Chapter 20

chapter twenty We march back to the wounded Mallusk, passing the Howler's broken body on the way. Yursl sags against the Mallusk's hide, looking like she just ran thirty-eight half-marathons. Or nineteen full ones, even. Her skin is nearly see-through as she raises her head to look at Quint. "The Howler is dead. The Mallusk is free. But, it will be a long time before I can summon power like that again. I've passed you the ball... You must sink the shot." "Thank you, Yursl," Quint says. Yursl summons just enough strength to throw an arm around Quint. "You now have all you need to do what must be done," she says. "And we will get it done," I say, sounding way more confident than I feel. We leave Yursl to rest and enter the mall— a mall that feels very different than the one I tumbled off nine hours earlier. What I see is a world under Ghazt's rule. And it's mean and scary. It reminds me of the Pride Lands at the

第二十章我们向受伤的马卢斯克走去，途中经过了吼叫者的尸体。 尤尔斯伏在马鹿的皮囊上，看起来像是刚跑了三十八场半程马拉松。 甚至19个完整的1。 当她抬起头看着昆特时，她的皮肤几乎是透明的。 “吼叫信死了。Mallusk号自由了。 但是，我需要很长时间才能再次召唤出那样的力量。 我已经把球传给你了…… 你必须投下去。”“谢谢你，老师，”昆特说。 尤尔斯召唤出足够的力量搂住昆特。 她说：“你现在有了做必须做的事情所需要的一切。” “我们会完成的，”我说，听起来比我自己自信得多。 我们离开尤尔斯尔休息，进入购物中心——这个购物中心与我9个小时前从那里摔下来的感觉大不相同。 我看到的是Ghazt统治下的世界。 这是卑鄙和可怕的。这让我想起了骄傲之地

end of The Lion King, when Simba returns and Scar has been an unstoppable overlord for years. Also, it's just annoying. All our rad campaign signs have been torn down or covered up. In the hours since I was gone, Ghazt must have gone wild at Sir Prints-A-Lot, because the mall is plastered with really tacky photos of the big guy baring his teeth in what I guess is supposed to be a smile but actually looks like the "before" photo for some supercharged cavity-cleaning service. June shakes her head. "What a cheeseball..." VOTE FOR YOUR prefactor paid for by the Gus 4 mayor pack.

《狮子王》的结尾，辛巴回归，刀疤多年来一直是不可阻挡的霸主。 而且，这很烦人。我们所有的竞选标语都被撕掉或盖起来了。 在我离开后的几个小时里，Ghazt一定在Sir printing - a - lot发疯了，因为商场里贴满了这个大家伙露出牙齿的照片，我猜他应该是在微笑，但实际上看起来像是某个超级清洁服务的“之前”照片。 琼摇了摇头。“真是个奶酪球……” 投票给你的前任由格斯4市长包支付。

I shoot a glance at Evie, who shrugs. "Wasn't part of my campaign strategy. Still—they're cool photos." The first floor is empty of monsters—except for Smud. He's at the Victory Geyser, which looms ahead, with one hand on the lever. "Things are going to start happening fast now," Quint says. He grips his conjurer's cane tight. Smud pulls the lever and the floor rumbles as the geyser powers up. I walk quicker, taking the escalator stairs three at a time. Ghazt stalks back and forth at the edge of his Food Court headquarters. "No orderly lines!" he barks. "No one cares about orderly lines! Just vote!" Thousands of monsters are pushed up against the clear plastic railings that overlook the main rotunda and the stage. They are just moments away from throwing their ballot balls into the Victory Geyser. Each monster grips two ballot balls. On one, a hand-drawn rat. On the other, a hand-drawn me. "Throw your ballots in now!" Ghazt orders. "Anyone who delays will be thrown in next." Smud calls up, "But sir, the Victory Geyser is not quite—"

我瞥了艾薇一眼，她耸了耸肩。 这不是我竞选策略的一部分。 不过，它们还是很酷的照片。” 一楼没有怪物——除了斯慕德。 他在胜利间歇泉前，一只手放在杠杆上。 昆特说：“现在事情将开始快速发展。” 他紧紧握住魔术师的手杖。 Smud拉动杠杆，随着间歇泉通电，地板发出隆隆声。 我走得更快了，一次爬三层扶梯。 Ghazt在他的美食广场总部的边缘来回踱步。 “没有整齐的队伍！”他咆哮道。 “没人在乎排队的顺序！”只是投票!”成千上万的怪物被推到透明的塑料栏杆上，俯瞰着圆形大厅和舞台。 他们马上就要把选票扔进胜利间歇泉了。 每个怪物抓着两个投票球。 一面是手绘的老鼠。另一边是手绘的我。 “现在把选票投进去！”Ghazt订单。 “任何拖延的人都会被扔进下一个。” 斯慕德喊道：“可是先生，胜利间歇泉还没有完全——”

