Chapter 25

chapter twenty-five I sink to the floor. My chin falls to my chest, my arms go limp, and my head spins like a manic merry-go-round.

第二十五章我倒在地板上。 我的下巴垂到胸前，我的手臂无力，我的头像狂躁的旋转木马一样旋转。

I've failed. I look at my friends. Sweat pours from Dirk's pale face. I failed. I failed. June says something, but I don't hear her. Every sound seems to be a mile away. It's like I'm listening to the world from underwater. I pride myself on being a cool, calm, never- panicked hero—but right now I'm way far from that. "Is it stuffy in here?" I ask. I feel my mouth moving, but I don't hear myself speaking. I see June's face. She's shaking me, trying to help. I look to Dirk. He has his eyes shut tight and his hands wrapped around his knees. He's rocking back and forth. Stale air in the garage. I smell oil and sawdust. I smell melted plastic. I smell gasoline. Need water. Need something cold. June snaps her fingers in my face.

我已经失败了。我看着我的朋友们。 汗水从德克苍白的脸上淌了出来。 我失败了。我失败了。琼说了些什么，但我没听见。 每一个声音似乎都在一英里之外。 就像我在水下聆听世界。 我为自己是一个冷静、冷静、从不惊慌失措的英雄而自豪，但现在我离那还很远。 “这里闷吗？”我问。 我感觉到我的嘴在动，但我听不到自己在说话。 我看到了琼的脸。她在摇我，想帮我。 我望向德克。他紧紧地闭着眼睛，双手捂着膝盖。 他在前后摇摆。 车库里污浊的空气。我闻到了油和木屑的味道。 我闻到了塑料融化的味道。我闻到了汽油味。 需要水。需要点冷的东西。 琼在我脸上打响指。

I can barely see her. It's like looking at something through 120-degree heat—wavy and out of focus. Then a whistle. High-pitched, cutting through the air. June whistling. Why? I shut my eyes again. Sink back against the bars. And then something cool and wet on my face. Water? It brings me to. Wakes me up. Snaps me out of it. I gasp for air, sucking in a huge breath. I see Rover. His big tongue out, licking me. Cooling me. Sounds come back. It no longer feels like I'm drowning in dread. June is in my face, looking me over. "Jack? Jack, you all right?" "Yes," I say slowly. "Yes, I'm OK. Sorry—just —a little freaked there for a second. Felt like the world was closing in around me." "You good?" June asks. "I'm good." "You ready to figure a way out of here?" "I'm ready."

我几乎看不见她。就像在120度的高温下看东西，却看不清焦点。 然后是哨声。高音调，穿透空气。 6月吹口哨。为什么?我又闭上了眼睛。 向后靠在栏杆上。 然后我脸上又湿又凉的东西。 水吗?它把我带到了。唤醒我。 把我揪出来。我喘着气，深深地吸了一口气。 我看到罗孚了。他伸出大舌头，舔着我。 我降温。声音又回来了。 我不再觉得自己被恐惧淹没了。 琼就在我面前，打量着我。 “杰克?杰克，你没事吧？”“是的，”我慢慢地说。 “是的，我很好。抱歉，我刚才有点慌。 感觉整个世界都在向我逼近。” “你好吗?”6月问道。“我很好”。 “你准备好想办法离开这里了吗？”“我准备好了。”

Dirk grabs the bars and shakes. They won't break. They won't bend. Instead... My camera clanks off my head. It turns on as it hits me, bringing up the pic of us with Thrull and Bardle. It was just a month ago, but it feels like ages. I thought we had monster allies. But no—just more monster enemies. Well, one monster enemy: Thrull. "Are the other monsters bad?" June asks, like she's thinking what I'm thinking. "I don't think so. I was suspicious of Bardle. But it seems Thrull's the real villain, if he's planning to feed the rest of them to .e...c. the Ancient once it comes to Earth."

德克抓着棒子摇了摇。 它们不会断裂。他们不会屈服的。 而不是……我的照相机从头上掉了下来。 当它击中我时，它就打开了，显示出我们与Thrull和Bardle的照片。 虽然是一个月前的事，但感觉好像过了很久。 我以为我们有怪物盟友。 但是没有，只有更多的怪物敌人。 好吧，一个怪物敌人：Thrull。 “其他怪物坏吗？”琼问道，好像她和我想的一样。 “我不这么认为。我怀疑巴德尔。 但看起来斯拉尔才是真正的恶棍，如果他打算把剩下的人喂给…… 远古的灵魂一旦来到地球。”

"Then we'll just have to trust the rest of them. Because we need help." June holds up the camera and taps the image of Bardle. "Rover, can you find this guy?" Rover's big monster eyes narrow. His head lifts. He looks at me. I nod. "Please, Rover. Please." Rover turns and darts through the garage door. June looks at me. "Fingers crossed." "Fingers and toes," I reply. An hour passes. No Rover. No Bardle. "How will the world end, do you think?" June asks. "This .e...c. guy. What will he do?" I shrug. "Maybe he'll be like a Tasmanian devil thing, raging across the planet...." "Maybe he'll sit on a big throne," June says. "And hold a big dance-off for his approval." "I'm less worried about the end of the world," I say, shaking my head, "and more worried about the end of Quint."

“那我们就只能相信其他人了。 因为我们需要帮助。”琼拿起相机，拍了拍巴德尔的照片。 “罗孚，你能找到这个人吗？”罗孚那怪物般的大眼睛眯了起来。 他抬起头。他看着我。 我点头。“请,罗孚。请。” 罗孚转过身，飞快地穿过车库门。 琼看着我。“祈祷”。 “手指和脚趾，”我回答。 一个小时过去了。没有探测器。没有Bardle。 “你认为世界将如何终结？”6月问道。 “这即……c。的家伙。他会怎么做呢？”我耸耸肩。 “也许他会像袋獾一样，在地球上肆虐....” “也许他会坐在一个大宝座上，”琼说。 “然后举行一场盛大的舞会，征求他的同意。” “我不太担心世界末日，”我摇着头说，“我更担心昆特的末日。”

June leans close. She takes my hand. "Jack," she says. "We're going to get Quint back. We're going to stop Thrull." I bang my head against the bars. "It's been more than an hour. Thrull is probably halfway through his evil ceremony right now. Bet he's all mumbo-jumboing, like—" ZURGLE BURBLE SKTL SPLURG TURTLE!! "Jack," June says. "Stop." I sigh. "What does it matter? I can't be goofy? We're DONE, June."

六月接近了。她握着我的手。 “杰克，”她说。“我们要把昆特找回来。 我们要阻止Thrull。” 我的头撞在栏杆上。 “已经一个多小时了。 瑟鲁的邪恶仪式可能已经进行到一半了。 我敢打赌他一定是在咕咕叫，就像——“乌龟！！”“杰克，”琼说。 “停止”。我叹了口气。“这有什么关系？” 我不能傻吗？我们完了，琼。”