Chapter 23

chapter twenty-three Take it, take it, NO. Dirk inches backward, still cradling Drooler. June has her non-Blasty arm on Dirk's wrist, stopping him from handing the creature to the looming Gargantulax. "Guys!" I shout. "Behind you!" They spin around, expecting danger. "Sorry! I meant 'behind you' in a good way!"

第二十三章拿去，拿去，不。 德克后退了几步，仍然抱着流口水。 琼把她的非爆炸手臂放在德克的手腕上，阻止他把这个生物交给若隐若现的巨兽。 “男人!”我喊。“你后面!”它们转来转去，以为会有危险。 “对不起!我的意思是‘在你后面’，意思是好的！”

"WHAT?" Dirk barks. But June sees what I see. The mouth of Double Trouble Dynamo: the slide is their only possible escape route. I grip the Slicer tight, about to rush forward and slam it into the Gargantulax. It should be distraction enough to allow for a daring Dirk and June getaway. But then there is an unmistakable roar, so loud that it rattles my bones. A screech so awful that it twists my insides: Thrull. I whirl around. Thrull's roar comes from the mouth of Blargus, atop the Bone Colossus— and they are nearly upon us....

“什么?”德克吠叫。但琼看到了我看到的。 双麻烦发电机口：滑梯是他们唯一可能的逃生路线。 我紧紧抓住切片机，准备冲上去把它砸向巨兽。 这应该足以分散他们的注意力，让德克和琼大胆地逃跑。 但接着是一声明确无误的吼声，声音如此之大，震得我骨头发抖。 一声可怕的尖叫，让我的内心扭曲：瑟瑟发抖。 我旋转着。Thrull的咆哮来自Blargus的嘴，在骨巨像的顶端-他们几乎在我们....

We should have stayed home With the next step, skeletons begin leaping off—hurling themselves toward the slide's deck. They're like rats abandoning a sinking ship— only they are the ship. Many of them miss, smacking into the railing or the stairs and then falling. Others land on the deck but quickly collapse as the Ultra-Slime melts their vines. But they keep coming, tumbling lifeless to the deck and sinking into the slime. More and more follow, until the deck is carpeted in bone.

我们应该呆在家里的下一步，骷髅开始跳起来，向滑梯的甲板投掷。 他们就像老鼠抛弃一艘正在沉没的船——只不过他们是船。 很多都没有击中，撞到栏杆或楼梯上，然后掉了下来。 其他的则降落在甲板上，但很快就倒下了，因为超级黏液融化了他们的藤蔓。 但它们不断涌来，毫无生气地翻滚到甲板上，沉入泥浆中。 越来越多的人跟着，直到甲板上铺满了骨头。

"Uh-oh," I say as I realize what they're doing. "Yep," Quint says. "Next wave will be able to march right over the backs of their bone- buddies." More fling off the pyramid. This wave marches directly across the backs of their fallen comrades. "Up and at 'em, guys!" I shout. "We got company!" I swing the Slicer, and the nearest skeleton dunks into the Ultra-Slime like a fry in a milk shake. Quint snaps his staff out—two skeleton soldiers drop to their knee bones. The air soon reeks of burning plant. "DIRK! JUNE!" I holler. "WE GOTTA GO BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" Then I hear it—and I realize it may be too late already. It's Thrull, whispering my name: "Jaaaaaaaack..." I spin around. Blargus's massive, spindly hand is there, reaching for the railing. Skeletons sprint along his wrist, then bound onto the deck. But they stream past Quint and me.

当我意识到他们在做什么时，我说：“哦哦。” “是的，”昆特说。“下一波将能够从他们的骨头伙伴的背上走过去。” 更多的人离开金字塔。 这股浪潮直接穿过他们倒下的战友的后背。 “起来，伙计们！”我喊。 “有人来了！”我挥动切片机，离我最近的骷髅就像薯条泡在奶昔里一样泡进了超级黏液里。 昆特猛地拔出他的手杖——两名骷髅士兵倒地到膝盖骨处。 空气中很快就弥漫着植物燃烧的气味。 “德克!6月!”我大声叫喊。“我们得赶紧走，不然就太迟了！”然后我听到了——我意识到可能已经太迟了。 是Thrull，低声说着我的名字：“Jaaaaaaaack……” 我旋转。布拉格斯那只粗大细长的手就在那里，伸向栏杆。 骷髅沿着他的手腕疾驰，然后被绑在甲板上。 但他们从昆特和我身边流过。

"They're trying to kill Drooler!" Quint says, but I barely hear him. Blargus's bony hand opens. He reaches for me. I watch the swirling vines behind his eye sockets tighten, forming two gnarled neon globes. They almost seem to exhibit life, flickering with something like triumph. Our eyes are locked for a sustained, seemingly endless second—and then those same eyes flash with surprise. And then fury. His bone-fingertips scrape the railing. Wood cracks. Splinters fill the air and splash the slimy ground. He didn't make it.... He won't reach us.... He's falling, falling, falling....

“他们想杀流口水！”昆特说，但我几乎听不见。 布拉格斯瘦骨嶙峋的手张开了。 他伸手去抓我。我看着他眼窝后面旋转的藤蔓越来越紧，形成了两个粗糙的霓虹灯。 它们几乎像是在展示生命，闪烁着胜利的光芒。 我们的眼睛被锁定了一秒钟，似乎没有尽头，然后同样的眼睛闪烁着惊讶。 然后是愤怒。他的指尖擦到了栏杆。 木头的裂缝。碎片弥漫在空气中，溅在泥泞的地面上。 他没成功....他找不到我们.... 他在坠落，坠落，坠落....

SCREW I don't get to see him plummet down. Don't get to see him splash into the slime. Because the clang of steel clashing against bone spins me around. Dirk swings the Dagger, deflecting blow after blow from skeletons—all the while cradling Drooler. June is knocked back, back, back— then finally unleashes a furious boom from Blasty's barrel: a dozen skeletons are exploded off the deck.

管他呢，我又不能看他摔下去。 没机会看到他溅到泥里。 因为钢铁撞击骨头的铿锵声让我转了个圈。 德克挥舞着匕首，抵挡来自骷髅的一击又一击——同时还抱着流口水。 琼被打倒了，打倒了，打倒了，打倒了——最后，布拉斯蒂的桶里发出了一声猛烈的巨响：甲板上炸出了十多具骷髅。