Chapter 3

chapter three We're walking the upper level of the mall, looking down at the corridor below. I see all sorts of little kiosks that sell T-shirts and fancy cell phone cases and other crud that's really dumb but I also totally really kind of want. Most of the mall is a mess— looted and plundered by panicked people when the Monster Apocalypse first began. Passing the Apple Store, I catch a whiff of something. A strange, sweet sort of odor, hanging in the air. And I catch a flash of movement, below us. A figure, slinking around the corner, past the Gap. An almost-human figure... Seeing that—something almost-but-not-quite human—sends a chill of terror down my spine. My heart starts palpitating. Maybe it was just a figment of my imagination...? But no.

第三章我们走在商场的上层，看着下面的走廊。 我看到各种各样的小摊卖t恤和漂亮的手机壳，还有其他一些很傻的东西，但我真的很想要。 大部分的商场都是一片混乱——当怪物启示录开始时，恐慌的人们抢劫和掠夺。 经过苹果店时，我闻到了一股味道。 空气中弥漫着一种奇怪而甜蜜的气味。 我捕捉到下面有动静。 一个身影，从拐角溜过，穿过了Gap。 一个近乎人类的形象……看到这种几乎不完全是人类的东西，我的脊背上不禁打了个寒颤。 我的心开始怦怦直跳。 也许这只是我的想象……？ 但是没有。

My eyes might play tricks on me, but not my nose. And the strange, sweet odor is growing stronger. But it is not the odor of evil. It is not the foul stench that the villainous beast Blarg emitted. It is not the same stink that the Dozers and the Winged Wretches and other Wakefield monsters emanate. That is the smell of evil. But this? Honestly? It smells like a middle-school dance. It smells like, I realize, cheap cologne. "Quint, did you see that?" I whisper. He nods. A huge helping of fear has appeared on his face. Fear with a side order of curiosity. I pull my weapon, the Louisville Slicer, from its sheath.

我的眼睛可能会欺骗我，但我的鼻子不会。 这种奇怪的甜味越来越浓。 但这不是邪恶的气味。 这不是邪恶的野兽Blarg发出的恶臭。 这和推土机、有翼可怜虫和其他韦克菲尔德怪物散发的臭味不一样。 那是邪恶的味道。 但这吗?诚实?闻起来像中学舞会。 我觉得闻起来像廉价古龙水。 “昆特，你看到了吗？”我低语。 他点了点头。他的脸上露出了巨大的恐惧。 恐惧和好奇并存。 我把我的武器，路易斯维尔切片机，从鞘里抽出来。

It could be a cannibal or a Marauder or a marauding cannibal or a cannibalizing Marauder. I really don't want to be eaten, Jack. Nobody's eating you Quints. You're not meaty enough. It's been one month since we rescued June (sorta rescued) and we've still not seen a single other person. No kids, no adults, no nothing. Just zombies and monsters up the wazoo. And recently, even the zombies seem to be popping up less and less. In fact, it's like they're disappearing. I mean, we've been at the mall over an hour now, and we haven't seen one zombie. And if you're a zombie expert like me, you know zombies are supposed to be, like, all over the mall. Ever see a zombie movie? Play a zombie video game?

可能是食人者，也可能是劫掠者，也可能是劫掠者，也可能是劫掠者。 我真的不想被吃掉，杰克。 没人吃你们昆特。 你的肉不够多。我们救出琼已经一个月了（算是获救了），但我们仍然没有看到一个人。 没有小孩，没有大人，什么都没有。 到处都是僵尸和怪物。 最近，就连僵尸似乎也越来越少出现了。 事实上，它们好像正在消失。 我是说，我们已经在商场待了一个多小时了，还没看到一个僵尸。 如果你和我一样是僵尸专家，你就知道商场里应该到处都是僵尸。 看过僵尸电影吗？玩僵尸游戏？

Zombies are ALWAYS at the mall. They just love shopping or something. Quint believes something is taking the zombies. We haven't seen them migrating, and we haven't seen them just, like, dying off. I'll tell you this much: if something is taking the zombies, I do not want to meet whatever that "something" is. The sweet scent snaps my mind back to attention. I drop to one knee and rub Rover behind the ears. "Buddy, can you drag my space marine suit back to Big Mama?" I say, pointing in the direction of the parking lot, where Big Mama, our post-apocalyptic pickup truck, is waiting. Rover tilts his head, then growls in understanding. A moment later, he's trotting down the corridor, my space marine suit banging and clanging behind him. "OK, Quint," I say. "Let's see what this thing is." Quint follows as I creep down the escalator to the main level. We duck behind a kiosk called Stuffed Stuff—it sells stuffed panda bears and piglets and ferrets. Holding my breath, I peek around the corner.

