Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 The helicopter hovered low, in the middle of the river, its bright light slicing through the thick smoke. A big door opened and someone leaped out, splashing down into the water. Seconds later Josh heard a voice, shouting through the darkness. "JOSH! HOLLY!" "LUCAS!!!" Holly called.

直升机在河中央低空盘旋，明亮的光线划破浓浓的烟雾。 一扇大门打开了，有人跳出来，扑通一声跳进水里。 几秒钟后，乔希听到一个声音，在黑暗中喊叫。 “杰克!霍莉!”“卢卡斯! !”冬青。

Lucas waded toward them. He wrapped his arms around both of them, hugging them close. "Come on," he said. "We don't have much time." "Holly hurt her leg," Josh said quickly. "What about you?" he asked Josh. "His shoulder's burned. Bad," Holly said. "But I can make it," Josh said, surprising himself. The helicopter had moved closer to them at the edge of the river, still hovering, the sound of the rotor blades beating like a giant heart. A stretcher was lowered down, attached to a cable. Lucas strapped Holly into the stretcher and waved to Josh to wait. "I'm going to take her up and be right back down for you!" he shouted into Josh's ear. "Hang tight!" And up Lucas and Holly went. Josh understood—Holly was badly hurt. But the feeling of being left behind hurt more than his

卢卡斯涉水走向他们。他双臂环抱着他们俩，紧紧地拥抱着他们。 “来吧，”他说。“我们的时间不多了。” “霍莉伤了腿，”乔希赶紧说。 “你呢？”他问乔希。 “他的肩膀烧伤了。糟糕，”霍莉说。 “但我能做到。”乔希说，他自己都很惊讶。 直升机在河边离他们更近了，仍然盘旋着，旋翼叶片的跳动声就像一颗巨大的心脏。 担架被放了下来，上面系着一根缆绳。 卢卡斯把霍莉绑在担架上，挥手让乔什等着。 “我要把她抱上去，然后马上下来找你！”他对着乔希的耳朵喊道。 “挂紧!”卢卡斯和霍莉也上去了。 乔希理解——霍莉伤得很重。 但被抛弃的感觉比他更伤心

burns. And it seemed like hours before Lucas came back down for him. Lucas quickly hooked Josh into what looked like a big vest. "This is a screamer suit!" Lucas shouted into his ear. "You'll be nice and secure for the ride." And seconds later he and Lucas were rising toward the Huey.

烧伤。卢卡斯似乎过了好几个小时才下来找他。 卢卡斯很快给乔什套上了一件看起来像大背心的东西。 “这是尖叫服！”卢卡斯对着他的耳朵喊道。 “你会很舒服，也很安全。” 几秒钟后，他和卢卡斯向休伊河上升。

Josh looked around. The flames on this side of the river were getting even bigger, shooting high into the sky. Josh imagined those flames reaching all the way to the moon, setting it on fire. The hot wind gusted harder, making Josh and Lucas swing wildly. More trees were exploding. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! And then a vicious gust seemed to grab hold of the Huey, twisting it sideways. The helicopter lurched, and Josh squeezed his eyes shut. Please, he thought. Please don't let this helicopter crash on top of us. The old helicopter held steady in the air. And finally they were at the open door. There was a firefighter waiting for them. He plucked Josh out first, then helped Lucas climb inside. The door slammed. Within seconds, Josh was strapped into a seat next to Holly in her stretcher. Holly's face was

乔希环顾四周。河这边的火焰越来越大，直冲云霄。 乔希想象着这些火焰一直延伸到月球，把它点燃。 热风吹得更猛烈了，乔什和卢卡斯使劲地荡着秋千。 更多的树爆炸了。 繁荣!繁荣!繁荣!然后一股邪恶的风似乎抓住了休伊号，把它扭向一边。 直升机摇晃了一下，乔希紧紧地闭上了眼睛。 求你了，他想。请不要让这架直升机在我们头顶坠毁。 那架旧直升机在空中稳定地飞行。 最后，他们来到了敞开的门口。 有个消防员在等着他们。 他先把乔什拉了出来，然后帮卢卡斯爬了进去。 门砰地关上了。几秒钟后，乔希被绑在担架上的霍莉旁边的座位上。 霍莉的脸是

tense with pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut and tears rolled down her cheeks. Josh's burns throbbed. But he could tell Holly's pain was much worse. Eleanor looked at them from the pilot's seat, her face steely. "Hold tight!" she bellowed. "I'm getting us out of here!" The Huey moved forward for a few seconds, its nose dipping down as it gained speed. Then it shot up so fast, Josh's stomach flipped. He thought of all the times he'd wished he could fly in a helicopter. But not in a million years could he have imagined a ride like this. Next to him, Holly opened her eyes and turned toward the window. "Look," she whispered. The smoke around them had parted. And what Josh saw made his eyes fill up with tears. Flames shot up on both sides of the river. The burning trees twisted in the wind, branches waving wildly,

因疼痛而紧张。她紧闭双眼，泪水顺着脸颊滚落下来。 乔希的烧伤隐隐作痛。但他看得出，霍莉的痛苦比他想象的要严重得多。 埃莉诺从飞行员的座位上看着他们，脸色铁板。 “抓紧！”她吼道。 “我要带我们离开这里！”休伊向前移动了几秒钟，随着速度的增加，它的机头向下倾斜。 然后它飙升得太快了，乔什的胃都要翻腾了。 他回想起自己曾经多么希望能坐上直升机。 但他万万没想到会有这样的旅程。 在他旁边，霍莉睁开眼睛，转向窗户。 “看，”她低声说。他们周围的烟雾散了。 乔希看到的一切让他热泪盈眶。 火焰从河的两边窜起。 燃烧的树木在风中扭曲，树枝疯狂地摆动，