Chapter 8

chapter eight It could be dangerous. I know it could bite or spit poison or say mean. Jump behind your back. Which is the MOST dangerous? The creature's scaly skin shimmers in the afternoon sunlight. It has short, sharp talons that scrape at the ground. Its long, spiky tail swings slowly. And this look on its face—in its

这可能很危险。 我知道它会咬人，会吐毒，会说刻薄的话。 跳到你背后。哪个是最危险的？ 这种生物鳞状的皮肤在午后的阳光下闪闪发光。 它有短而锋利的爪子，可以刮地面。 它又长又尖的尾巴慢慢地摆动。 它脸上的表情——它的

eyes—it reminds me of something I've seen before. But I don't have time to think about that—I hear stomping and cracking in the distance. The Rifters and Ogres will soon be back. I take a slow step forward. I don't want to get attacked by a creature who could easily claw me to death. But I also can't let the Rifters deliver this creature to Thrull. If I do that, I'm basically just serving him our surrender on a silver platter....

眼睛——它让我想起了我以前见过的东西。 但我没有时间去想这些——我听到远处有咚咚声和噼啪声。 裂谷人和食人魔很快就会回来。 我慢慢地向前走了一步。 我不想被一个能轻易把我抓死的生物攻击。 但我也不能让裂谷人把这个生物交给瑟鲁。 如果我那样做，我基本上就是把我们的投降放在银盘上....

I swallow—and I inch closer. I see nothing evil or cruel behind the creature's blinking eyes. In fact, the blur-creature's confused, frightened face reminds me of something else entirely: the Wakefield Hound. Okay, so, quick aside.

我吞下了口水，慢慢靠近。 我看不出那怪物眨着眼睛的背后有什么邪恶或残忍。 事实上，这个模糊生物困惑、恐惧的脸让我完全想起了别的东西：韦克菲尔德猎犬。 好了，先说句题外话。

The Wakefield Hound was our school mascot. But instead of stuffing some teacher into a big ol' dog costume, our genius gym coach decided to use his real-life, actual dog: Mr. Peppers the chihuahua. "For authenticity!" he said. Well, guess what? Mr. Peppers hated it! Every time they jammed that poor fella into that costume, he'd freak, and then this would happen— was a man eating junkyard beast.

韦克菲尔德猎犬是我们学校的吉祥物。 但我们的天才体育教练没有让某个老师穿上大狗服，而是决定用他真实的狗狗：吉娃娃Mr. Peppers。 “为了真实！”他说。 你猜怎么着？辣椒先生讨厌它！每次他们把那个可怜的家伙塞进那套戏服，他就会发疯，然后就会发生这样的事——一个人在吃垃圾场里的野兽。

But I had a hunch that little pup was no man-eater. It was bunk. So, naturally—as a reporter—I wrote a story about it. The headline was a doozy— BARKING NEWS! MR. PEPPERS ISN'T MEAN, HE'S JUST PAWS-ITIVELY MISERABLE! The story was a sensation! Everyone stopped trying to stuff him into a costume, and he went back to being a friendly, happy dog. What I'm saying is, sometimes being scared and being hurt makes you act like you're mean. Maybe that's the case with this creature. "Hey," I say, inching closer. "I'm just gonna free you, okay? Then you go your way, and I'll go mine. And you don't let them find you

但我有一种预感，那只小狗不会吃人。 这是胡扯。所以，作为一名记者，我很自然地写了一篇关于它的报道。 标题是一个醒目的标题——“狗吠新闻”！先生。 小辣椒不是刻薄的，他只是有爪子的可怜！这个故事轰动一时！每个人都不再试图给他穿上戏服，他又变回了一只友好、快乐的狗。 我想说的是，有时候害怕和受伤会让你表现得很刻薄。 也许这就是这种生物的情况。 “嘿，”我说，慢慢靠近。 “我要放了你，好吗？” 那你走你的路，我走我的。 别让他们找到你

again, cool? 'Cause you don't want any Thrull in your life—trust me." I stand over the creature and grab the polearm, careful not to get too close. I twist and turn, trying to wrench it out of the ground, feeling like a post-apocalyptic King Arthur. It loosens. An inch. Two inches. The creature is able to move now—but just barely. As I twist again, the creature strains and manages to look back at me. That's when the weird thing happens—the weirdest thing in a day full of weird things. As it stares into my eyes, there's a sudden— KA-SKAK! Like radio static....

再次,酷吗?因为你不想让斯拉尔出现在你的生活中——相信我。” 我站在那怪物旁边，抓起长柄武器，小心翼翼地不让自己靠得太近。 我扭来扭去，试图把它从地上扳出来，感觉自己就像一个后世界末日的亚瑟王。 它放松。一英寸。两英寸。 这种生物现在能够移动了，但只是勉强移动。 当我再次扭动身体时，那个生物绷紧了身体，设法回头看了看我。 这就是奇怪的事情发生的时候——在充满奇怪事情的一天里最奇怪的事情。 当它凝视着我的眼睛时，突然，咔-咔！比如无线电静电....