Chapter 6

chapter six I'm really hoping that whatever made that pained screaming noise is something kind and friendly, who's only, like, slightly hurt or kinda wounded. Like maybe a baby rabbit who stubbed its toe? Or a hamster with a tummyache? Or a hedgehog who's really nervous about its first day of hedgehog school? Globlet clings tighter to my shoulder. I scramble up an overturned fire truck that's erupting from the ground like some end-ofthe- world Pride Rock. "Ooh," Globlet says. "Fancy view." A distant flicker of light catches my gaze: a flagpole. It's jutting out of a strange, vine- choked forest. I see bits of wood, yellow

我真的希望发出痛苦尖叫的那个人是善良友好的，只是受了点轻伤或有点受伤。 比如一只小兔子磕到了脚趾？ 或者是胃痛的仓鼠？ 还是一只对刺猬学校的第一天感到非常紧张的刺猬？ 地球仪紧紧地贴在我的肩膀上。 我爬上一辆翻倒的消防车，它像世界尽头的骄傲岩石一样从地面喷发出来。 “哦，”Globlet说。“花哨的观点。” 远处一闪一闪的光吸引了我的目光：一根旗杆。 它从一片长满藤蔓的陌生森林中伸出来。 我看到一些木头，黄色的

plastic, flashes of metal. It takes me a second to realize it's not a forest at all, it's a— "Playground!" I say. "YAY! I love playing!" says Globlet. "And I extra love ground!" I pause. "You love... ground?" Globlet shrugs. "Duh." This playground is not one of those swanky new ones where everything is colorful and the ground is squishy. This playground is a sprawling, old, run-down mess of a thing. You could get a splinter just looking at it. "Whatever made that screaming sound," I say, "it's in there. C'mon." "You don't need to say 'c'mon,' I'm on your shoulder. I'm coming on regardless." As we get closer, I see a sign for the playground: WELCOME TO FRIENDSHIP PARK. That makes me chuckle. This is about the least welcoming place ever —and also the least friendly. The crisscrossing

塑料，闪光的金属。 我花了一秒钟才意识到这根本不是森林，这是一个“游乐场！”我说。 “耶!我喜欢玩！”Globlet说。 “而且我特别喜欢地面！”我停了下来。 “你爱…地面吗?”Globlet耸了耸肩。 “咄”。这个操场不是那种时髦的新操场，那里的一切都是五颜六色的，地面很软。 这个操场是一个杂乱、陈旧、破败的地方。 光看一眼就能被刺破。 “不管是什么发出那尖叫的声音，”我说，“它就在里面。 来吧。”“你不需要说‘来吧’，我在你的肩膀上。 无论如何我都要上场。” 当我们走近时，我看到操场的指示牌：欢迎来到友谊公园。 这让我咯咯地笑。这是最不受欢迎的地方，也是最不友好的地方。 纵横交错

walkways, ladders, and beams are all rotting. Vines twist and wind around them. I scramble over a vine-covered fence, then crouch down, trying to be extra inconspicuous. "Okay, we're in," I whisper. "Yes, I know," Globlet says. "Oh. Right. Well... whatever." YEEAAAAIIIEEEE! The scream again. Louder. We're close. There is a rusty slide ahead of us. I quietly scale it, then creep to the edge of the climbing tower. Now we'll be able to see what's what. But when I do see what's what, it makes my stomach do a barrel roll.... "The Rifters," I growl. "And look what else," Globlet says as she stands on her gooey tiptoes. "It's that squirmy creature they were chasing."

