Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 They pushed off and started to fly. They whizzed along the wire. The burning bushes seemed to reach up for them. But the wire held. In seconds, he and Holly were over the river. "Let go NOW!" Holly cried. Josh opened his fingers and fell through the smoke.

第十五章他们一跃而起，开始飞翔。 他们嗖嗖地沿着电线前进。 燃烧的灌木丛似乎向他们伸出了橄榄枝。 但是铁丝坚持住了。几秒钟后，他和霍莉就渡过了河。 “现在就放手！”冬青哭了。 乔希张开手指，掉进了烟雾中。

SPLASH! He could practically hear the hiss of his hot body hitting the cold river. And he knew that for as long as he lived, he would never forget the feeling of this cool water on his roasted skin. He let himself sink down, down, down, where the embers couldn't reach him, where the fire's roar was muffled. But his aching lungs couldn't hold much air. Only a few seconds later he was back on the surface, gulping in smoky breaths. Embers swirled around, glowing bits of wood, some ribbons of flaming bark. A few landed on him and he splashed them away. The smoke wasn't as thick down here near the water. He could see some small fires on the other side of the river. But nothing compared to what they'd escaped. The current was strong. But not as strong as in the ocean at the Jersey Shore, where Josh had learned to swim. He could handle it. His hopes rose up.

飞溅!他几乎可以听到他滚烫的身体撞击冰冷的河水时发出的嘶嘶声。 他知道，只要他活着，他就永远不会忘记这凉水淋在他烤过的皮肤上的感觉。 他让自己往下沉，往下沉，往下沉，直到余烬够不着他，大火的轰鸣被淹没的地方。 但他疼痛的肺无法容纳太多空气。 几秒钟后，他又回到了水面上，大口大口地吸着烟。 余烬在周围旋转，有发光的木头碎片，还有几条燃烧的树皮带。 有几颗落在他身上，他把它们泼走了。 靠近水边的地方烟没那么浓。 他可以看到河的另一边有一些小火。 但与他们逃脱的苦难相比，这根本不算什么。 水流很猛。但没有在泽西海岸的海洋里那么强大，乔什在那里学会了游泳。 他能应付得来。他燃起了希望。

He looked for Holly, surprised she wasn't shouting out her orders. Where was she? He spun around, searching. Had she already started swimming to the other side? No. She wouldn't go without him. He saw some pieces of wood floating in the water. But no sign of his cousin. "Holly!" he called. He swam back and forth, swinging his head around. His eyes kept returning to what looked like a rock, bobbing in the water. But wait… rocks don't float. That was Holly! He thrashed over to her and grabbed hold of her arms under the water. He tried to pull her up, but she was stuck! Josh took a breath and dove down. He groped in the water; her leg was caught in a branch. It took him three dives before he could work her leg free. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to the surface. They both exploded up out of the water.

他找着霍莉，惊讶她没有大声喊出她的命令。 她在哪里？他转过身去寻找。 她已经开始向对岸游去了吗？ 不。没有他她是不会走的。 他看见水里漂着几块木头。 但是没有他表弟的踪迹。 “霍莉！”他喊道。他游来游去，摇着头。 他的眼睛一直盯着一块在水中晃动的岩石。 等等，石头不会浮起来的。 那是霍莉！他扑向她，在水下抓住她的手臂。 他想把她拉上来，但她被卡住了！乔希吸了一口气，潜了下去。 他在水里摸索；她的腿被树枝夹住了。 他下潜了三次才把她的腿抬起来。 他用双臂抱住她，把她拉到水面上。 他们俩都从水里炸了出来。

He'd done it! But Holly was strangely silent. Her head lolled. "Holly!" he screamed. "Holly!" But she didn't open her eyes.

他做到了！但霍莉奇怪地沉默着。 她耷拉着头。“霍莉！”他尖叫道。 “冬青!”但她没有睁开眼睛。