Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 "It looks like Tower One," Uncle Benny was saying, his phone pressed to his ear as he and Lucas ran back to the firehouse. "The North tower… no, not a small plane. It was a jet. A big jet. Yes, I'm sure." Uncle Benny was shouting now. "I saw it with my own eyes!" Lucas kept glancing back, each time hoping that the tower would be magically healed.

“好像是一号塔楼，”本尼叔叔一边说，一边把手机贴在耳朵上，他和卢卡斯跑回了消防站。 “北塔……不，不是小飞机。 那是一架喷气式飞机。一架大喷气式飞机。是的，我肯定。” 本尼叔叔现在在大喊。 “我亲眼看到的!”卢卡斯不停地回头看，每次都希望塔能被魔法治愈。

But each time he looked, there was more and more black smoke. The sound of sirens filled the air. "Get ready," Uncle Benny was saying. "We're going to need everything we have. There has to be at least ten floors of fire." Ten floors of fire.

但他每看一次，黑烟就越来越多。 警笛声响彻天空。 “准备好，”本尼叔叔说。 “我们将需要我们所拥有的一切。 至少有十层楼是着火的。” 十层楼的大火。

Dad had told Lucas that every floor of the Twin Towers was about the size of a football field. Lucas tried to imagine what ten football fields would look like — each one on fire. How many firefighters would it take to put those fires out? And what if each of those fires was almost a quarter mile in the air? That's how high the towers were. Lucas knew how much firefighters hated high- rises. Elevators were usually too dangerous to use in a fire. They could stop working suddenly and fill up with smoke. But the only other choice was to lug heavy hoses and fifty pounds of gear up endless flights of stairs. Georgie once told Lucas that it could take two minutes for a firefighter to walk up just one flight of stairs. Lucas looked back at the tower. That fire was near the top — maybe the eightieth or nintieth floor. That meant it could be two hours before firefighters could get there. Could the people on those floors wait that long for help? The Seagrave was already out of the garage when Lucas and Uncle Benny got back to the

爸爸告诉卢卡斯，双子塔的每一层都有一个足球场那么大。 卢卡斯试着想象十个足球场会是什么样子——每个都着火了。 扑灭这些大火需要多少消防员? 如果每一场大火都在四分之一英里的高空呢? 这就是塔的高度。 卢卡斯知道消防员有多讨厌高楼大厦。 在火灾中使用电梯通常太危险了。 他们可以突然停止工作，充满烟雾。 但唯一的选择就是拖着沉重的水管和50磅重的装备爬上无尽的楼梯。 乔治曾经告诉卢卡斯，一个消防员走上一段楼梯可能要花两分钟。 卢卡斯回头看了看塔。 火灾发生在楼顶附近，可能在八十楼或九十楼。 这意味着消防员可能需要两个小时才能到达那里。 那些楼层的人能等那么久吗? 当卢卡斯和本尼叔叔回到

firehouse. Georgie was at the wheel. Men from both shifts were piled on. Benny ran over to grab his turnout clothes and helmet. Lucas followed after him. "Uncle Benny?" he said. "What will you do?" Uncle Benny stepped into his bunker pants and boots. "We'll do what we always do," he said. He put his hand on Lucas's head for a moment, then ran to the truck. Chief Douglas called out to Lucas from the truck. "Your dad is heading to the scene," he said. "You sit tight!" "Take care of things for us, buddy," Uncle Benny said. The truck pulled away, its siren wailing. The garage door shut. And Lucas stood there, in shock. Alone. He ran to the phone and called Mom. She didn't answer. He left a message, struggling to keep his voice from cracking — that he was at the firehouse, that he was fine. That she should call him. He hung up and stood there, his mind spinning.

消防站。乔治在开车。 两个班的人都挤了上去。 本尼跑过去拿起他的工作服和头盔。 卢卡斯跟在他后面。“本尼叔叔?”他说。 “你打算怎么办?”本尼叔叔穿上了他的地堡裤和靴子。 他说:“我们将一如既往。” 他把手放在卢卡斯的头上一会儿，然后跑向卡车。 道格拉斯局长在卡车上对卢卡斯喊道。 “你爸爸正赶往现场，”他说。 “你坐好!”“照顾好我们的事情，伙计，”本尼叔叔说。 卡车开走了，汽笛在哀号。 车库的门关上了。卢卡斯站在那里，惊呆了。 一个人。他跑到电话跟前给妈妈打电话。 她没有回答。他留下了一条信息，努力控制着自己的声音，说他在消防站，他很好。 她应该给他打电话。他挂了电话，站在那里，脑子里转个不停。

Uncle Benny's words whispered in his head. We'll do what we always do. What they always did. Fight fires. Save people's lives. Yes, that's what they'd do now. The FDNY was the biggest fire department in the world. They were the best. And they would do what they always did.

本尼叔叔的话在他的脑海里低语。 我们会像往常一样。 就像他们一直做的那样。大火作斗争。 拯救人们的生命。是的，他们现在就是这么做的。 纽约消防局是世界上最大的消防部门。 他们是最好的。他们会一如既往地做事。