Chapter 17

chapter seventeen We follow the Mallusk's path of destruction in silence. But it's not silent enough. Because every few seconds I hear beeping. And it's coming from Evie. Or, more specifically, from Evie's Game Boy. We trudge along the ridgeline, high above the massive canyon left in the Mallusk's wake, and I try to ignore the sounds. But I can't. She's playing Dark Arts Tower Defense and the music is the most annoying. I try to drown out the beeps with noise of my own. I start whistling. And I'm not even good at whistling. And if there was any chance that Evie was just accidentally annoying me, it becomes clear that she is definitely on-purpose annoying me because the louder I kinda-whistle, the louder she turns up the volume on her Game Boy. I think I'm losing my mind. "WILL YOU TURN THAT OFF!" I finally scream. "No," she says flatly, still mashing the buttons. "Walking is the worst, and I need something to distract me." "Then at least play it with the sound down!"

第十七章我们默默地追随马鲁斯克的毁灭之路。 但它还不够安静。 因为每隔几秒钟我就会听到哔哔声。 这是伊薇说的。 或者，更具体地说，来自Evie的Game Boy。 我们沿着山脊线跋涉，在马鲁斯克号身后留下的巨大峡谷之上，我试图忽略那些声音。 但是我不能。她玩的是《黑魔法塔防》，音乐是最烦人的。 我试着用自己的声音盖过哔哔声。 我开始吹口哨。而且我连吹口哨都不擅长。 如果有可能Evie只是无意中惹恼了我，那么很明显她是故意惹恼我的，因为我吹口哨的声音越响，她就把Game Boy的音量调得越高。 我想我快要疯了。 “你能把它关掉吗？”我终于尖叫起来。 “不，”她平静地说，仍然在揉扣子。 “走路是最糟糕的，我需要一些东西来分散我的注意力。” “那至少放小声点吧！”

I can't believe it. I sound like a dad on a long car ride. That is what Evie has done to me. "The sound helps me," she says. I let out a grunt. "Helps you? You need help beating Dark Arts Tower Defense?" In response, she just smacks the console against her hand. "This stupid boss! He's impossible." "Give it to me." I stop walking and hold out my hand. "I've beaten that final boss more times than I can count!" "Hold on a sec," Evie says, looking up from the game. "For real," I say. "Just give it to me, and I'll take care of it." "Seriously," she says. "There's something up ahead...."

我真不敢相信。我的声音听起来像个长途驾车的父亲。 这就是伊薇对我做的。 “这声音对我有帮助，”她说。 我哼了一声。“帮你? 你需要帮助打败黑魔法塔防系统吗？”作为回应，她只是用手拍了拍控制台。 “这个愚蠢的老板！他是不可能的。” “把它给我。”我停下脚步，伸出手。 “我打败最后一个boss的次数我都数不清了！”“等一下，”艾薇说，从游戏中抬起头来。 “说真的，”我说。“把它给我，我来处理。” “说真的，”她说。“前面有东西....”

Do you smell that? It's the smell of evil. Yep, it's a gross smell, right? Evie nods. "The worst." "Finally. Something we can agree on." "Sometimes when Ghazt isn't looking, I spray Febreze," Evie says. I laugh. We both do. Then it's weird and we shut right up. The smell comes from within this train station or the scattered train car graveyard beyond. It was already a mass of wreckage—the path cut by the Mallusk just punctuated it. "Widow's Crossing Train Yard," I say. "Doesn't sound foreboding at all. Probably just—"

你闻到了吗？这是邪恶的味道。 是的，很难闻，对吧？ 艾维点点头。“最坏的情况。”“终于。 我们可以达成一致。” “有时候当Ghazt不注意的时候，我就喷Febreze，”Evie说。 我笑了起来。我们都是。然后很奇怪，我们就闭嘴了。 这种气味来自这个火车站或远处散落的火车车厢墓地。 那已经是一堆残骸了——马鲁斯克号凿出的小路只是点缀了一下。 “寡妇十字火车站，”我说。 听起来一点也不不祥。 可能只是——“

