Chapter 16

chapter sixteen No, no, no, no. Skaelka's scream is a high-pitched, horrifying howl of agony! She throws up her arms, hiding her face, like she's physically shielding herself from the figure in the projection. "Who is that?" Dirk asks, shivering. The idea that there's a monster out there that could instill this sort

不，不，不，不。 斯卡卡的尖叫是一种尖锐的，可怕的痛苦的嚎叫！她举起双臂，遮住自己的脸，就像她在保护自己不被投影中的人物看到一样。 “那是谁？”德克颤抖着问道。 一想到外面有个怪物能灌输这种

of fear in Skaelka, the greatest warrior he's ever known, turns his blood to ice. Suddenly, the cane wobbles and sways in Quint's hands—toward Skaelka, then back toward Kimmy, like a pendulum. The fear and terror flooding through Skaelka is destabilizing the fragile balance of energy. "Kimmy!" he shouts. "I can't maintain the connection any longer!" Skaelka's jaw clamps shut and her mind seems to burst open! Projected memories are hurtled forth in a frenzied stream of indecipherable images. When the brain-poking began, Dirk was nervous. Now he's fully petrified. "It's gonna be OK, Drooler. I think..." Dirk whispers, turning, putting his body between Drooler and the telepathic action unfolding before them. Quint's fingers are a blur as he desperately tries to steady the energy flow. But too much is happening too quickly—he doesn't know where to direct his attention. Dials begin to spin on their own and the cane emits a piercing, pentrating wail that builds and builds until— "No!" Quint gasps, as the cane is violently wrenched free of his grasp. The projection of Skaelka's mind erupts, ballooning outward, one final image flashing before them...

斯卡卡心中的恐惧，他所知道的最伟大的战士，将他的血液化为冰。 突然，手杖在昆特的手中摇晃着——朝斯卡卡的方向，然后又朝吉米的方向，就像一个钟摆。 弥漫在斯卡卡的恐惧和恐怖正在破坏脆弱的能源平衡。 “吉米！”他喊道。“我再也不能保持这种联系了！”斯卡卡的下巴紧闭，她的思想似乎被炸开了！投射出来的记忆像一股疯狂的、无法辨认的影像流一样奔涌而出。 当戳脑子开始的时候，德克很紧张。 现在他完全僵住了。“会没事的，流口水。 我想……”德克低声说着，转过身来，挡在流口水和展现在他们面前的心灵感应之间。 昆特的手指模糊了，他拼命地试图稳定能量流。 但是太多的事情发生得太快了——他不知道该把注意力放在哪里。 表盘开始自己旋转，手杖发出刺耳的、穿透性的哀号，直到——“不！”昆特喘着气，因为手杖被用力从他手中挣脱。 斯卡卡的心灵投影爆发了，向外膨胀，最后一个画面在他们面前闪烁……

SKLUTCH And then the image evaporates in a cloud of nothing. Gone. Like a TV that's been snapped off by someone's angry dad after lights-out. The air is thick and damp. Almost smoky. "What happened?" Dirk whispers softly. Kimmy's eyes return to normal. "The connection was severed." "I'm sorry!" Quint says, scrambling to retrieve his cane. "I couldn't hold it... I'm not ready for—"

然后图像在一片虚无的云中蒸发。 一去不复返了。就像电视熄灯后被生气的爸爸关了一样。 空气又浓又湿。 几乎烟熏。“发生什么事了?”德克轻声说。 吉米的眼睛恢复了正常。 “连接被切断了。” “对不起!”昆特说着，急忙去拿他的手杖。 “我忍不住了……我还没准备好——”

"Galamelon!" Dirk roars, turning. "Why didn't you try to help? Try to do something?" "Say what now?" Galamelon says, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Dozed off for a second there. Did I miss anything important at the end?" Dirk looks away from Galamelon—it takes every ounce of restraint he has not to scream. He's angry— angrier than he has been in a long, long time. His mind races— This isn't right! We're demanding too much of Quint. No one could do what we're asking him to do —what we've been asking him to do from the start of this. He's a kid, like me. A kid who's good with science. He's not a sorcerer or a wizard, and he can't do the impossible! "Meepity!" Drooler squeaks—and that cools Dirk off, brings him back to the moment. But the moment is only getting worse... A teeth-rattling, earthquake-strength tremor rips through the maze. "Uh, guys," Dirk says, realizing giant-size trouble is approaching. "Feels like a tank battalion is barrelin' toward us..." "The Squanchers must have heard Skaelka's scream," Kimmy says. "And now they're coming." The whole maze feels like it's moving now. The cornstalks sway wildly as the earth roils.

