Chapter 20

chapter twenty I march toward one of the weapons the strayfur knocked over. It's an enormous blade made from some metal we don't have on Earth. It must weigh a hundred pounds. But, thanks to the Cosmic Hand, I'm able to lift and wield it, though just barely. "Quint," I say, "I'm gonna go punch Wracksaw in the nose. Wanna come?" "Indeed, friend," he says. "And if we live through that," I say, "then you're gonna tell me the thing you're not telling me." Quint tilts his head. He's thinking, about to speak, when— The ceiling splits above us! It's ripped off like the top of a tin can. Light pours in, so that—for a moment—the figure above us is only a huge, looming shadow.

第二十章我向那只流浪狗打翻的一件武器走去。 这是一个巨大的刀片，由地球上没有的金属制成。 它一定有一百磅重。 但是，多亏了宇宙之手，我能够举起并使用它，尽管只是勉强。 “昆特，”我说，“我要去打锯怪的鼻子。 一起来吗?”“的确，朋友，”他说。 “如果我们能挺过去，”我说，“那你就得把你没告诉我的事告诉我。” 昆特歪着头。他正在想，正要说话，这时-我们头顶的天花板裂开了！就像铁罐的盖子一样被撕掉了。 光线倾泻而下，所以——在那一瞬间——我们头顶上的人影只是一个巨大的、若隐若现的影子。

SO YOU LIKE HISTORY? CONVENIENT, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU WILL SOON BECOME. Wracksaw dismounts his strayfur, clumsily sliding over the top of the monster, mashing its head into the jagged ledge where the ceiling was torn off. I hear a muted howl from the strayfur—then spot its body, mangled and broken, heaving over the ledge as Wracksaw descends. I spin around, looking for Stargrove. Instead I hear stampeding feet and then feel a sharp pain as Debra

你喜欢历史？方便，因为你很快就会变成这样。 断臂锯从他的走狗身上下来，笨拙地滑过怪物的顶部，把它的头撞到了天花板被撕下的参差不齐的壁架上。 我听到那只流浪狗发出一声无声的嚎叫，然后看到它的尸体，残破不堪，在架子上颠簸着，残骸锯下来了。 我四处转圈，寻找星格罗夫。 相反，我听到了急促的脚步声，然后感到一阵剧痛，黛布拉

Bulb bursts through the door, nicking my side with one of their long blades. Wracksaw moves forward, howling with maniacal laughter as one armacle smacks me. Light flares behind my eyes. Sharp, exploding pain sends a scream up my throat—but it's silenced as Wracksaw's next blow knocks me out of the museum, the window shattering, rock-candy glass flying, black sand kicking up as I hit the street and tumble end over end. I manage to lift my head, which feels like a fifty- pound bowling ball. Black sand on my lips. My whole body feels like a stubbed toe—hot, sharp, stinging pain. Rolling over, I realize I managed to hang on to the huge blade. The Cosmic Hand's nearly magnetic suction-cup grip kept it in my hand. A cloud of sand billows past. Squinting, eyes burning, I see Wracksaw speeding toward me on tentacle legs—his movement is something between a slide, a glide, and a slither. One armacle snaps back, the air cracking then whistling as it comes crashing down. I can barely lift my weapon chest-high—but it's just enough, and it's just in time. The armacle crashes against the blade, violently twisting my wrist, slamming my shoulder into the ground. Without the Cosmic Hand,

灯泡破门而入，用它们的长刀片划伤了我的身体。 残垣断臂向前移动，狂笑着嚎叫，一只臂膀打了我一下。 我的眼睛后面闪着亮光。 剧烈的、爆炸般的疼痛让我尖叫起来——但当锯怪的下一拳把我打出博物馆时，我的尖叫就消失了，窗户碎了，冰糖玻璃飞了起来，黑色的沙子被踢起，我撞在街上，翻滚着。 我设法抬起我的头，感觉就像一个50磅重的保龄球。 我的嘴唇上有黑色的沙子。我的整个身体就像被脚趾戳了一下一样——滚烫、尖锐、刺痛。 翻了个身，我意识到我设法抓住了那把巨大的刀刃。 宇宙之手像吸盘一样的吸力把它牢牢地握在我手里。 一团沙尘滚滚而过。 我眯起眼睛，眼睛燃烧着，看见Wracksaw用触手状的腿向我疾驰而来——他的动作介于滑行、滑翔和滑行之间。 一个臂架猛地弹回来，空气噼啪作响，然后在它坠落时发出呼啸声。 我几乎举不到齐胸高的武器，但这已经足够了，而且是及时的。 臂章撞在刀刃上，猛烈地扭曲了我的手腕，把我的肩膀摔在地上。 没有宇宙之手，

