Chapter 6

chapter six BOOM It's what I imagine it'd be like to stand about nineteen feet from a NASA launch, when those big booster rockets ignite—only cold. There's no fire or heat—just an icy air, exploding outward from the horrible structure. A tremendous cracking sound rips through New York City as a million panes of glass all shatter in unison. The

这就是我站在离美国国家航空航天局（NASA）发射站19英尺远的地方，当那些巨大的助推器火箭点火时的感觉。 没有火也没有热，只有冰冷的空气，从可怕的建筑中向外爆炸。 一声巨大的碎裂声响彻纽约城，上百万块玻璃齐声破碎。 的

rush of icy wind slams into the bridge, rocking it like a hammock in a thunderstorm. For an instant, every abandoned car goes up on its side. Rover's claws clamp down, puncturing concrete as his teeth snap out to grab me. But my friends and I are already airborne. The blasts rips us off our feet, and Globlet is hurled from Rover's saddlebag, causing her to, at last, wake up... WHAT'S HAPPENING? Why is it so cold? Here's my blanket. Neon reaches for June, but the wind sends him careening toward an overturned limousine. Ribbons of

一阵冰冷的风猛击着桥，摇晃着它，就像雷雨中的吊床。 刹那间，每一辆被遗弃的汽车都站了起来。 罗孚的爪子紧抓着我，刺穿了混凝土，他的牙齿突然伸出来抓住我。 但我和我的朋友们已经在空中了。 爆炸把我们炸飞了，Globlet从罗孚的马鞍袋里被甩了出来，她终于醒了过来…… 发生什么事情了?为什么这么冷？ 这是我的毯子。霓虹伸手去抓琼，但风把他吹向一辆翻倒的豪华轿车。 丝带的

Ultra-Slime stream off Drooler. The Rifters—who were surrounding us an instant earlier—are flung fully off the bridge. And we'd be going with them if it weren't for— "ICE CREAM!" June cries. SMASH The air is knocked out of my chest as I crash into the truck. I flop to the ground, heaving.

超黏液流从流涎器。 刚才还在我们周围的裂谷人被完全抛下了桥。 要不是因为“冰淇淋”我们就跟他们一起去了6月哭。 当我撞到卡车上时，胸口的空气被撞得粉碎。 我扑通一声倒在地上，喘着气。

I hear Dirk cry, "Look!" I try to look—but I can't. I can't see anything. For a horrible moment I think that the chill has frozen my eyelids shut. But then I realize my sweatshirt is plastered against my face. The wind is whipping it around, whipping everything. "The Tower is transforming..." Quint gasps. "Guess Thrull finished," Dirk says. I'm missing everything! I think as I wrestle with my shirt. I finally get a grip on it, yank it down, and— The monstrous structure is changing. It reminds me of an insect reaching the next stage in its metamorphosis. It rises and swells, like it's doing some horrific version of a morning stretch and yawn. Vines slither and snap as the architecture rearranges itself. Rover gets one paw around my ankle, and I keep a hand on his head as I stand. The bridge sways more slowly now, as the wind settles. In awe, Ry.k watches the Tower complete its transformation. "Here comes the good part..." Ry.k says.

我听见德克喊道：“看！”我试着去看——但我看不见。 我什么也看不见。在一个可怕的时刻，我认为寒冷已经冻结了我的眼皮。 但后来我意识到我的运动衫贴在脸上了。 风把它吹来吹去，把一切都吹走了。 “伦敦塔正在变形……” 五胞胎喘息声。“我猜Thrull结束了，”德克说。 我错过了一切！我一边想一边摆弄我的衬衫。 我终于抓住了它，把它拽下来，然后-怪物的结构在改变。 它让我想起一只昆虫进入了它的蜕变的下一个阶段。 它又起又肿，就像在做可怕的早晨伸展和打哈欠。 随着建筑的重新排列，藤蔓在滑动和折断。 罗孚一只爪子抓着我的脚踝，我站着的时候，我一只手放在他的头上。 风停了，桥摇得慢了些。 ryk怀着敬畏的心情看着伦敦塔完成了改造。 “好戏来了……” Ry.k说。

VA-SHOOM I jump back, shielding my eyes as the jagged beam of light streaks upward. Ry.k cackles happily. "The Tower has made its connection with my home dimension. .e...c.'s arrival will soon be upon us! Oh, the rewards I will reap! My collection will overflow!" Suddenly, I feel the Cosmic Hand twist and tighten around my skin. It's practically squirming with urgency. A second later, I realize why...

嗖的一声，我向后一跳，挡住眼睛，看到那道参差不齐的光束向上划过。 ryk笑得很开心。“伦敦塔与我的家联系在一起。 社会事务部…c。他的到来就要到了！哦，我将收获的回报！我的收藏要满了！”突然间，我感到宇宙之手在我的皮肤上扭曲收紧。 它实际上是在急迫地蠕动。 一秒钟后，我明白了为什么……

"Uh, guys?" Dirk says. "You seeing this?" I'm seeing it. Tiny bursts of color are exploding in the air, like a flea-circus fireworks show. But unlike fireworks, these explosions of color don't fade—they grow. Each expands in the air, forming large, shimmering ovals. Quint whips his conjurer's cannon from around his back as one blossoms in front of him. He first stares at it —and then stares into it. "It's a window into the other dimension," he says. His voice is soft, but there's an excited edge to it. I don't think it's exciting. I think it's terrifying. We've never glimpsed that world. The closest we've

“呃,伙计们?”德克说。“你看到了吗？”我看到了。 微小的彩色爆发在空中爆炸，就像跳蚤马戏团的烟花表演。 但与烟花不同的是，这些颜色的爆炸不会褪色——它们会增长。 每一个都在空气中膨胀，形成巨大的、闪闪发光的椭圆形。 昆特从背后挥舞着魔术师的大炮，一门大炮在他面前绽放。 他先是盯着它看，然后又盯着里面看。 “这是通往另一个维度的窗口，”他说。 他的声音很柔和，但有一种兴奋的感觉。 我不认为它令人兴奋。 我认为这很可怕。我们从未瞥见过那个世界。 我们最接近的