Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Their leap through the flames took just seconds. But Leo knew that for as long as he lived, he would never forget the feeling of that scorching heat. The fire seemed to pull at the blanket like a beast hungry for Leo's flesh. When they came out, Wilkie's pant leg was on fire. "Look out!" Leo called. Leo grabbed the blanket and patted out the flames.

第十二章他们飞跃火焰只用了几秒钟。 但里奥知道，只要他活着，他就永远不会忘记那种灼热的感觉。 火焰似乎在拉着毯子，就像一头野兽渴望利奥的肉。 他们出来的时候，威尔基的裤腿着火了。 “当心!”狮子座。利奥抓起毯子，拍灭了火焰。

They looked at each other in shock: They'd made it! But still, the smoke was thick, and it hurt to breathe. "Do you see him?" Leo shouted. "I can barely see anything," Wilkie said.

他们震惊地面面相觑:他们成功了!但烟还是很浓，呼吸起来很痛。 “你看见他了吗?”狮子座喊道。 “我几乎什么也看不见，”威尔基说。

Leo remembered Grandpop, crawling through the brush looking for the stream. "Get down," Leo said, dropping to his knees. The air was clearer closer to the ground. But the heat was searing. The wall of fire roared behind them. People shouted from the street. "Get out!" "It's all burning!" "It's too late!" They had just a minute or two to find Morris and get out, Leo knew. Bits of glass from shattered windows cut into Leo's hands and knees as he crawled. His heart pounded with fear. He felt dizzy from the smoke. He and Wilkie screamed Morris's name. But with the shouting of the crowd and the roaring of the fires, it was almost impossible to hear anything. Until, finally, they heard a voice. "Leo! Over here!" The voice was weak. Leo moved forward… and then his heart gave a wild jump.

利奥想起了爷爷，他爬过灌木丛寻找小溪。 “趴下，”利奥说着，跪了下来。 离地面更近的地方空气更清新。 但天气酷热难耐。火墙在他们身后咆哮。 人们在街上大喊大叫。 “出去!”“都在燃烧!”“太迟了!”利奥知道，他们只有一两分钟的时间找到莫里斯，然后离开。 里奥爬的时候，碎玻璃碎片划破了他的手和膝盖。 他的心因害怕而怦怦直跳。 他被烟熏得头晕目眩。 他和威尔基尖叫着莫里斯的名字。 但是随着人群的喊叫和篝火的轰鸣声，几乎什么也听不见了。 直到最后，他们听到了一个声音。 “利奥!在这里!”声音很微弱。 里奥向前走了几步，然后他的心狂跳了一下。

All he could see was Morris's head, on the ground. Only his head. His body was gone. Wilkie came up behind Leo and gasped. "What the…" Leo almost jumped up and ran in horror. But then he understood. Morris's head hadn't been cut off. He'd fallen into some kind of hole. Only his head and one arm were sticking out. "I'm stuck," Morris said. "I can't breathe." Wilkie rushed over and grabbed Morris's arm with both of his hands. He gave a mighty tug. But Morris barely budged. "It's tight in here," Morris said. "Go slow." Inch by inch, Wilkie pulled Morris from the earth, like a farmer pulling a gigantic carrot from his garden. With each second that passed, the crackling roar of the fire grew louder. Sweat poured off of Leo's body. Wilkie finally got Morris out of the hole. Leo grabbed hold of Morris, who wobbled on his feet.

他只能看到莫里斯趴在地上的头。 只有他的头。他的尸体不见了。 威尔基走到利奥身后，倒吸了一口气。 “这是什么……”里奥吓得差点跳起来跑开。 但后来他明白了。莫里斯的头并没有被砍掉。 他掉进了什么洞里。 只有他的头和一只胳膊露在外面。 “我被困住了，”莫里斯说。“我不能呼吸了。” 威尔基冲过去用两只手抓住莫里斯的胳膊。 他用力一拉。但莫里斯纹丝不动。 “这里很紧，”莫里斯说。 “慢。”一寸一寸地，威尔基把莫里斯从地里拔出来，就像一个农民从他的花园里拔出一根巨大的胡萝卜一样。 每过一秒，火的噼啪声就越来越响。 汗水从里奥身上流出来。 威尔基终于把莫里斯救了出来。 利奥抓住莫里斯，莫里斯摇摇晃晃地站着。

He held on to Morris, even after Morris was steady. "I'm okay," Morris said. "We need to get out." Morris pointed to an open window just above a heap of garbage. "That way," he said. "That's how Fletch got out. He knew I was stuck. I kept calling him. But he just kept going." Anger rose up in Leo. But there was no time to think about Fletch now. They all climbed up the heap of garbage. Wilkie got to the top first. He clambered through the window, and then reached out to help Morris and Leo get in. They were in somebody's bedroom. A dresser had smashed down on top of the bed. It looked like it had dropped through a giant hole in the ceiling. Luckily it seemed that the person who lived here had escaped. The heat was very strong, and Leo was sure that some of the rooms of this building were burning. He prayed they could make it down in time, before the fire reached them or the building collapsed on top of them.

他紧紧抓住莫里斯不放，即使莫里斯已经稳定下来了。 “我没事，”莫里斯说。“我们得出去。” 莫里斯指着一堆垃圾上方一扇开着的窗户。 “那边，”他说。“弗莱契就是这样逃出来的。 他知道我陷入了困境。我一直给他打电话。 但他还是坚持了下来。”里奥愤怒起来。 但是现在没有时间去想弗莱契了。 他们都爬上了垃圾堆。 威尔基第一个到达山顶。 他爬进窗户，然后伸手帮助莫里斯和利奥进去。 他们在别人的卧室里。 一个梳妆台摔在床上了。 它看起来像是从天花板上的一个大洞掉下来的。 幸运的是，住在这里的人似乎已经逃脱了。 热得很厉害，利奥确信这栋楼里的一些房间着火了。 他祈祷他们能及时下来，在大火到达他们或建筑物倒塌之前。

They found the stairs and began to make their way down. They walked lightly. But with each step, the stairway swayed. The wood groaned and creaked. One small aftershock and this whole place would tumble to the ground. Wilkie suddenly stopped short. "Hurry, Wilkie," Leo said. But then he saw it. A body was lying on the floor. At first he thought it was the person who lived here. But then came the rasping voice. "Wilkie," the body groaned. It was Fletch.

他们找到了楼梯，开始往下走。 他们轻轻地走着。但每走一步，楼梯都在摇晃。 木头吱嘎作响。 一个小小的余震，整个地方就会倒塌。 威尔基突然停了下来。 “快点，威尔基。”利奥说。 但后来他看到了。一具尸体躺在地板上。 起初他以为是住在这里的人。 但随后传来了刺耳的声音。 “威尔基，"尸体呻吟着说。 是弗莱彻。