人行道、梯子和横梁都腐烂了。 藤蔓缠绕着它们。 我爬过爬满藤蔓的篱笆，蹲下身子，尽量不引人注意。 “好吧，我们进去了，”我低声说。 “是的，我知道，”Globlet说。 “哦。正确的。嗯…不管。” YEEAAAAIIIEEEE !又是一声尖叫。 响亮。我们接近。我们前面有一个生锈的滑梯。 我悄悄地爬上了它，然后爬到攀登塔的边缘。 现在我们就能看清什么是什么了。 但当我真正看到什么是什么时，我的胃会像桶一样翻滚.... “裂谷人。”我咆哮道。“看看还有什么，”Globlet踮着她黏糊糊的脚尖说。 “是他们追逐的那个蠕动的生物。”

"Sit still, ya dumbin'!" one Rifter roars. The Rifter wears oil-splattered spiked armor—and I can almost smell his monstrous stench from here. He lunges forward and jabs with a hooked blade. But the creature rolls and the Rifter stumbles. I whisper, "They're trying to catch it." "DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE?" a loud voice barks. It's the largest of the Rifters—the previously established Boss Rifter. He carries a long

“坐好，你这个笨蛋！”一个裂谷战士吼道。 裂谷人穿着溅满油的尖刺盔甲，我几乎可以从这里闻到他那可怕的恶臭。 他向前扑去，用钩形的刀刃刺人。 但是那个怪物滚了起来，裂谷人跌倒了。 我低声说：“他们想抓住它。” “这里的每件事都要我来做吗？”一个响亮的声音吼道。 它是裂谷族中最大的裂谷族——之前成立的Boss裂谷族。 他带着一个长

polearm, like some sort of other-dimensional dog-catcher. The blur creature inches back, but it's too late— SLAM! The Boss Rifter swings the polearm down, pinning the creature's tail to the ground! Globlet's ready to leap over the side, straight into the Rifters' circle, rubbery fists flying. But I hold her back. "Steady, goo-ball," I say. "We're out-numbered, out-sized, and way out-weaponized." "But Jack would just jump in and save the day!" "Maybe. And then I'd have to jump in and save his bony butt like I do half the time anyway. You and I—we gotta be smart. We gotta be stealthy." "Yesss..." Globlet says, "stealthy." She rubs her tiny hands together like a little evil overlord.

长柄武器，像是某种异次元捕狗器。 模糊的生物后退了几英寸，但为时已晚——砰！Boss Rifter挥动长柄武器，将怪物的尾巴钉在地上！地球仪准备跳过船舷，直接冲进裂谷人的圈子，挥舞着橡胶拳头。 但我阻止了她。“冷静点，乖孩子，”我说。 “我们的数量、规模和武器都远远超过我们。” “但是杰克会跳出来挽救局面！”“也许。 然后我就得跳进去救他那骨瘦如柴的屁股就像我经常做的那样。 你和我，我们得放聪明点。 我们得隐蔽起来。”“——啊……” 地球仪上写着“隐形”她搓着小手，像个邪恶的小霸王。

TAKE THE CREATURE BACK TO CAMP. WE'LL HIT THE ROAD AND BRING IT TO TH TOMORROW. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. "Thrull. That big dude said Thrull! You heard that, right, Globlet??" "I heard it all right," she growls. "And also, those other words that he said." "Globlet, we gotta save this creature. I have zero clue why Thrull wants it, but if I had a post-apocalyptic motto, it would be "DON'T LET THRULL HAVE ANYTHING HE WANTS BECAUSE ANYTHING HE WANTS WILL BE USED FOR EVIL." Globlet thinks for a moment. "My motto would be that 'Dance like no one's watching'

把那怪物带回营地。 我们上路吧，明天再带回来。 这正是我们期待已久的。 “Thrull。那个大家伙说Thrull！你听到了吧，环球球——？”“我没听错，”她咆哮道。 “还有，他说的那些话。” “Globlet，我们得救这个家伙。 我不知道为什么Thrull想要它，但如果我有一个后世界末日的座右铭，那就是“不要让Thrull拥有他想要的任何东西，因为他想要的任何东西都会被用来做坏事。” Globlet想了一会儿。 “我的座右铭是‘像没人看一样跳舞’。”