Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 And then Jackson heard voices. Familiar voices, calling his name. "Jackson!" Leonor? "Jackson, where are you?" Chris? No. Jackson must be hearing things.

就在这时，杰克逊听到了说话声。 熟悉的声音，呼唤着他的名字。 “杰克逊!”莱昂诺?“杰克逊，你在哪儿？”克里斯? 不。杰克逊一定是听到了什么。

But the voices got louder. Closer. "Jackson!" Mary? Nora? Jackson slid out from the doorway. His heart rose up at the sight of the four kids. They were just down the street, peering into buildings. Looking for something. Looking for… Jackson? "I'm right here!" he shouted. In a flash they were all around him, crouching down, hovering close. Jackson stared at their faces, which were streaked with dirt and tears. He knew he must look the same. "We were looking for you!" Leonor said in a ragged voice. Her hair was matted with dirt. "We saw you fall into that crack!" said Chris. Blood oozed from a deep cut on his cheek. "We were so scared…" Nora said. "We were praying you got out and you did!" said Mary. Jackson just stared at them, amazed.

但声音越来越大。 近了。“杰克逊!”玛丽?诺拉? 杰克逊从门口溜了出来。 看到这四个孩子，他的心都跳了起来。 他们就在街那头，窥视着建筑物。 找东西。找…杰克逊？ “我就在这儿！”他喊道。 刹那间，他们全都围住了他，蹲下身子，在附近盘旋。 杰克逊盯着他们的脸，脸上满是污垢和泪水。 他知道自己看上去肯定还是老样子。 “我们正在找你呢！”利奥诺用粗糙的声音说。 她的头发上粘满了灰尘。 “我们看见你掉进那条裂缝里了！”克里斯说。 血从他脸颊上的一个很深的伤口里渗出来。 “我们都吓坏了……”诺拉说。 “我们祈祷你能出去，你真的出去了！”玛丽说。 杰克逊只是惊讶地盯着他们。

But his relief quickly faded when he saw the look of fear on Leonor's face. "We have to get out of here," she said breathlessly. "People are saying there's going to be a tsunami." Tsunamis—massive waves that often happened after earthquakes. Jackson looked around at the shattered ground, at the collapsed buildings. This was nothing compared to what a powerful tsunami could do. A tsunami could swallow up everything—and everyone—that was left in Valdez. "Come on," Leonor said, holding out her hand. But Jackson shook his head. "I can't walk," he said. "My ankle's broken." He swallowed hard. "You should go." Each person needed to take care of themselves… right? Chris turned around so that his back was to Jackson. He was ready to run away from here. Of course he is, Jackson thought.

但当他看到莱昂诺脸上恐惧的表情时，他的宽慰很快消失了。 “我们必须离开这里，”她上气不接下气地说。 “人们都说会有海啸。” 海啸——地震后经常发生的巨大海浪。 杰克逊环顾四周，看着破碎的地面和倒塌的建筑物。 与强大的海啸相比，这根本不算什么。 海啸可能吞噬瓦尔迪兹遗留下来的一切和所有人。 “走吧。”莱昂诺伸出手说。 但是杰克逊摇了摇头。 “我不能走路，”他说。“我的脚踝骨折了。” 他使劲咽了口气。“你应该去。” 每个人都需要照顾好自己，对吧？ 克里斯转过身来，背对着杰克逊。 他准备从这里逃走。 他当然是，杰克逊想。

But he didn't take off. He lowered himself down right in front of Jackson. "You can ride on my back," he said. The next thing Jackson knew, Leonor and Mary had taken hold of his arms. They gently pulled him up. Nora held his back so he wouldn't fall. Keeping his weight off his crushed ankle, Jackson managed to stand long enough to get himself up onto Chris's back.

但他并没有离开。他就在杰克逊面前蹲下身子。 “你可以骑在我的背上，”他说。 杰克逊知道的下一件事是，莱昂诺和玛丽抓住了他的胳膊。 他们轻轻地把他拉了起来。 诺拉扶着他的背，免得他摔倒。 为了不让脚踝受伤，杰克逊努力站了很长时间，爬到了克里斯的背上。

"Hold on tight," Leonor said, looping her arm around Jackson's to help hold him up. As they headed away from the harbor, Jackson turned and saw his backpack lying on the ground. "Wait—" he started to say. But he stopped himself. There wasn't time to go back. And besides, what he needed right now wasn't in that backpack.

“抓紧了，”莱昂诺说着，挽着杰克逊的胳膊把他扶起来。 当他们离开港口时，杰克逊转过身来，看到他的背包躺在地上。 “等等——”他刚想说。 但他停住了。没有时间回去了。 而且，他现在需要的东西不在背包里。

He tightened his grip on Chris. He looked at Leonor. He felt Mary's and Nora's hands on his back. And together they ran for their lives.

他紧紧地抓住克里斯。 他看着莱昂诺。他感到玛丽和诺拉的手放在他的背上。 他们一起逃命。