Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 7:30 P.M. SPLASH. Charlie fell hard into the cold water. The waves grabbed him, tossed him, carried him away. He sank down until his feet touched something solid. He pushed off and shot back to the surface. He came up sputtering, coughing.

第十六章晚上七点半飞溅。 查理重重地掉进了冷水里。 海浪抓住他，把他抛来抛去，把他卷走了。 他沉了下去，直到双脚碰到了什么固体。 他推开水，猛地回到水面。 他气喘吁吁地咳嗽着走了上来。

He looked around but could hardly see through the pelting rain. But he knew the water was filled with wreckage. He could feel it. Every second something smacked him, scraped him, stabbed him. A barrel, a wagon wheel, part of a fence. Charlie protected himself as best he could, but the wreckage kept coming. A dresser. A metal sign from one of the shops downtown. They slammed into him from the left and right, from in front and behind. Charlie used his arms and body to push things away. He kicked his legs hard to keep his head above the waves. But the water was too rough. And then, suddenly, he couldn't kick his legs. He was caught on something. With horror he wondered if it was snakes. But no. It was rope. A piece of rope had wrapped around his legs. He kicked harder and harder, and clawed wildly at the water. But it was no use. He started to sink.

他环顾四周，但在倾盆大雨中几乎什么也看不见。 但他知道水里到处都是残骸。 他能感觉到。每一秒都有东西打他，刮他，捅他。 桶，车轮，栅栏的一部分 查理尽他所能保护自己，但残骸不断袭来。 一个梳妆台。市中心一家商店的金属标牌。 他们从左右左右，从前面和后面猛撞他。 查理用他的手臂和身体把东西推开。 他使劲踢腿以保持头露出水面。 但是水太汹涌了。 然后，突然，他不能踢他的腿。 他被什么东西抓住了。 他惊恐地怀疑那是不是蛇。 但是没有。是绳子。一根绳子缠住了他的腿。 他踢得越来越用力，疯狂地抓着水。 但是没有用。他开始下沉。

And then came a big gust of wind. Something massive smashed into Charlie's leg—a tree branch, or a light pole, maybe. A stabbing pain shot up and down Charlie's body. He froze and couldn't move. And next thing he knew the rope had fallen away. He burst up out of the water. He managed to grab a door that was floating by, and to haul himself on top. He rolled onto his side and vomited up seawater. He found some strength to lift his head and peer through the darkness. He couldn't see much. It was too dark. But for a few seconds, the moonlight broke through the swirl of clouds, and Charlie got a look at what was around him. There was water, of course. But not like an overflow. Not like any flood he'd ever imagined. This was the ocean. Churning, raging ocean, for as far as he could see. It was just like Mr. Early said—Galveston swallowed up by the sea. He saw some houses still standing, rising up out of the sea. He looked frantically for the Pottses'

然后刮了一阵大风。 一个巨大的东西砸在了查理的腿上——可能是树枝，也可能是电线杆。 一阵刺痛袭上查理的全身。 他僵住了，动弹不得。 接着他知道绳子已经掉下来了。 他突然从水里跳出来。 他设法抓住了一扇浮在水面上的门，把自己拖到了上面。 他翻了个身，吐出了海水。 他鼓起勇气抬起头，透过黑暗向外张望。 他什么也看不见。天太黑了。 但就在几秒钟的时间里，月光透过漩涡般的云层，查理看清了周围的一切。 当然有水。 但不像溢出。跟他想象中的洪水完全不一样。 这是海洋。在他所能看到的地方，汹涌澎湃的大海。 就像厄尔利先生说的那样——加尔维斯顿被大海吞没了。 他看到一些房子仍然矗立在海面上。 他疯狂地寻找波茨夫妇的房子。

house. Were Mama and Papa and Lulu still safe? The moonlight disappeared, and it was pitchblack again. Whhhooooossh-WOMP. Something flew by Charlie—a brick or a roof tile, maybe—and nicked him on his chin. He cried out, then lay back down, pressing his cheek to the wet, cold wood of his door raft. The wind shrieked. Whoo-eeeeeesh! Whoo-eeeeeesh! Whooeeeeeesh! And in between gusts, Charlie heard a shout. "Help me! Over here!" The waves pushed his raft closer to the shouts. It was a person, clinging to what looked like part of a wagon. "Help me!" Charlie managed to slow down his raft. A sliver of moonlight lit up the person's face for a second.

的房子。妈妈、爸爸和露露还安全吗？ 月光消失了，又一片漆黑。 Whhhooooossh-WOMP。有什么东西从查理身边飞过——可能是一块砖头，也可能是屋顶的瓦片——砸在了他的下巴上。 他叫了一声，然后躺下，把脸颊贴在他那湿冷的木筏门上。 风在呼啸。Whoo-eeeeeesh !Whoo-eeeeeesh !Whooeeeeeesh !在客人之间，查理听到一声喊叫。 “帮我!在这里!”海浪把他的木筏推得离喊声更近了。 那是一个人，紧紧抓着一辆马车的一部分。 “帮帮我!”查理设法使他的木筏减速。 一缕月光照亮了那个人的脸。

It was the face that had haunted Charlie's dreams. The wind screamed. Whoo-eeeeeeeesh! "Gordon?" Charlie said. Whoo-eeeeeeeesh! "Charlie?" Charlie hesitated for a few seconds. This was the person who had thrown a rat at him, who had almost stabbed him with a stick. But this was also the boy who had a papa who screamed at him. Who called him weak. Who made him cry in the middle of a hurricane. Most of all, Gordon was a just a kid—scared and alone in the middle of this nightmare. Like Charlie. Charlie made room on the door, and Gordon climbed on.

这张脸曾在查理的梦中出现。 风呼啸着。Whoo-eeeeeeeesh !“戈登?”查理说。 Whoo-eeeeeeeesh !“查理?”查理犹豫了几秒钟。 就是这个人向他扔了一只老鼠，还差点用棍子捅了他。 但这个男孩也有一个对他大吼大叫的爸爸。 谁说他软弱。是谁让他在飓风中哭泣。 最重要的是，戈登只是个孩子——在这场噩梦中感到恐惧和孤独。 像查理。查理在门上腾出地方，戈登爬了上去。