Chapter 18

chapter eighteen No one speaks for a long, long moment. I can almost feel the terror and fear coming from my friends. We are in a stunningly huge cavern, and what's inside is ghastly. Grisly. There's a quick jerking in my chest—my heart skipping wildly. There are monsters everywhere. They're scattered across the cavern floor like peanut shells at a baseball game. Like scraps of garbage, like leftovers, like Starburst wrappers. The ground is covered with barely breathing beasts. "I think some are dying..." June whispers. "And some are already dead," Dirk says softly. As my eyes adjust to the dim, strange light, it only gets worse. And worse....

第十八章好长好长一段时间谁也没有说话。 我几乎能感觉到来自朋友们的恐惧和恐惧。 我们在一个巨大得惊人的洞穴里，里面是可怕的。 可怕的。我的胸口猛地一跳——我的心狂跳着。 到处都是怪物。 它们散落在洞穴的地板上，就像棒球场上的花生壳一样。 就像垃圾，剩菜，星爆包装纸。 地上满是几乎不呼吸的野兽。 “我想有些人快死了……” 6月低声说。“有些已经死了，”德克轻声说。 当我的眼睛适应了昏暗、奇怪的光线时，情况只会变得更糟。 更糟糕的是……

We slip down to the cavern floor, not quite believing what we see as we take in the spectacle. All these creatures are shriveled and shrunken. You ever suck down a Capri Sun, squash it in your hands, and toss it? That's what this is like.... Except these aren't juice boxes—they are living creatures. Monsters, yes. But not evil monsters. No Dozers or Winged Wretches.

我们滑到洞穴底部，不太相信我们所看到的景象。 所有这些生物都萎缩了。 你有没有尝过一口卡普里太阳，捏在手里，然后扔掉？ 这就是它的样子.... 只不过这些不是果汁盒——它们是活生生的生物。 怪物,是的。但不是邪恶的怪物。 没有推土机或有翼的可怜虫。

"So many creatures," I say softly. "I see ones we haven't seen since we were tracking down monsters for the bestiary." Quint smiles wistfully. "Ah, the bestiary. Some of our finest work." Quint and June kneel down to examine one moaning creature while Dirk inspects the Vine- Thingies. I step toward a monster I recognize: the Hairy Eyeball Monster. "Hey, buddy," I say, "Long time, no see." I realize its eye—its body—is glazed over and I add, "Sorry, didn't mean it like that—'no see' like an eyeball joke. My bad." "It's in bad shape," Dirk says, coming up behind me.

“这么多动物，”我轻声说。 “我看到了一些自从我们为《动物寓言》追踪怪物以来从未见过的东西。” 昆特若有所思地笑了。“啊，这本书。 这是我们最好的作品。”昆特和琼跪下来检查一个呻吟的生物，德克则在检查藤蔓物。 我走向一个我认识的怪物：毛眼球怪物。 “嘿，伙计，”我说，“好久不见。” 我意识到它的眼睛——它的身体——呆滞了，我补充说：“对不起，我不是那个意思——‘no see’像是一个关于眼睛的玩笑。” 我的坏。”“情况很糟，”德克从我身后走过来说。

MOOOOOAAAN It's like—it'S been used And disposed of The eyeball—splitting, sucking, closing— reminds me of a goldfish, yanked from its tank, gasping for water. Dirk says, "The Vine-Thingies—they're plugged into its body, like baby cows sucking on the mama." Looking around, I see it's the same for every single monster in the place. My eyes follow the thick, tube-like vines. They lead away from the creatures and across the cavern floor like crisscrossing electrical wires.

它就像——被用过，被处理掉了——眼睛分裂，吮吸，合上——让我想起一条金鱼，从鱼缸里被拽出来，大口大口地要水。 德克说：“藤蔓的东西——它们插在它的身体里，就像小牛吮吸妈妈一样。” 环顾四周，我发现每个怪物都是一样的。 我的眼睛顺着粗壮的管状藤蔓望去。 它们远离生物，像纵横交错的电线一样穿过洞穴的地板。

The snarled mess of vines meet at the far side of the cavern. There's a huge, sloping wall —and the vines grow up it. They thicken as they near the ceiling, turning nearly black. There's a smell in the air. A chemical smell. Weed killer... The same stuff we used to blow up Thrull the Tree Beast. And that's when it hits me. "Guys, I get it!" I suddenly say, and the thing I "get" makes me want to hurl. "I know exactly where we." "Jack," Quint sighs. "You definitely do not know exactly where we are. We've walked nearly a mile underground. And you have a terrible sense of direction...." "Do not!" I say as I whirl around—

乱糟糟的藤蔓在洞穴的另一边交汇在一起。 有一堵巨大的倾斜的墙，藤蔓长在上面。 当它们接近天花板时，它们变厚了，几乎变成黑色。 空气中有一种味道。 一种化学气味。除草剂…… 就是我们用来炸树兽斯拉的东西。 这时我突然想到了。 “伙计们，我明白了！”我突然说，我“得到”的东西让我想要投掷。 “我很清楚我们在哪里。” “杰克，”昆特叹了口气。“你肯定不知道我们在哪里。 我们在地下走了将近一英里。 你的方向感很差....” “不!”我一边旋转一边说

I hove a yreat Sense of direction, Ouint! Over here, bud. I spin back around the other way. "Whoops. OK, fine, my sense of direction is crummy. But I'm not wrong! We're beneath the Tree of Entry. That's why these Vine-Thingies are extra super thick. They're not just vines—they're roots." We look around, our eyes tracing the Vine- Thingies to the roof of the cavern. There, the

我有很强的方向感。这边，伙计。 我从另一个方向转回来。 “哎呦。好吧，我的方向感很差。 但我没有错！我们在入口树下面。 这就是为什么这些藤蔓玩意儿特别厚的原因。 它们不仅仅是藤蔓——它们是根。” 我们环顾四周，眼睛顺着藤蔓之类的东西一直看到洞顶。 在那里,