Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Max swallowed hard, gathering up his courage. It was all he could do to stop himself from diving back into his ditch. But if he had any hope of finding Zena and the others, he had to do it now. Already there must be soldiers in the forest. Soon they would be everywhere. He had no idea where to begin. He figured they wouldn't have gone far from where they'd last been together. So he turned and started to walk. He focused his senses, scanning all around him the way Aunt Hannah and Lev and Martin did,

马克斯使劲咽了口气，鼓起了勇气。 他唯一能做的就是不让自己再跳进沟里去。 但如果他还有一丝希望找到泽娜和其他人，他现在就必须这么做。 森林里肯定已经有士兵了。 很快它们就会无处不在。 他不知道从哪里开始。 他想他们不会离上次在一起的地方太远。 于是他转身开始走。 他集中注意力，像汉娜姨妈、列弗和马丁那样环视四周，

checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. And then, up ahead, he made out the shapes of two men — Nazi soldiers. He turned to flee, but something made him pause. He ducked behind a tree and watched them. One of the men was walking with his pistol raised and aimed, as though he was a hunter stalking a deer. Max followed the man's gaze…. And there, crouched by a fallen tree, were Martin and Zena. They had their backs to the soldiers, with no idea they were in danger. Max looked around frantically. What could he do? And then he remembered the rock. He grabbed it from his pocket. "Hey!" he screamed. The soldiers turned and looked at Max.

回头检查以确保没人跟踪他。 然后，在前面，他辨认出两个人的形状——纳粹士兵。 他转身要逃跑，但有什么东西使他停了下来。 他躲到树后看着他们。 其中一个人正举着手枪瞄准，就像一个猎人在跟踪一只鹿。 马克斯跟着那个人的目光.... 马丁和泽娜蹲在一棵倒下的树旁。 他们背对着士兵，不知道自己有危险。 马克斯疯狂地环顾四周。 他能怎么办呢?然后他想起了那块石头。 他从口袋里抓起它。 “嘿!”士兵们转过身来看着马克斯。

The man who had been aiming the gun was enormous. He looked Max up and down and sneered at him, the way Goliath must have first looked at David. That boiling rage Max had felt earlier came back to him, powering his muscles. He gripped the rock, and with all of his might, he hurled it at the sneering soldier's head. It flew through the air, a straight shot. Thwack. It hit the soldier squarely on the forehead. The man stood in shock, then stumbled backward. And now Martin was on his feet, his rifle aimed. Crack! He shot that soldier dead. But there was the other soldier, and Martin aimed his rifle again. He pulled the trigger. Click.

那个拿枪瞄准的人身材魁梧。 他上下打量着马克斯，嘲笑他，就像歌利亚第一次看大卫一样。 马克斯先前感受到的沸腾的愤怒又回到了他身上，使他的肌肉充满了力量。 他抓住那块石头，用尽全身力气，朝那个嘲笑他的士兵的脑袋砸去。 它在空中直线飞行。 啪的一声。它正好打在士兵的额头上。 那人震惊地站在那里，然后踉跄地向后退去。 现在马丁站了起来，他的来复枪瞄准了。 裂缝!他开枪打死了那个士兵。 但另一个士兵还在那儿，马丁重新瞄准了他的步枪。 他扣动了扳机。点击。

The rifle was jammed! Martin fumbled with it, tugging at the lever and cursing under his breath. Meanwhile, the other soldier stood there, staring at Max. He was small and skinny, and he looked very young, maybe just a few years older than Max. His uniform hung on him like it was three sizes too big. He reminded Max of some of his older friends from school, boys he had played cards with, traded comics with, raced on the playground.

步枪被卡住了!马丁摸索着，一边拉着杠杆，一边低声咒骂着。 与此同时，另一个士兵站在那里，盯着马克斯。 他又小又瘦，看上去很年轻，可能只比马克斯大几岁。 他的制服挂在他身上，好像大了三个尺码。 他让马克斯想起了他在学校的一些老朋友，和他一起打牌、交换漫画、在操场上赛跑的男孩。

Max and the young soldier stared at each other, their eyes locked together. There was no hatred in the other boy's eyes. He looked just as terrified and confused as Max was. Were they really enemies? Or were they just two boys caught in this net of evil? Martin had readied his rifle. He pulled back the bolt and took aim at the young soldier. "No!" Max screamed. Crack! Max was too late — the bullet hit the young soldier in the chest. And as he fell dead to the ground, his arm jerked. His pistol fired. A split second later, the bullet tore into Max's side with a searing, blinding pain. Max stared down in shock as blood gushed from the gaping wound. He dropped to his knees.

马克斯和那个年轻的士兵面面相觑，他们的眼睛紧紧地盯在一起。 另一个男孩的眼中没有仇恨。 他看起来和麦克斯一样又害怕又困惑。 他们真的是敌人吗?还是说他们只是被这张邪恶的大网困住的两个男孩? 马丁已经准备好了他的步枪。 他拉开门闩，瞄准了那个年轻的士兵。 “不!”马克斯尖叫。裂缝!马克斯来得太晚了——子弹击中了年轻士兵的胸部。 当他倒地时，他的手臂抽搐了一下。 他的手枪响了。一秒钟后，子弹穿透了马克斯的身体，带来了灼烧和眩目的疼痛。 血从裂开的伤口涌出，马克斯震惊地盯着下面。 他跪了下来。

Zena screamed out his name. Her voice echoed through his mind as the world spun all around him and then went dark. Max lay in the dirt. Martin and Zena looked down at him. They spoke to him, but he couldn't hear. His whole body felt numb. The gunfire and the shouts around him grew faint. Max closed his eyes, and soon he had drifted away from the burning forest, from the war, from the fear and the pain. He thought of that young soldier, and felt himself moving closer to him. But from somewhere else, he heard Zena calling him. He felt her gripping his hand, as though she was trying with all of her might to pull him back to her. But it wasn't until the next day when Max finally opened his eyes that he realized he had

泽娜尖叫着他的名字。 她的声音回荡在他的脑海里，世界在他周围旋转，然后黑暗下来。 马克斯躺在泥土里。马丁和泽娜低头看着他。 他们对他说话，但他听不见。 他感到全身麻木。周围的枪声和喊叫声逐渐减弱。 马克斯闭上眼睛，很快他就离开了燃烧的森林，离开了战争，离开了恐惧和痛苦。 他想起了那个年轻的士兵，觉得自己离他更近了。 但在别的地方，他听到泽娜在叫他。 他感到她紧紧地握着他的手，仿佛在用尽全力把他拉回到自己身边。 但直到第二天，马克斯终于睁开了眼睛，他才意识到自己有错