僵尸总是在商场里。 他们只是喜欢购物之类的。 昆特认为有什么东西带走了僵尸。 我们没有看到它们迁徙，也没有看到它们死亡。 我要告诉你的是：如果有什么东西在带走僵尸，我不想见到那个“东西”是什么。 甜甜的香味使我的注意力重新集中起来。 我单膝跪地，揉了揉罗孚的耳后。 “伙计，你能把我的宇航服拖回去给大妈妈吗？”我指着停车场的方向说，大妈妈，我们的后世界末日皮卡车，正在那里等着。 罗孚歪着头，然后明白地咆哮起来。 过了一会儿，他小跑着穿过走廊，我的宇航服在他身后叮当作响。 “好的，昆特，”我说。“让我们看看这是什么东西。” 昆特跟着我爬下扶梯，来到主楼那一层。 我们躲到一个叫毛绒玩具的小卖部后面，那里卖熊猫、小猪和雪貂的毛绒玩具。 我屏住呼吸，朝拐角处瞥了一眼。

I see the figure again. And if it's a person, it's a big person. It's rattling one of the metal gates that hang over most of the storefronts. Quint and I exchange terrified looks, then quietly sneak ahead to the next kiosk. We're like ultra-lame James Bonds. Do you think James Bond ever had to hide behind Cate's Custom Candles while trailing a target? The strange figure comes to a stop in front of the Cinnabon. I finally get a solid look at the thing. And what I see—it turns my blood to ice water. I whip my head back around and drop to the floor. "Did you see that?!" I ask Quint, trying to

我又看到了那个人影。如果是一个人，那一定是个大人物。 悬挂在大多数店面上的一扇金属门被震得嘎嘎作响。 昆特和我交换了一下惊恐的眼神，然后悄悄溜到下一个售货亭。 我们就像超级差劲的詹姆斯·邦德。 你觉得詹姆斯·邦德在追踪目标的时候会躲在凯特定制蜡烛后面吗？ 这个奇怪的身影在肉桂店前停了下来。 我终于看清了那东西。 而我所看到的，让我热血沸腾。 我猛地回过头来，倒在地上。 “你看到了吗？！”我问昆特，试图

keep my voice to a whisper. Quint nods. He doesn't speak. He's shaking like a leaf. "It was like a monster-person. Or a person- monster," I say. But before we can even begin to process the bonkers implications of that, a piercing shriek echoes down the hall. It's June. She's rushing toward us. Dirk speeds alongside her. And behind them, colossal and charging with vicious fangs exposed, tearing through the mall like a train that's jumped the tracks, is the Wormungulous. We need to find cover. Safety. Something to shield us from this beast. But the giant metal gate that guards Sears looms ahead of us. Every store around us is gated. Locked tight. We're in a dead end. Trapped. No way out.

让我的声音保持耳语。 五胞胎点点头。他不说话。 他抖得像一片叶子。“它就像一个怪物。 或者是一个人——怪物，”我说。 但还没等我们开始思考这句话的疯狂含义，一声刺耳的尖叫就在大厅里回响起来。 这是6月。她向我们冲过来了。 德克飞快地跟在她身边。 在他们身后，那只巨大的、露出毒牙的、像一列脱轨的火车一样冲过商场的，就是那只“虫怪”。 我们得找个掩护。安全。 能保护我们不受野兽伤害的东西。 但守卫西尔斯百货的巨大金属门隐约出现在我们面前。 我们周围的每家商店都有门。 锁紧。我们走到死胡同了。 被困。没有出路。