzly wasn't going to just let her back away. It saw her as a threat. To its food. That ditch was right behind her. The air smelled of garbage mixed with fresh food. The workers had probably already dumped some of tonight's leftovers — the bait, to get the grizzly to come for the "show." The cheers and whoops were getting louder. People obviously had no idea Mel was down

直击梅尔。她没有动。 她没有呼吸，也没有眨眼。 保持冷静。保持冷静。保持冷静。 她只好离开，回到小木屋。 就像她那天晚上在小木屋那样。 但这只灰熊身上的某种东西让梅尔的脚粘在地上。 它悄无声息地朝她走来。 它的耳朵被钉在后面。 它的行为就像袭击史蒂夫的那头母猪。 梅尔从骨子里知道，这只灰熊是不会让她走开的。 它视她为威胁。它的食物。 那条沟就在她身后。 空气中弥漫着垃圾和新鲜食物混合在一起的味道。 工人们可能已经扔掉了一些今晚的剩菜——诱饵，让灰熊来“表演”。 欢呼声和喊叫声越来越大。 人们显然不知道梅尔倒下了

there. Their flashlights were pointed at the bear. The beams danced around, stabbing at the grizzly's eyes. She had no doubt that the lights were making the grizzly even more furious. Stop! Mel wanted to scream. But she was afraid to make a sound. Her only hope was to drop down and play dead. She prayed the attack would be quick. She realized she had no pack strapped to her back. No thick hiking boots. Nothing to protect her but her light T-shirt and shorts. She thought of that scar on Steve's leg. She had only seconds to decide what to do. Play dead, play dead, she told herself. But then she noticed a pine tree, in front of a big bush. She knew that grizzlies could climb. But most didn't. Should she risk it? Before Mel knew what she was doing, she had kicked off her flip-flops and was sprinting toward the tree. The bear was just a few feet behind when Mel launched herself upward. She gripped a low

在那里。他们的手电筒正对着熊。 光束在周围舞动，刺进灰熊的眼睛。 她毫不怀疑，灯光使灰熊更加愤怒。 停!梅尔想尖叫。 但她不敢发出声音。 她唯一的希望就是倒下去装死。 她祈祷袭击能快点发生。 她意识到她没有在背上绑背包。 不要穿厚厚的登山靴。除了轻薄的t恤和短裤，没有什么能保护她。 她想起了史蒂夫腿上的伤疤。 她只有几秒钟的时间来决定该怎么办。 装死，装死，她对自己说。 但后来她注意到一棵松树，在一大片灌木的前面。 她知道灰熊会爬。 但大多数人都没有。她应该冒这个险吗？ 梅尔还没反应过来，她就踢掉了人字拖，朝那棵树跑去。 当梅尔跳上水面时，熊就在她身后几英尺的地方。 她紧紧抓住一只小围巾。

branch, kicked her legs up, and swung them around. Too late. The grizzly was right there. With lightning speed, it rose up and swiped at Mel with its paw. Its claws stabbed into her thigh, ripping open her flesh. Mel gasped at the pain. But she managed to pull herself higher before the bear could knock her down with another swipe. Now the grizzly was even more enraged. The frail tree shook as the grizzly pounded against it with its paws. Graaaaaawrrrrr! Suddenly a man shouted, "Wait! There's a girl in the tree!" The cheering and clapping stopped. It became eerily silent. All Mel could hear was the bear's low, hissing breaths. A woman shouted, "We need to help her!" And then… Crack!

布兰奇，把她的腿踢起来，甩来甩去。 太迟了。灰熊就在那里。 它以闪电般的速度站起来，用爪子向梅尔扑去。 它的爪子刺进了她的大腿，撕开了她的肉。 梅尔痛得喘不过气来。但在熊再次把她撞倒之前，她成功地爬到了更高的地方。 现在灰熊更加愤怒了。 灰熊用爪子敲打着那棵脆弱的树，树摇晃起来。 Graaaaaawrrrrr !突然，一个男人喊道：“等等！树上有个女孩！”欢呼声和掌声停止了。 四周变得出奇地寂静。梅尔只能听到熊低沉嘶嘶的呼吸声。 一名妇女喊道：“我们需要帮助她！”然后……啪！

The branch snapped, and Mel fell into the darkness.

树枝折断了，梅尔掉进了黑暗中。