“Galamelon !”德克吼道，转过身来。 “你为什么不试着帮忙呢？” 试着做点什么？”“现在说什么？”加隆说着，坐了起来，揉了揉眼睛。 “在那儿打了一会儿盹。 最后我错过什么重要的东西了吗？”德克把目光从加隆身上移开——他克制住了自己，才没有尖叫。 他很生气——很久很久没有这么生气了。 他的脑子在转-这不对！我们对昆特要求太高了。 没人能做我们要求他做的事-我们从一开始就要求他做的事。 他还是个孩子，跟我一样。一个擅长科学的孩子。 他不是巫师，他不能做不可能的事！“Meepity !”流口水的吱吱声——这让德克冷静下来，把他带回了那一刻。 但情况只会越来越糟…… 一阵震耳欲聋、震耳欲聋的震颤撕裂了迷宫。 “呃，伙计们，”德克说，意识到巨大的麻烦正在逼近。 “感觉就像一个坦克营正向我们冲来……” “Squanchers一定听到了Skaelka的尖叫，”Kimmy说。 “现在他们来了。”整个迷宫现在感觉像是在移动。 大地翻腾，玉米秆狂摇。

It's at that moment that Skaelka's eyes snap open. She raps her knuckles hard against her head, like she's knocking loose old brain dust. She grabs her axe, jams it into the quaking ground, and springs to her feet. "Quint, I thank you," she says. "You did what any ally-in-arms would do: you tried to help." "I tried," Quint says, shaking his head. "And I failed." "NO. You succeeded, friend," Skaelka says, and her ever-present scowl turns to a smile. Quint gasps as he realizes— Way kilka you remember me? You remember us? Yes, there are pieces missing still, but I remember much. I remember Wicker Joe's pizza June. I remember Jack, the blog Slayer. Oh, come'n.

就在那一刻，斯卡卡突然睁开了眼睛。 她用指关节使劲敲着头，就像在敲碎脑中的灰尘。 她拿起斧头，插在颤抖的地上，跳了起来。 “昆特，谢谢你，”她说。 “你做了任何盟友都会做的事：你试图提供帮助。” “我试过了，”昆特摇着头说。 “我失败了。”“没有。你成功了，朋友，”Skaelka说，她一直阴沉的脸变成了微笑。 昆特喘着气，他意识到-你还记得我吗？ 还记得我们吗？是的，有些东西还没找到，但我记得很多。 我记得六月的柳条乔披萨店。 我记得杰克，博客杀手。 哦,来了’。

Suddenly, the earth begins to split. Everyone huddles, eyes up for incoming Squanchers. "Dispense with any fear, fellow war dogs!" Skaelka says. "Many of Skaelka's memories are restored, including the correct path through this maze. I will lead us out!" "I knew you had this, Quint!" Dirk says, slapping his friend on the back. "No sweat!" Quint grins slightly. "Quite a bit of sweat, in fact," he says, wiping his brow. "My mentoring lifts all!" Galamelon says. And in that moment—despite the roar of approaching monsters—Quint thinks, They're right. With Galamelon's help, I can become the conjurer I need to be. The conjurer who can slay the Drakkor. The conjurer who will help turn the tide when we battle Thrull again. "The route is fresh in my mind. This way!" Skaelka shouts, as she sprints ahead. "Skaelka, it's great havin' you back!" Dirk shouts, racing after her. They all follow Skaelka, speeding down one long pathway, turning corner after corner. But one problem remains— Skaelka's memory is working, their route is correct —but the path isn't free of danger. Squanchers are barreling in from the left and right while still more close in from behind. And ahead of

突然，地球开始分裂。 每个人都挤在一起，眼睛盯着即将到来的掠夺者。 “别害怕，战友们！”Skaelka说。 斯卡卡的许多记忆都恢复了，包括通过迷宫的正确路径。 我带大家出去！”“我知道你有这个，昆特！”德克说着拍了拍他朋友的背。 “没问题!”昆特微微一笑。 “事实上，出了不少汗，”他擦着额头说。 “我的指导提升了一切！”Galamelon说。 在那一刻——尽管怪物正在逼近——昆特认为，他们是对的。 在加隆的帮助下，我可以成为我想成为的魔术师。 能杀死德拉寇的巫师。 当我们再次与斯拉尔战斗时，他会帮助我们扭转局势。 “这条路线还历历在目。 这种方式!”Skaelka喊道，她向前冲去。 “斯卡卡，你回来真是太好了！”德克喊道，追赶着她。 他们都跟着斯卡卡，沿着一条长长的小路加速前进，拐了一个又一个弯。 但有一个问题仍然存在——斯卡卡的记忆起作用了，他们的路线是正确的——但这条路并非没有危险。 掠夺者从左面和右面蜂拥而来，而后面的距离更近。 在前面