Chapter 23

chapter twenty-three But things aren't all bad. Inside, the mall is empty of Mallusk City citizens. Evacuating thousands of monsters is no small feat, but the new mayor seems to be managing it. "Johnny Steve!" June barks into her walkie-talkie. "Are you out of the mall yet?" "Progress is being made!" Johnny Steve chirps. "We are atop the carapaces now and winding our way through the parking garage." "Hey, friends," Quint says. "By my estimation, we have roughly nineteen seconds until the big bad arrives... Let's make 'em count!" Quint's estimation is good. I count twenty-two seconds—twenty-two seconds later that Thrull, atop the Bone Howler, charges into the mall. I watch, hidden, as the Howler lands with two tons of terrifying force, hitting the ground like some sort of malevolent monster truck. The mall quakes. Bits of ceiling fall. An escalator crumbles.

但事情也不全是坏事。 在商场里面，没有马卢斯克市的市民。 疏散成千上万的怪物是一项不小的壮举，但新任市长似乎正在处理这件事。 “约翰尼史蒂夫!”琼对着她的对讲机大声叫唤。 “你出商场了吗？”“正在取得进展！”约翰尼·史蒂夫啾啾。 “我们现在在甲壳上，蜿蜒穿过停车场。” “嘿，朋友们，”昆特说。 “据我估计，离大坏蛋到来大约还有19秒…… 让我们发挥作用吧！”昆特的估计是好的。 我数了二十二秒——二十二秒后，Thrull骑在骨吼车上冲进了商场。 我躲在暗处，看着咆哮者带着两吨可怕的力量降落，像某种恶毒的怪物卡车一样撞向地面。 商场在震动。天花板的碎片掉了下来。 一辆自动扶梯坍塌了。

Thrull, atop the beast, scans the area. He oozes nothing but calm—but man, how I want to make him ooze something else. (His insides!) "Cowards—" Thrull starts to say, before he hears the glass shattering above him— crash. LOOT DAY has come EAPLY The Loot Globe splits open, showering Thrull and his steed in Ultra-Slime. The Bone Howler recoils, shaking off burning vines. Thrull rips a smoldering vine clump from his shoulder.

Thrull骑在兽背上，扫描这片区域。 除了冷静，他什么都不表现出来——但是天啊，我多想让他表现出别的东西啊。 (他的内脏!)“胆小鬼——”瑟鲁刚要开口说，就听见头顶上的玻璃碎了。 战利品的日子来了。战利品的地球裂开了，瑟鲁和他的战马在超级黏液中沐浴。 骨吼者后退，抖掉燃烧的藤蔓。 瑟伦从他肩上扯下一丛闷烧的藤蔓。

"Alfred, Lefty, Glurm—now!" I shout, swinging my slicer. My Zombie Squad bursts out from behind Auntie Anne's! Alfred jams his long umbrella into the Bone Howler, staggering the beast. Glurm and Lefty are about to plant their weapons in Thrull when his bone-whip snaps, and— You'll pay for that, I think as Quint and I make it back down to the bottom level, meeting Dirk and June. Just then, June's walkie-talkie hisses and Johnny Steve announces, "The first carapaces are now exiting the parking garage!"

“阿尔弗雷德，阿左，格伦——快！”我喊道，挥动着我的切片机。 我的僵尸小队从安妮阿姨的后面冲了出来！阿尔弗雷德把他的长伞塞进了骨吼兽，使它摇摇欲坠。 格鲁姆和阿左正准备把他们的武器放在瑟鲁身上，这时他的骨鞭突然折断了，我想，你会为此付出代价的，因为我和昆特回到了最底层，见到了德克和琼。 就在这时，琼的对讲机发出嘶嘶声，约翰尼·史蒂夫宣布：“第一批甲壳现在正在驶出停车场！”

Thrull glances at the walkie in June's hand. "Uh-oh," I say. "Yeah, probably not good that Thrull heard that," June agrees. Thrull climbs down from the Bone Howler and says two words in the language of Rezzoch oesa Uzqul..." The Bone Howler barks in response to his master's command, then stomps outside and takes off at a gallop, headed for the rear of the mall. "It's going for Johnny Steve," I say. "And the monsters. I glance at my friends. "We'll head off the Bone Howler," Dirk says. Quint flicks a switch on his conjurer's cane. "We will keep them safe. This will keep them safe." I shoot Quint a look. He shoots it back. Both of us...

Thrull瞥了一眼June手里的对讲机。 “哦哦，”我说。“是啊，Thrull听到这些可能不太好，”June表示赞同。 Thrull从咆哮号上爬下来，用Rezzoch oesa Uzqul的语言说了两个字……” “骨吼”在主人的命令下狂吠，然后踏出门外，疾驰而去，奔向商场的后面。 “这是约翰尼·史蒂夫的作品，”我说。 “还有那些怪物。我瞥了我的朋友们一眼。 “我们要阻止骨吼。”德克说。 昆特拨动了魔术师手杖上的开关。 “我们会保证他们的安全。这将保证他们的安全。” 我看了昆特一眼。他把球打了回去。 我们俩……

Best friend. eye beam stare with extra gravitas JACK'S EYE BEAM: Watch yourself, buddy! *QUINT'S EYE BEAM: Be careful, friend! And then Quint and Dirk are off, racing for the parking garage's exit. June looks my way. "Hey, Jack, I'm sorry, but... I didn't hang around that weird kiosk as much as everyone else. So... is Quint a wizard now? Is that what's happened here?" "No, no, don't be ridiculous," I say. "He's just an intern. Thoroughly unpaid." June hmms then nods. "All right, then." WAKKT!

最好的朋友。杰克的眼神：小心点，伙计！*昆特的光束：小心点，朋友！然后昆特和德克出发了，冲向停车场的出口。 琼朝我这边看了看。“嘿，杰克，我很抱歉，但是…… 我不像其他人那样经常在那个奇怪的售货亭附近闲逛。 所以…昆特现在是巫师了吗？ 这就是这里发生的事吗？”“不，不，别傻了，”我说。 “他只是个实习生。彻底的无薪。” 六月嗯，然后点头。“那好吧。” WAKKT !

Thrull's bone-whip cracks, slicing through the floor of the mall. The Mallusk shudders. So it's me and June—versus Thrull. And, in the distance, more of Thrull's soldiers approaching. I raise the Slicer. June readies Blasty. "We got this, right?" I ask. "Totally," she says while shaking her head, 'no.' But then, the monorail... I hear it before I see it. And when I do it see it, it's too late... The boy has taken my power, but I can still take yours. Who grabbed Thrull's bone-whip coils around me, yanking me off my feet! The sudden jerk of the monorail causes the Slicer to slip from my hand. Thrull's bone-whip jerks

瑟鲁的骨鞭裂开了，划破了商场的地板。 Mallusk战栗。所以这是我和june对Thrull。 而且，在远处，更多的瑟鲁尔的士兵正在靠近。 我举起切片机。六月准备好了。 “我们能行，对吧？”我问。 “当然，”她摇着头说，“不。”但是，单轨火车…… 我是先听后看。 当我看到的时候，已经太迟了…… 那男孩夺走了我的能力，但我还能夺走你的。 是谁抓住瑟鲁缠在我身上的骨鞭，把我拽了下来！单轨的突然震动使切片机从我手中滑落。 Thrull的骨鞭抽搐