Chapter 13

chapter thirteen I manage to unpack Quint's human hamster ball, despite his obscenely long list of deployment instructions. When I finally reach the last step, I pull the tag, and— I roll the ball He wasn't kidding. I roll the ball toward the overhang, then step back as it topples over the side. Soon, the pulley whines, the rope goes taut, and my friends are on the move.

第13章我设法打开昆特的人类仓鼠球，尽管他有一长串令人厌恶的部署说明。 当我终于走到最后一步时，我拉下标签，然后——我滚球他没开玩笑。 我把球滚向悬挑，然后后退一步，因为它从侧面翻倒。 很快，滑轮发出声音，绳子绷紧，我的朋友们开始行动。

My jacket is torn and shredded where the Cosmic Hand went all bubble protector. I retrieve a roll of duct tape from my backpack and loop it around my sleeve to keep the horror hidden. I finish just as my friends reach the top, arriving in something like a see-through New Year's Eve ball. Dirk doesn't seem to have enjoyed the trip... Get me out of this torture chamber. No, can we go again? Quint secures the hamster ball to the landing, unzips the bubble, and my friends step out onto not- totally-solid ground.

我的夹克衫都被宇宙之手撕成碎片了。 我从背包里拿出一卷管道胶带，把它绕在袖子上，把恐惧藏起来。 当我的朋友们到达山顶时，我完成了任务，到达的地方就像一个透明的除夕球。 德克似乎并不喜欢这次旅行…… 带我离开这个刑讯室。 不，我们能再去一次吗？昆特把仓鼠球固定在平台上，拉开了泡泡，我的朋友们踏到了不完全坚实的地面上。

"Nice climbing," June starts to say, before losing her balance, staggering toward the mouth of the tunnel. And then—all together—we step inside. "We have just entered our first other-dimensional fortress," Quint says, looking around in awe. Tubules of fluid rush behind the walls—and the tunnel radiates a ghostly, icy blue. "The construction is fascinating." Sure, I think. Fascinating if you're into architecture that feels like it might close in and squash you at any moment. Quint flips open the Maparatus. The screen glows a startling white. "I should be able to locate the Directarium once we're out of this tunnel and into the fortress proper." "Then," Dirk says, "let's enter the fortress proper." I'm about to ask if "entering the fortress proper" means we're supposed to walk like fancy butlers or something, but I decide this isn't really the moment. Almost like we've infiltrated other-dimensional fortresses before, we fall into place. Dirk, in his role as the Muscle, takes the lead. The ceiling is thick with glistening lengths of something like rope. It pulses like a python swallowing hamsters...

“爬得不错，”琼开始说，然后失去了平衡，摇摇晃晃地走向隧道口。 然后我们一起走进去。 “我们刚刚进入了第一个其他维度的堡垒，”昆特说，敬畏地环顾四周。 小管流体在墙后奔涌而过，隧道散发出一种幽灵般的冰蓝色。 “建筑非常迷人。” 当然，我想。如果你对建筑感兴趣，你会觉得它随时会逼近你，把你压扁。 昆特打开了马帕拉图斯。 屏幕发出惊人的白光。 “一旦我们走出隧道，进入要塞，我就能找到指挥所的位置。” “那么，”德克说，“我们就进入堡垒吧。” 我正要问“进入要塞”是不是意味着我们要像高级管家一样走路，但我觉得现在不是时候。 就像我们以前潜入过其他维度的堡垒一样，我们都就位了。 德克，在他的角色肌肉，带头。 天花板上布满了长长的像绳子一样闪闪发光的东西。 它像蟒蛇吞仓鼠一样跳动……

We're probably the first humans to ever step foot in this place, and we're going to be the last. Let's do what we came here to do "Anyone else feel like they're being watched?" June asks nervously. I know what June means. It's like walking through some haunted house, when you know there's something awful waiting around each corner but you don't know what. So you're stuck forever bracing yourself for some big scary SURPRISE. But no matter how horrifying the haunted house is, you can usually get through it by doing one of two things: shutting your eyes the instant anything pops

我们可能是第一批踏上这个地方的人类，也将是最后一批。 让我们做我们来这里要做的“还有人觉得自己被监视了吗？”琼紧张地问。 我知道June是什么意思。就像走在鬼屋里，你知道每个角落都有可怕的东西在等着你，但你不知道是什么。 所以你永远被困住了，准备迎接一些可怕的大惊喜。 但不管鬼屋有多恐怖，你通常都可以通过以下两种方法之一度过：一有东西出现就闭上眼睛

out, or telling yourself "None of this is real," over and over. The problem here, though, is if I shut my eyes I'm liable to stumble over the uneven ground and bust a kneecap. And no amount of convincing can get me to believe this isn't all very real. "Watch your feet," Dirk says, turning a corner. He holds Drooler out at arm's length, his Ultra-Slime- soaked body glowing like a lantern. "This place is lovely," I say, stepping over a puckery hole in the floor that's vomiting up a puddle of... well, let's just call it a puddle and leave it at that.

或者一遍又一遍地告诉自己“这一切都不是真的”。 但这里的问题是，如果我闭上眼睛，我很可能会在不平坦的地面上绊倒，摔断膝盖骨。 再多的劝说也无法让我相信这一切都不是真的。 “小心你的脚，”德克说着拐了个弯。 他把流口水伸出一臂之遥，他那浸透了超级黏液的身体像灯笼一样发光。 “这地方真漂亮，”我说着，跨过地板上一个皱巴巴的洞，上面吐着一滩…… 好吧，我们就叫它水坑吧。

"SCREECH!" The fist-sized daddy-longlegs-tick monster crackles, sounding like a broken speaker as it scuttles into the distance. We're nearly to the end of the tunnel when Dirk suddenly holds up a hand. "You guys hear that?" A surge of wind erupts behind us, funneling cold air through the tunnel. I hear a noise at our backs— like something softly swirling over the puddles.

“尖叫!”这个拳头大小的长腿怪物噼啪作响，听起来像一个坏了的扬声器，它飞快地飞向远方。 我们快到隧道的尽头时，德克突然举起一只手。 “你们听到了吗？”我们身后突然刮起一阵大风，把冷空气吹进了隧道。 我听到我们背后有声音——像是有什么东西在水坑上轻轻地打转。