Chapter 23

chapter twenty-three I feel like I'm in the trash compactor in Star Wars. But then, suddenly, the Wormungulous moans. A pained wail escapes from its lungs and the monster goes slack. The cage bars release. It's like the monster is suddenly out of breath. I see why. There's a long scar running along the side of its body. The cage scrapes and rubs against it. No. I'm mistaken. It's not a scar—it's an open, festering wound from where I sliced it weeks earlier, when I battled it. The Wormungulous's face is dotted with eyes and all of them are wet and all of them are watching me. Guilt tugs at my insides. I bite my lip. The Wormungulous does not emit the stench of evil. It smells nothing like Blarg. It smells nothing like

第二十三章我感觉自己像是在《星球大战》里的垃圾压实机里。 但是，突然间，毛虫发出了呻吟声。 一声痛苦的哀号从它的肺里传出来，怪物开始松懈下来。 笼子的栏杆松开了。就像怪物突然上气不接下气。 我知道为什么了。它的身体两侧有一道长长的伤疤。 笼子摩擦着它。 否。我错了。这不是一个伤疤——这是一个开放的，溃烂的伤口，是我几周前与它搏斗时割伤的。 蛔虫的脸上布满了眼睛，所有的眼睛都是湿的，所有的眼睛都在看着我。 内疚感在我的内心拉扯。我咬着嘴唇。 蛔虫不会散发出邪恶的恶臭。 闻起来一点都不像blblg。 闻起来一点都不像

Thrull. It smells nothing like Dozers or Winged Wretches. At last, I lift open the handle and push the cage open. The door presses against the monster's side. It moans softly. I look at the long wound across his side. I did that. Me, I think, with a thickness in my throat. I imagine the moment, months earlier, when doors were flung open and monsters were propelled into our dimension. And this monster was just plucked from its home and happened to land here. I know what it feels like to be yanked from your home—it's confusing and scary. No wonder it tried to eat us. I hear the screech of tires. Big Mama hurtles inside the mall and comes to a stop. "JACK!" June screams, rushing out of the truck. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Thrull。闻起来一点也不像推土机或飞人。 最后，我抬起把手，把笼子推开。 门紧贴着怪物的侧面。 它轻轻地呻吟着。我看着他身体两侧长长的伤口。 我做到了。我，我想，喉咙很厚。 我想象着那一刻，几个月前，当门被打开，怪物被推进我们的次元。 这个怪物刚从它的家被拉出来，碰巧落在这里。 我知道被人从家里拽出来是什么感觉——既困惑又害怕。 难怪它想吃掉我们。 我听到轮胎的刺耳声。 大妈妈冲进商场，停了下来。 “杰克!”琼尖叫着冲出卡车。 “你在干什么？”

Guys? come here. I want to help it. Minutes later, we're gathered around the monster. Everyone is on edge. At any moment, it could turn furious and devour us. "June?" I ask. "Any chance you know how to sew?" "What, 'cause I'm a girl, you just assume I know how to sew?" I shrug. "Moms know how to do that stuff." "I'm not a mom!" "I can do it," Dirk says. We all eye the big guy. "So what?" Dirk says. "Yeah, I know how to sew, OK? I sewed up my clothes for years." "Hey, all good, buddy," I say. "You sew and you garden. Right on."

人吗?到这里来。我想帮助它。 几分钟后，我们聚集在怪物周围。 每个人都紧张不安。它随时都可能暴跳如雷，把我们吃掉。 “6月?”我问。“你会缝纫吗？”“什么，就因为我是个女孩，你就以为我知道怎么缝衣服？”我耸耸肩。 “妈妈们知道怎么做这些事。” “我不是妈妈！”“我能做到，”德克说。 我们都盯着那个大个子。“所以什么?”德克说。 “是的，我知道怎么缝，好吗？” 我缝了好几年衣服。” “嘿，一切都好，伙计，”我说。 “你缝纫，你打理花园。是对的”。

Dirk continues, "But we need a big needle. And a lot of thread. This is one mighty cut." Where do we find a needle to sew up a giant monster with? After a moment, Dirk's eyes light up and he says, "The Louisville Slicer." I pull it from its sheath. "Really?" "Yeah, I just need to rip off a shard to use as a needle." "Rip off a shard?!" I exclaim. "You want to tear off a hunk of my most iconic tool of monster destruction?!" "You want to fix this guy up or not?" Dirk asks. I swallow and hand over the blade. "Yes I do. I want to fix the guy up..." June tosses Dirk some coiled-up rope from the bed of Big Mama, and he goes to work...

德克继续说道：“但我们需要一根大针。 还有很多线。这是一个强有力的切割。” 我们去哪里找针来缝合一个巨大的怪物？ 过了一会儿，德克的眼睛亮了，他说：“路易斯维尔切片机。” 我把它从鞘里拔出来。 “真的吗?”“是的，我只需要撕下一块碎片当针就行了。” “撕掉碎片？！”我惊叫。 “你想撕掉我最具代表性的怪物毁灭工具吗？！”“你到底想不想撮合这家伙？”德克问道。 我咽了一口，把刀刃交了出来。 “是的，我知道。我想撮合这家伙……” 琼从大妈妈的床上扔给德克一些卷起来的绳子，德克就去工作了……

Hang on, big guy you'll feel befrer soon. "How did you know?" June finally asks me. "Huh?" "You left the cage. How did you know it would be safe? We thought your brain broke or something." I shrug. "It just... it seemed hurt, like it needed help." The Wormungulous trembles and shudders as Dirk inserts the makeshift needle into its skin, then

坚持住，大个子，你很快就会有感觉的。 “你怎么知道的？”琼终于问我了。 “嗯?”“你离开了笼子。 你怎么知道它是安全的？ 我们以为你脑子坏了什么的。” 我耸耸肩。“只是…它看起来很受伤，好像需要帮助。” 接着，德克把那根临时制成的针插进蛔虫的皮肤时，它颤抖着

runs it through the wound and out the other side. Dirk continues like this, sewing up the entire ten-foot-long gash. The worm whimpers. "This is good, worm guy," I say, running my hand over him. "It doesn't feel like it, but it is." Jack. this guy could get angry any second And swallow us That won't happen

让它穿过伤口，从另一边流出。 德克继续这样，缝合了整个10英尺长的伤口。 虫子呜咽着。“这很好，虫男，”我说，用手抚摸着他。 “感觉不像，但就是这样。” 杰克。这家伙随时都可能生气然后把我们吞了那是不可能的