Scccccritch. Scccccritch. The scratching sound shuts me up. We sneak through the station, following the foul odor and strange noise. Coming around an overturned ticket machine, the smell of evil hits me so hard I gag. Neither of us are prepared for the mangled, monstrous mess lying on the train tracks. "It's one of those Mortar Monster things," I whisper. "From the rest stop." One wounded claw is scraping the ground, making a nails-on-chalkboard noise. It seems to be on its last legs. Which means it must have been dying for a while, 'cause it has a lot of legs. Up close, it's even clearer that the Mortar Monster and the Pilot-Thing are a single entity. Conjoined. What

Scccccritch。Scccccritch。刮擦声把我关了起来。 我们跟着恶臭和奇怪的噪音偷偷地穿过车站。 经过一台翻倒的售票机，邪恶的气味扑鼻而来，让我窒息。 我们俩都没料到铁轨上躺着一堆乱七八糟的东西。 “这是迫击炮怪物的东西，”我低声说。 “在休息站。”一只受伤的爪子刮着地面，发出指甲敲黑板的声音。 它似乎奄奄一息了。 这意味着它肯定已经死了一段时间了，因为它有很多腿。 近距离观察，更清楚的是迫击炮怪物和飞行员是一个实体。 结合。什么

happens to one happens to the other. They feel the same pain. And they're both feeling it bad now... Must have been caught beneath the Mallusk during the escape, I say softly. Dragged for miles before being spit out here. Mallusk roadkill, Evie says with a shrug. Sccc-Scccc-Sccriiiiitch. I watch the Pilot-Things taloned hand claw at the ground. It's trying to say something, but its voice is all gurgled and wet. MEECQ-$ZZK The Pilot-Thing wheezes and its head lifts. I follow its foggy, heavy-lidded eyes and realize it's checking out the Slicer. Sorry, buddy, I say, placing a protective hand around my Slicer. This ain't for you. The Pilot-Thing's cavernous mouth twists up into a strange, shifty smile. It speaks-and its voice is like something pulled from nightmares. It's the voice that beckons from beneath the bed after the lights go out.

发生在一个人身上，也会发生在另一个人身上。 他们感到同样的痛苦。他们现在都感觉很糟糕…… 一定是在逃跑的时候被困在马卢斯克号下面的，我轻声说。 拖了好几英里才被扔到这里。 “马路上的死鹿，”艾薇耸耸肩说。 Sccc-Scccc-Sccriiiiitch。我看着飞行员用爪子抓着地面。 它想说点什么，但它的声音全是湿漉漉的汩汩声。 MEECQ-飞行员发出喘息声，抬起头。 我顺着它雾蒙蒙、眼皮沉重的眼睛，意识到它正在检查切片机。 “对不起，伙计，”我说着，用手保护着我的切片机。 这不是给你的。Pilot-Thing的大嘴巴扭曲成一个奇怪的、狡猾的微笑。 它会说话——它的声音就像从噩梦中拉出来的东西。 它是灯熄灭后从床底下召唤的声音。

KEEP BRAS CAMP. Can't places to be? YES, must catch up to the Massac. The Pilot-Thing continues hissing. "YESSSS. REACH THE M...SQ.... I HOPE YOU DO. WE HOPE YOU DO." "What's this thing playing at?" Evie asks. I'm not sure. But there is some part of me that must know; some part of me that won't leave without hearing what the creature has to say. "YOU THINK YOU ARE SAFE ABOARD THAT CREATURE, YESSSS?" the Pilot-Thing rasps in pain.

保持内衣营。没有地方可去吗？ 是的，必须赶上马萨克。 飞行员继续发出嘶嘶声。 “太。到达m…sq .... 我希望你能。我们希望你能做到。” “这东西在玩什么？”艾维问道。 我不确定。但我心里有一部分必须知道；我内心的某个部分，不听那怪物的话是不会离开的。 “你认为你在那家伙身上是安全的吗，是吗？”领航员痛苦地说。