The monsters freeze. I push my way to the third level railing, directly across from Ghazt. Nearby monsters step back, giving me and my friends space. From above and below, monsters peer over the railing, trying to see what's happening. Down on the ground level, Smud shrieks. His skates go out from under him and he flops on his butt. "Ahh! That kid is back from the dead! He's a zombie! Quick, Ghazt—control him with your controlling powers!" June groans. "He can't do that anymore, remember? Pay attention, Smud." "No, YOU pay attention!" Smud shouts.

怪物们冻住了。我挤到第三层的栏杆上，正对着Ghazt。 附近的怪物退后，给我和我的朋友空间。 从上面和下面，怪物从栏杆上窥视，试图看看发生了什么。 在地面上，Smud尖叫着。 他的冰鞋从他身下滑了出来，他扑倒在地。 “啊!那孩子死而复生了！他是僵尸！快，加兹——用你的控制能力控制他！”6月叹息。 “他不能再那样做了，记得吗？” 注意听，斯穆德。”“不，你要注意听！”Smud喊道。

"I am." "Well, good," Smud says. "Carry on, then." "I'm trying," June sighs. "ENOUGH!" Ghazt slaps the railing and glares at me. "I thought I was done with you, Jack..." I feel the monsters watching me. They look overwhelmed. Understandable: in the past few hours, a lot has happened—culminating in their home doing a faceplant into the ground and a human kid with a baseball-bat sword marching in like some wannabe-king returning from the dead to claim his rightful throne. Man, I am so Simba right now. "Before you vote," I say, "you're getting a closing statement. From me, Jack Sullivan, candidate for mayor and totally not-dead kid." I grip the railing and take a deep breath. "You need to know who and what you're voting for, exactly. Ghazt told you it was safety. But there is no safety. The Howler was delivering the Mallusk to the Tower... to Thrull. The Howler is dead now, but Thrull knows everything. And he's coming." The monsters gasp. Then erupt—

“我是。”“嗯，很好，”斯穆德说。 “那就继续吧。”“我在努力，”琼叹了口气。 “够了!”Ghazt拍了拍栏杆，怒视着我。 “我以为我和你玩完了，杰克……” 我感觉有怪物在看着我。 他们看起来不知所措。可以理解：在过去的几个小时里，发生了很多事情——最终他们的家在地上做了一个鬼脸，一个拿着棒球棒剑的人类孩子大步走进来，就像某个想要成为国王的人死里复生，要求他合法的王位。 伙计，我现在太像辛巴了。 “在你投票之前，”我说，“你会得到一个结案陈词。 我，杰克·沙利文，市长候选人，一个死里逃生的孩子" 我抓住栏杆，深吸一口气。 “你需要确切地知道你在投票给谁和什么。 Ghazt告诉你这是安全的。 但是没有安全可言。吼叫者正在把马鹿斯克送到塔楼…… Thrull。咆哮者已经死了，但瑟鲁什么都知道。 他就要来了。”怪物们喘着气。 然后爆发,

June steps to the railing beside me. "We've told you the truth all along!" I gulp. I don't want to do this. Not one bit. But these monsters deserve honesty. The lies have to end. "No..." I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "We haven't told you the truth. Not all of it." "Huh," Evie mutters. "Didn't see that coming." "Jack," June starts. "What are you—" "I didn't know it..." I continue. "But I left out something big: I'm the reason you're all in danger. It's

琼走到我身边的栏杆旁。 “我们一直对你说的都是实话！”我吞咽。 我不想这么做。一点也不。 但这些怪物应该得到诚实。 谎言必须结束。“不……” 我说，努力让自己的声音保持稳定。 “我们没有告诉你真相。 不是全部。”“嗯，”伊薇喃喃地说。 “没想到会这样。”“杰克，”琼开始说。 “你在干什么——”“我不知道……” 我继续。“但我漏掉了一件大事：我是你们所有人处于危险之中的原因。 这是