Chapter 16

chapter sixteen We staggered away from the town square, finally taking shelter inside an old deli. It's torn open from the inside, a vending machine

我们摇摇晃晃地离开了镇广场，最后在一家旧熟食店里躲了起来。 它从里面被撕开了，一个自动售货机

lies smashed on the ground, and everything smells like soda syrup and ham. Neon is moving slow—like each step hurts. His tail is coiled up, pressed back. "Hey, Neon, you okay—" I start to ask, but then he looks at me, eyes wet, and suddenly collapses to the ground. A heavy thud. "Neon!" I cry, and rush over—surprising myself by how worried I am. I run my hand over his curled tail. Neon winces and tries to wriggle away, like me at the doctor, trying to avoid a flu shot. I manage to pull the tail aside—and I see glowing green liquid. It's blood. There are long cuts atop his wing-stubs. That skin is soft, unlike the rest of his shiny hide. The falling streetlight must have sliced them open.

躺在地上，到处都是苏打糖浆和火腿的味道。 霓虹灯移动缓慢，每一步都很疼。 它的尾巴卷起来，向后压着。 “嘿，霓虹，你还好吗——”我开始问，但他看着我，眼睛湿润，突然瘫倒在地。 砰的一声。“霓虹!”我哭了，冲了过去，我惊讶于自己是多么的担心。 我用手抚摸着它卷曲的尾巴。 霓虹畏缩着，试图挣脱，就像我在看医生时，试图避免注射流感疫苗一样。 我设法把尾巴拉到一边——我看到了发光的绿色液体。 它的血。他的翅膀残根上有长长的切口。 那块皮肤很柔软，不像它闪亮的皮毛。 一定是落下来的路灯把它们切开了。

gnarly. Oh buddy. I'll get you fixed up. Promise. It's not the first time I've needed a makeshift bandage during the Monster Apocalypse.... The first week I was stuck alone at Parker Middle School, I sliced my leg bad. Worst part, it wasn't even an injury from something cool and heroic, like dodging a zombie horde. I was trying to butt-surf stairwell banisters near the art room. But the metal snagged my jeans, tore them open, and sent me sprawling.

粗糙的。哦,朋友。我会帮你包扎的。 的承诺。这不是我第一次在怪物天启期间需要临时绷带.... 我一个人在帕克中学的第一个星期，我把腿划伤了。 最糟糕的是，这甚至不是一个很酷很英勇的伤害，比如躲避僵尸群。 我想在美术室附近的楼梯间扶手上撞过去。 但是金属把我的牛仔裤扯破了，把我摔了个四脚朝天。

I made it to the nurse's office—only to discover that Nurse Carol was now Zombie Nurse Carol. She was stomping around the office like some sort of video game mini-boss. But, I was in luck! I found an unwrapped Fruit by the Foot in the waiting area. It made for the perfect bandage, until I woke up at two a.m. in desperate need of a snack.... I learned a valuable lesson: don't use yummy snacks as medical supplies.

我来到护士办公室，却发现护士卡罗尔现在变成了僵尸护士卡罗尔。 她像电子游戏里的小boss一样在办公室里走来走去。 但是，我很幸运！我在等候区发现了一份未包装的水果。 这是完美的绷带，直到我凌晨两点醒来。 迫切需要零食.... 我学到了宝贵的一课：不要用美味的零食作为医疗用品。

"Fear not! I will find something to apply to his wounds!" Johnny Steve says. He gives Neon a gentle little scratch behind his ears, then races off. I look back at Neon and wonder, again, if I'm just absolutely nutso for trying to help a Winged Wretch. I mean, this entire thing could be a trick to lure me to the Wretches. Or worse—to lure me to Thrull. No! I won't believe that! I saved Neon. And he saved me. I'd be at the bottom of that flooded town square—permanently—if it wasn't for Neon. Sure, Neon is destructive. And rough. And stronger than he realizes. But after what we've been through, I just can't believe that he's evil like the other Wretches. Before long I hear Johnny Steve. "I found medical supplies!" he says, hobbling around the corner. "Come see!"

“不要害怕!我要找点东西敷在他的伤口上！”约翰尼·史蒂夫说。 他轻轻地在Neon的耳后抓了一下，然后跑开了。 我回头看了看霓虹，又一次在想，我是不是真的疯了才会去帮助一个带翅膀的坏蛋。 我是说，这整件事都可能是引诱我去可怜人那里的把戏。 或者更糟——引诱我去斯拉尔。 不!我才不信呢！我救了霓虹。 他救了我。如果不是霓虹，我将永远被淹没在城市广场的底部。 当然，氖是破坏性的。 和粗糙。而且比他意识到的还要强大。 但在我们经历了这些之后，我无法相信他和其他可怜虫一样邪恶。 不久我就听到了约翰尼·史蒂夫的声音。 “我找到医疗用品了！”他一瘸一拐地转过拐角说。 “看!”

"WOO-HOO!" Globlet exclaims. "Medical supply party! C'mon, June!" Neon manages to get to his feet while Johnny Steve eagerly races ahead. Two streets over, we find Johnny Steve. I've never seen someone so proud—and so wrong.... Look how weee-stceked this athbu?unce isl Everything we need! Cups, spoons, extra spoons, AND THIS MASSIVE ICE worn bd human Goctors when earing for patients.

“啊!”Globlet声称。 “医疗补给队！”来吧,6月!”氖设法站了起来，约翰尼·史蒂夫急切地跑在前面。 过了两条街，我们找到了约翰尼·史蒂夫。 我从未见过如此骄傲的人，也从未见过如此错误的人.... 看看这个运动有多棒？我们需要的一切！杯子，勺子，额外的勺子，还有这个巨大的冰块，是人类医生在给病人听诊时佩戴的。