Chapter 3

chapter three OK, so I'm officially calling that the First Battle of the Skeletons, 'cause it sounds epic and historic. And during that epic and historic battle, Alfred, Lefty, and Glurm proved themselves the zombies most worthy of joining my ZOMBIE SQUAD. And right now, they're the only ones keeping me company, because Quint, Dirk, and June went MIA immediately after our skeleton brawl. Quint and Dirk left to work on "Project Day-Glo," though they won't spill the beans on what it is. And—not gonna lie—that's super frustrating for a person like me, who likes to know what his buddies are doing at all times because that's the type of thing buddies should know! And June ran off with Globlet and Biggun to fortify the town's defenses, now that we know Thrull's soldiers are within striking distance.

好吧，所以我正式称之为第一次骷髅之战，因为它听起来像史诗一样具有历史意义。 在那场史诗般的历史性战斗中，阿尔弗雷德、阿左和格鲁姆证明了自己是最值得加入我的僵尸小队的僵尸。 现在，他们是唯一陪伴我的人，因为昆特、德克和琼在我们的骷髅争吵之后立即失踪了。 昆特和德克离开后开始了《日光计划》（Project Day-Glo），不过他们不愿透露具体内容。 不瞒你说，这对像我这样的人来说太令人沮丧了，我喜欢随时知道他的朋友在做什么，因为这是朋友应该知道的事情！琼带着Globlet和Biggun跑去加固城镇的防御工事了，现在我们知道Thrull的士兵已经在攻击范围之内了。

Which leaves me and my zombies for a skeleton battle debrief. Sure, we were victorious, but I gotta be sure they know who's in charge. Every battle is a battle of inches. An ear-shattering SHRIEK interrupts my dramatic speech. I shove my head out the window: it's Phyllis, the pelican-monster who

那我和我的僵尸们就只剩下骷髅战斗汇报了。 没错，我们赢了，但我得确保他们知道谁是老大。 每一场战斗都是英寸的战斗。 一声震耳欲聋的尖叫打断了我戏剧性的演讲。 我把头伸出窗外，原来是菲利斯，那个鹈鹕怪物

keeps watch on the town wall. This is a big deal: a Phyllis shriek is the signal that someone —or something—is approaching town. "Uhh—talk amongst yourselves, zombie buds!" I say, and I send them shambling away.— Moments later, I'm at the edge of the Town Square, squeezing my way through the gathering monster crowd. I find June up front, peering through binoculars. Globlet is perched on her shoulder. "What is it?" I ask excitedly. "Bad guys? Good guys? Average guys?" June lowers the binoculars—and I see that her eyes are wet with joy. "It's Skaelka!" she says. "She better have brought me a snow globe," Globlet chirps. "She promised!" I grin. Skaelka's return is a huge relief. We've all been on edge since she ventured out in search of information about the Outpost. Skaelka's riding her Carapace like a horse down Main Street. She bobs and sways in the

守卫着城墙。 这是件大事：菲利斯的尖叫是某人或某物接近城镇的信号。 “僵尸朋友们，你们自己说吧！”我一说，就打发他们蹒跚而去。-片刻之后，我来到了城镇广场的边缘，从聚集的怪物人群中挤出一条路来。 我发现琼坐在前面，正通过双筒望远镜往外看。 地球仪栖息在她的肩膀上。 “什么事？”我兴奋地问。 “坏家伙?好人吗?平均的家伙?”琼放下望远镜，我看到她的眼睛因喜悦而湿润。 “是斯卡卡！”她说。“她最好给我带了一个雪花玻璃球，”环球球叽叽喳喳地说。 “她答应!”我咧着嘴笑。斯卡卡的回归让我松了一口气。 自从她冒险去寻找前哨站的信息后我们都很紧张。 斯卡卡骑着她的甲壳像马一样穿过大街。 她在房间里上下摇摆

car's saddle seat. A hood covers her head. Her ax glints in the bright afternoon sun. The Carapace scuttles slowly down the road, claws stabbing the ground awkwardly, like one of those dogs wearing shoes. I realize that the Carapace is hurt. Its outer shell—the car—must have gotten torn off in battle, and one broken cannon trails limply off the back of its body. "Looks like they saw some action out there," I say grimly.

汽车的鞍座。头巾遮住了她的头。 她的斧头在灿烂的午后阳光下闪闪发光。 甲壳在路上慢慢地窜来窜去，爪子笨拙地戳着地面，就像一只穿着鞋子的狗。 我意识到甲壳受伤了。 它的外壳——汽车——一定是在战斗中被撕掉了，一门破碎的大炮在它的身体后面软弱无力地拖着。 “看起来他们看到了一些行动，”我冷酷地说。

"YOU'RE BACK!" June shouts as Skaelka brings the Carapace to a stop. Skaelka's barely out of the saddle and June's launching a full-blown interrogation. "Where have you been?? What did you find out?? What took you so long?" "And did you find an Arbys?!" Globlet demands. "Was it true? DID they have the meats?" Skaelka's silent. She pats the Carapace, and the creature hobbles off toward its sleeping hole, where it'll nap until needed again. Skaelka removes her hood—and that's when I see that her Carapace isn't the only one with battle scars. Her skin is horribly sun-beaten and marked with cuts and raw bruises. Her armor is dented, her sash is torn, and her lucky Dozer- whacking cudgel is gunk-splattered. "Yeep," Globlet says. "You look crummy." Normally, Skaelka would punt Globlet for a crack like that. But not now. I see none of that usual frenetic Skaelka energy we've come to know and love and—on occasion—fear.

“你回来了!”当斯卡卡把“甲壳”停下来时，琼喊道。 斯卡卡才刚刚下台琼就开始全面审讯了。 “你上哪儿去了？”你发现了什么？ 你怎么花了这么长时间？”“你找到阿比了吗？！”Globlet要求。 “是真的吗？”他们有肉吃吗？”Skaelka的沉默。 她拍了拍它的甲壳，然后它就一瘸一拐地走向它的睡眠洞，在那里它会小睡一会儿，直到再次需要它的时候。 Skaelka摘下了她的兜帽——这时我才发现她的甲壳上并不是唯一有战斗伤疤的。 她的皮肤被太阳晒得很厉害，到处都是割伤和擦伤。 她的盔甲凹陷了，腰带撕裂了，她的幸运的推土机打击棒溅了一地。 “是啊，”Globlet说。“你看起来很糟糕。” 通常情况下，斯卡卡会把Globlet踢出局。 但不是现在。我没有看到我们所熟悉和喜爱的那种斯卡卡式的狂热能量，有时还会感到恐惧。