Chapter 1

I SURVIVED THE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES, 2018

我在2018年的加州野火中幸存下来

CHAPTER 1 MONDAY, JULY 23, 2018 A FOREST IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AROUND 8:00 A.M. Josh stared in horror at the bloodred glow rising up behind him. A massive wildfire was raging through the forest, a wall of flames devouring

2018年7月23日星期一，上午8点左右，加州北部的一片森林。 乔希惊恐地盯着身后升起的红光。 一场巨大的野火在森林中肆虐，熊熊的火焰吞噬了整个森林

everything in its path. Josh and his cousin Holly were in a race for their lives. "Josh!" Holly shouted, grabbing his hand. "This way!" As they took off along the forest path, the hot wind gusted hard. Suddenly the air was filled with sparks and glowing embers and chunks of flaming wood. Josh felt them landing on his bare arms and legs, sizzling against his skin, searing his scalp. He tried to brush them away. But they were all over him, biting into his skin like the white-hot teeth of a flesh-eating monster. He and Holly ran faster, but the wall of flames was closing in from behind. And all around them, the burning embers were setting fires wherever they landed. On treetops. WHOOSH! On branches. WHOOSH! On the forest floor.

一切都在它的路径上。乔希和他的表妹霍莉正在为他们的生命赛跑。 “杰克!”霍莉喊道，抓住他的手。 “这样!”当他们沿着森林小路出发时，猛烈的热风吹来。 突然间，空气中充满了火花、灼热的余烬和燃烧的木头块。 乔希感到它们落在他裸露的胳膊和腿上，在他的皮肤上发出咝咝声，灼烧着他的头皮。 他想把它们刷掉。 但它们都在他身上，像食肉怪物的白热牙齿一样咬进他的皮肤。 他和霍莉跑得更快了，但火焰墙从后面逼近了。 在他们周围，燃烧的余烬无论落在哪里都在燃烧。 在树顶。嗖!在树枝上。 嗖!在森林的地面上。

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! With every gust of wind, more embers swirled. Flames shot higher and higher into the sky. A nightmare of sounds crashed against Josh's ears. The fire's roar, the moaning wind, the cracking and snapping of the trees. It was as though the air itself was shrieking in agony. Josh glanced around, struggling to breathe in the thickening smoke. Just minutes before, the forest had been peaceful and green. Now it was a terrifying maze of fire. How could everything change so fast? And then: Boom! A burning pine tree in front of them exploded. Shards of splintered wood sprayed out. Holly tried to pull Josh sideways, but Josh stumbled. When he looked up, there was a flaming branch speeding through the air. It was headed straight for his skull.

嗖!嗖!嗖!每刮一阵风，就会有更多的余烬旋转。 火焰越窜越高。 一场噩梦般的声音冲击着乔希的耳朵。 大火的咆哮，呼啸的风，树木的噼啪声。 仿佛空气本身也在痛苦地尖叫。 乔希环顾四周，挣扎着吸入越来越浓的烟雾。 就在几分钟前，森林还是一片宁静和绿色。 现在它成了一个可怕的火迷宫。 一切怎么会变化得这么快？ 然后：砰！他们面前一棵燃烧着的松树爆炸了。 木头碎片喷了出来。 霍莉试图把乔什拉到一边，但乔什被绊倒了。 他抬头一看，一根燃烧的树枝在空中疾驰而过。 它直冲他的头骨而来。