Chapter 4

chapter four After that, things happen fast. June and Quint run around like crazed gerbils, charged up at the possibility of finding other people— and, though neither has said it, the possibility of finding their parents. I still don't know how Neon's going to get us past Thrull's army without being seen, but if Neon sneaked his way in here, he must know a way to sneak back out. We decide the Mallusk—which is incapable of "sneaking" anywhere—will stay put, hidden. Skaelka, Johnny Steve, and our other monster pals will hang back with the Malluskians. Skaelka grumbles. "I dislike this scheme where you venture out to do big combating while Skaelka is left behind."

在那之后，事情发生得很快。 琼和昆特像疯了的沙鼠一样跑来跑去，为找到其他人的可能性而兴奋不已——尽管他们都没有说过，但也有可能找到他们的父母。 我还是不知道Neon要怎么让我们在不被发现的情况下通过Thrull的军队，但如果Neon溜进来了，他一定知道怎么溜出去。 我们决定，不能“潜行”到任何地方的mallusk将留在原地，隐藏起来。 斯卡卡，约翰尼·史蒂夫，还有我们的其他怪物朋友会和马鲁斯基人待在一起。 Skaelka抱怨。“我不喜欢这个计划，你冒险去打大仗，而把斯卡卡留在后面。”

No one's doing big combating. We're just going to get to the baseball stadium in New York. See what's what, Then come back here to figure out our next move. We are going to do so much combating As Neon and Rover carry us down the Mallusk's gangplank, I'm tingling. We might actually find people. But, more than that, the stadium is in New York City. And so is the Tower. Everything is pointing in the same direction. At last, we're going to reach the place we've been journeying toward for so very long...—

没人在打大仗。 我们要去纽约的棒球场。 看看是怎么回事，然后再回来想想下一步该怎么做。 当Neon和Rover带着我们走下Mallusk号的跳板时，我们要进行很多战斗，我感到刺痛。 我们也许真的能找到人。 但更重要的是，这座体育场位于纽约市。 伦敦塔也是如此。一切都指向同一个方向。 最后，我们将到达我们一直在旅行的地方

Soon, we're racing away from the Mallusk, Neon leading us through the remains of the abandoned ski resort. He gallops through overgrown evergreens, running parallel to the marching army while keeping us hidden from view. From the corner of my eye, I spot a mounted trail map—and a big "WARNING! DANGER AHEAD!" sign. Seems ominous, but, hey, I'm probably reading too much into it.

很快，我们就离开了马洛斯克号，霓虹带着我们穿过了废弃的滑雪胜地。 他在杂草丛生的常青树中疾驰，与行进的军队平行，同时把我们藏在视线之外。 从眼角的余光，我看到了一张挂在墙上的小径地图——还有一个大大的“警告！”前方有危险！” 看起来很不吉利，不过，我可能是想太多了。

I'm waiting to see how Neon will get us past the armed throng when I spot what looks like the mouth of a sewer. Neon leads us toward it. "So that's how Neon got to us," I realize. "He used a sewer drain to go under the army." "It's a culvert," Dirk says. "Basic civil engineering, dude." Whatever it's called, we're going in. Neon carries Quint and June into the tunnel. Dirk, Globlet, and I ride in atop Rover. We're quickly swallowed up by darkness. The tunnel is pitch-black and seemingly endless. The heavy footfalls of the army tramping above rattle the tunnel—along with my brain and my nerves. It's like racing through a steel drum being hammered on by a giant. Globlet is apparently unbothered—she's snoring. At last we emerge from the tunnel, and I pull a long gulp of fresh air. My eyes adjust to the sunlight, then I glance back. We've come out a few hundred yards beyond the marching army. "Hey, we got time for a quick pic—" I start. "Nope!" June says. "Onward, Neon!" With that, our breakneck race toward New York begins. Neon's paws pound the ground like a galloping bronco's. The nubs of his severed wings beat like he's trying to take flight, but that won't happen. His wings

我正等着看霓虹如何带我们通过武装人群，这时我发现了一个看起来像下水道口的地方。 霓虹灯指引我们走向它。我意识到：“所以霓虹就是这样找到我们的。” “他从下水道逃到了军队下面。” “这是一个涵洞，”德克说。 “基本的土木工程，老兄。” 不管叫什么，我们要进去了。 霓虹灯把昆特和琼带进了隧道。 德克，Globlet和我骑在Rover上。 我们很快被黑暗吞没了。 隧道一片漆黑，似乎没有尽头。 上面军队沉重的脚步声震动着隧道——同时也震动着我的大脑和神经。 就像在一个被巨人敲打的钢鼓里赛跑一样。 Globlet显然没有被打扰——她在打鼾。 最后，我们走出了隧道，我深深地吸了一口新鲜空气。 我的眼睛适应了阳光，然后回头看。 我们已经走到行进的军队后面几百码的地方了。 “嘿，我们还有时间拍张照片——”我开始说。 “不!”6月说。“开始,霓虹灯!”就这样，我们奔向纽约的惊险竞赛开始了。 霓虹的爪子像一匹飞驰的野马一样敲打着地面。 他那被砍断的翅膀跳动着，好像他想要飞起来，但那是不可能的。 他的翅膀

were sliced off the day the apocalypse began. He's a victim of .e...c., just like the rest of us. We speed through towns and cities that are nearly unrecognizable. Monstrous vines rope around houses, dragging them into the ground. Streets are smashed. Bridges have buckled... As we bound down train tracks, I catch a quick glimpse of Quint. His face is all eager excitement. I get it: he has hope—real hope—that he might find his parents. He's on the highest high, and I'm happy for him. But I'm worried we're heading for the lowest low. We'll soon be at the Tower. And, sure, I'm doing my best to

在天启开始的那天就被切掉了。 他是…c的受害者。就像我们其他人一样。 我们快速穿过几乎认不出来的城镇。 巨大的藤蔓缠绕在房屋周围，将房屋拖入地下。 街道被砸碎。桥梁都塌了…… 当我们沿着铁轨飞奔而下时，我瞥了一眼昆特。 他的脸上充满了热切的兴奋。 我明白了：他有希望——真正的希望——他可能会找到他的父母。 他站在最高处，我为他感到高兴。 但我担心我们正走向最低点。 我们很快就到伦敦塔了。 当然，我在尽我所能

lean into the Cosmic Hand and the monstrous change coming over me. But... I still don't know what to do when we get there! What happens when the Tower turns on and .e...c. comes into our dimension? The frustration and confusion build inside me, until— not even meaning to—I scream, "I JUST WANT ANSWERS!" "Huh?" Globlet asks, startled awake. I just want to know how to save us. Gotcha, gotcha. It's too bad. Shg off isn't here. She knows everything. I stare at her. "What? Who's Shuggoth? Where is she? Can we ride there, like, now?" Globlet frowns. "No, dodo. Shuggoth's in my dimension." "OK, not helpful," I say.

倾身向宇宙之手，感受那降临在我身上的巨大变化。 但是…我还是不知道到了那里该做什么！当伦敦塔打开，然后…… 进入我们的次元？沮丧和困惑在我心中积聚，直到——甚至不是有意的——我尖叫道：“我只想要答案！”“嗯?”地球球问，吓醒了。 我只想知道怎么救我们。 明白了,明白了。太糟糕了。 Shg off不在这里。她什么都知道。 我盯着她。“什么?Shuggoth是谁? 她在哪里？我们现在就能骑马去吗？”Globlet皱眉。 “不,渡渡鸟。Shuggoth在我的次元里。” “好吧，没有帮助，”我说。