the weapon would be halfway to Pluto right now, sent flying like a paper football flicked by Donkey Kong. Wracksaw circles, gifting me a split second to breathe. My eyes dart, blinking away stinging tears, scanning the museum, then— Stargrove! I see her, and I shoot her a quick mind- doodle: Stargrove, attacking Wracksaw. Her response is near-instant. The ground quakes as she rumbles down Warrior's Way, looking like a wrestler racing down the ramp, about to dive into the ring and join the fight. A dozen long, heavy strides— and then she's there, launching herself into the air, limbs outstretched, looking like a two-ton throwing star in a belly-flop contest. But then, with startling speed, Wracksaw spins, armacle raising. I hear a syrupy explosion sound, and about a billion little beads burst out of Wracksaw's armacle. A buzz fills the air. I know that sound, but this is tinier, weaker— like a familiar song played through cheap portable speakers.

武器现在已经飞到冥王星的半路上了，就像大金刚弹出来的纸足球一样飞起来。 锯子在转圈，给了我喘息的机会。 我的眼睛一闪，闪去刺痛的眼泪，扫视着博物馆，然后——星林！我看到她，我给她一个快速的头脑——涂鸦：星林，攻击残垣断壁。 她的反应几乎是即时的。 当她轰隆隆地沿着勇士之路前进时，地面震动了，看起来就像一个摔跤手从斜坡上跑下来，准备跳进擂台加入战斗。 一打又长又重的大步——然后她就在那里，把自己发射到空中，四肢伸展，看起来就像一个两吨重的投掷明星在腹部翻地比赛。 然后，以惊人的速度，残骸锯旋转起来，举起挽具。 我听到一声糖浆般的爆炸声，大约有十亿个小珠子从锯臂里冲了出来。 空气中充满了嗡嗡声。我知道那个声音，但这个声音更小，更弱——就像通过廉价的便携式扬声器播放的熟悉的歌曲。

Strayfurs, I realize. But the size of plump houseflies. Like... strayfur larvae. Most slam into Stargrove. Others zip past her, exploding against the wall of the visitors' center like a swarm of thumbnail-sized water balloons. The eruption looks like a crate of silly string was detonated. Stargrove hits the wall. I expect her to rebound immediately''... but she doesn't. She seems to be stuck, the larva goo holding her in place like

我意识到这是流浪动物。但是有家蝇那么大。 喜欢……strayfur幼虫。大多数人都冲进了Stargrove。 其他人从她身边呼啸而过，在游客中心的墙上爆炸，就像一群指甲大小的水球。 这次喷发看起来就像一箱绳子被引爆了。 Stargrove碰壁了。我希望她能立即恢复。” 但她没有。她好像被粘住了，幼虫粘住了她，就像

superglue. Her many arms struggle, but she can't free herself. Stargrove flashes two mind-doodles: Stuck. Gross. My heart sinks. Stargrove, the undefeated fighter, is down for the count. She got us this far, but she can't take us any farther. But then I hear— "Swing one of your arm tentacles at Jack again," Quint says, "and I will summon a conjuration so powerful it will turn you inside out." I spin. Quint is wielding his conjurer's cannon! But it looks different...

超强力胶水。她的许多手臂挣扎着，但她无法挣脱。 Stargrove闪过两个涂鸦：卡住了。 恶心。我的心一沉。史达格罗夫，不败的斗士，已经倒下了。 她带我们走了这么远，但她不能再带我们走了。 但接着我听到——“再把你胳膊上的一条触手甩向杰克，”昆特说，“我就会召唤出一种强大的咒语，把你翻个底朝天。” 我旋转。昆特在挥舞他的魔法大炮！但是看起来不一样……