Chapter 26

chapter twenty-six Bardle moves like an old man as he slips down from Rover and waddles toward us. He looks the cage up and down, then wraps his hand around the lock. His eyes close and he focuses. A moment later, the lock drops. The door swings open. "Magic," Dirk grunts. "Neat." In a flash, I'm out, whipping the Louisville Slicer over my shoulder. June screams at me to stop, but I can't. Quint's terrified face flashes across the inside of my eyelids. "No," Bardle says flatly. I look at him for a long moment. I have to believe him—no other choice. I slowly lower the Louisville Slicer. "Do you know what Thrull is up to? And why he stole my best bud?" He nods.

第二十六章巴德尔像个老人一样从罗孚上滑下来，摇摇摆摆地向我们走来。 他上下打量了一下笼子，然后用手抓住了锁。 他闭上眼睛，集中注意力。 过了一会儿，锁掉了。 门打开了。“魔法。”德克咕哝道。 “整洁”。一眨眼，我就出来了，把路易斯维尔切片机甩过肩膀。 琼叫我停下来，但我做不到。 昆特惊恐的脸在我眼皮里闪过。 “不，”巴德尔断然地说。我久久地看着他。 我必须相信他——没有别的选择。 我慢慢放下路易斯维尔切片机。 “你知道瑟鲁想干什么吗？” 他为什么偷走我最好的朋友？”他点了点头。

"Then why did you deny it?!" I ask. "We told you about the zombies with their brains sucked out, but you said you knew nothing!" "Because I had only just begun to suspect that Thrull was a servant of .e...c.. You must understand—even though we all came here from the same world, we know each other no better than you

“那你为什么要否认呢？！”我问。 “我们告诉过你那些被吸走脑袋的僵尸，但你说你什么都不知道！”“因为我刚刚开始怀疑斯拉鲁是…… 你必须明白——尽管我们都来自同一个世界，但我们并不比你更了解彼此

might know a stranger whom you encounter. I was the first to come to Joe's Pizza after Thrull. I stumbled upon him. He welcomed me. I did not yet realize who he was or what he would do. "When you mentioned undead humans with their brains removed, my suspicions were raised. I suspected a Tree of Entry. I began to investigate. But I did not know for certain until this very moment." I'm steaming. "Jack, would you like to continue arguing or would you like to save your friend?" Bardle asks. "And your world?" "Save his friend and save the world," June says, jumping in. "That's his answer: save the friend, save the world. Trust me." Dirk is downing a huge bottle of water and the color is returning to his face. "So what now?" he asks after he swallows. "We can get the other monsters from Joe's," Bardle says. "They will all take up the fight. Only the insane worship .e...c.."

可能认识一个你遇到的陌生人。 我是《Thrull》之后第一个来乔披萨的人。 我偶然遇见了他。他欢迎我。 我还不知道他是谁，也不知道他要干什么。 “当你提到大脑被移除的不死人时，我就产生了怀疑。 我怀疑是入口树。 我开始调查。但直到此刻我才确定。” 我是热气腾腾的。“杰克，你是想继续争吵，还是想救你的朋友？”Bardle问道。 “你的世界呢？”“拯救他的朋友，拯救世界，”琼跳了进来。 这就是他的回答：拯救朋友，拯救世界。 相信我。”德克喝了一大瓶水，脸上又恢复了血色。 “那现在怎么办？”他吞了一口后问道。 巴德尔说：“我们可以从乔那里弄到其他怪物。” “他们都将奋起反抗。 只有疯狂的崇拜…………”

I shake my head. There's no time for that. I take quick strides toward Rover. "Jack, what are you doing?" June asks. "I'm getting back Quint. I'm stopping Thrull." "Well, we're coming!" June exclaims. "Thrull took Big Mama. We can't all go." "Rover can carry the four of us." I'm going alone. I've done enough harm. I've doomed my best friend. I've doomed the WORLD! I'm not dooming you, too, "You cannot stop him alone," Bardle says. "Watch me." Dirk plants his feet in a wide stance, blocking my way. "We're coming, bro."

我摇了摇头。没时间了。 我快步走向罗孚。 “杰克，你在干什么？”6月问道。 “我要回来了，昆特。我要阻止Thrull。” “好了，我们来了！”6月惊呼道。 “Thrull带走了大妈妈。我们不能都去。” “罗孚可以载我们四个人。” 我一个人去。我造成的伤害已经够多了。 我毁了我最好的朋友。 我已经毁灭了这个世界！我不会让你也完蛋的，“你不可能单独阻止他，”巴德尔说。 “看着我。”德克伸开双脚挡住了我的去路。 “我们来了，兄弟。”

I tug on Rover's reins and he trots around Dirk and toward the gate. I turn back and give my friends a final look, and then, "Rover, HEE-YA!" Rover gallops forward, but suddenly— The ground trembles. The grass beneath the tree house splits and giant chunks of earth slide and crack. All around the base of the tree, the yard swells and the water in our moat pool splashes. "What's happening?" Dirk shouts. Tossed to the ground, I quickly sprint back to my friends, tugging on Rover's collar. We huddle together as the grass explodes— "The Wormungulous! What's he doing here?!" June asks. She staggers back.

我拉着罗孚的缰绳，它绕着德克跑向大门。 我转过身，最后看了我的朋友们一眼，然后，“Rover, HEE-YA!”罗孚向前疾驰，但突然——大地颤抖。 树屋下面的草裂开了，巨大的土块滑了下来，裂开了。 在树底周围，院子里的水涨了起来，护城河池里的水溅起了水花。 “发生了什么?”德克喊道。 我被甩到地上，赶紧跑回朋友身边，拽着罗孚的项圈。 我们挤在一起，草地爆炸了——“虫子！”他在这儿干什么？！”6月问道。 她摇摇晃晃地走了回来。

Rover dashes past me and darts over to the Wormungulous. They sort of wrestle, Rover hopping all around the other monster. Rover's neck turns, like he's trying to show the worm where to go. Bardle smiles as he sees the creature. "It is an ūň§...oe.." The worm makes a sound like a cow. Like an underground cow. Remind me—Underground Cow: great name for a rock band. The worm dives beneath the surface again. "Hey, where's he going?" June asks. "You're messing up my garden, worm!" Dirk hollers. The Wormungulous appears again. The tree tilts to the side and lifts up, out of the ground. Worm tentacles grab hold of the tree roots like they're interlocking fingers, connecting with them, joining, so that soon I can barely see where the worm ends and the tree begins. Dirt erupts, filling the air with brown bits that throw me into a coughing fit. The Wormungulous's

罗孚从我身边冲过去，冲到虫人那里。 他们像是在摔跤，罗孚围着另一个怪物跳来跳去。 罗孚的脖子转了一下，好像在给虫子指明方向。 巴德尔看到这个生物时笑了。 “这是一个ūň§……哎呀……”蠕虫发出像牛一样的声音。 就像地下的奶牛。提醒我一下，地下牛：摇滚乐队的好名字。 蠕虫再次潜入水面下。 “嘿，他要去哪儿？”6月问道。 “你把我的花园弄脏了，虫子！”德克大喊着。 蛔虫又出现了。 这棵树向一边倾斜，然后升起，露出地面。 虫子的触须紧紧抓住树根，就像它们是相互连接的手指，把它们连在一起，所以很快我就几乎看不清虫子的末端和树的开始了。 灰尘喷涌而出，空气中充满了棕色的碎片，让我咳嗽起来。 Wormungulous的