Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 Water roared in Hollypaw's ears as the pale light of the cave faded from sight. The river dragged her into the tunnel, the current pulling her under. Her lungs screamed for air. She fought the urge to suck in water and kept her jaws firmly clamped around Thistlekit's tail. Rock scraped her ears and she felt air on her face as the river swirled her upward. She drew a quick breath before the river dragged her down once more. A body brushed hers and was swept away. Thistlekit struggled, raking her nose with thorn- sharp claws. She resisted the urge to fight, trusting Jaypaw, letting the flood carry her, feeling stone graze her flanks as the water tossed her against the sides of the tunnel. The roaring grew louder till she thought her ears would burst. Then peace. The current let her go and the noise died away. She strained to see through the darkness.

第二十章 当洞穴的淡光消失不见，河水在冬青爪的耳边轰鸣 河流将她拽进隧道，水流把她卷到了水下 她的肺迫切渴望着空气 她强忍吸水的冲动，紧紧咬着蓟苗的尾巴不肯松口 岩石刮擦着她的耳朵，河水将她卷向水面，她的脸触碰到了空气 她飞快吸了一口气，就再次被河水拖了下去 一具躯体擦过她，转眼就被冲走了 蓟苗拼命挣扎，荆棘般尖锐的爪子刮到了她的鼻子 她压下挣扎的冲动，信任松鸦爪，任凭洪水带着自己漂流，河水将她甩到隧道壁上，石头擦过她的胁腹 轰鸣声越来越大，大到她觉得耳朵都要裂开了 紧接着，一切归于平静 水流放开了她，轰鸣声也渐渐消失 她拼尽全力，想在黑暗中看清四周

Was that light? Bright dots sparkled in the distance. Was StarClan waiting to welcome her? Her head swam and blackness pressed in on the edges of her consciousness. She fought her way upward, frantically seeking the surface, praying that she wouldn't find rock above her. With a final desperate effort she pushed up and up until she thought the whole world must be water. Suddenly, she burst through the surface of the lake, startled by the chill of the wind as it swept her face and filled her nose and ears. They had made it! She gasped and spluttered, drawing in lungful after lungful of cold, wonderful air. Blinking water from her eyes, she saw that the dots were stars, glimmering through wind-torn clouds. The rainstorm was moving away. Thistlekit thrashed in the water beside her, fighting to keep her head above water. Hollypaw grasped the kit with her forepaws, let go of her tail and grabbed her scruff, paddling with her hind legs to keep both their heads out of the water. She forced herself to relax, letting the water support her and working her paws in a steady rhythm that

那是光吗？ 明亮的光点在远处闪烁 是星族在那儿等着迎接她吗？ 她脑袋发晕，黑暗一点点侵蚀着她的意识 她拼命向上游，疯狂寻找水面，祈祷头顶不会撞上岩石 她拼尽最后一丝力气不断向上，觉得整个世界都只剩下水了 突然间，她冲出湖面，冷风扫过她的脸，钻进鼻子和耳朵，刺骨的寒意让她一惊 他们活下来了！ 她大口喘气，不停咳嗽，一口接一口吸着冰凉又舒畅的空气 她眨掉眼睛里的水，看清那些光点是星星，正透过被风吹散的云层闪烁 暴雨正在渐渐远去 蓟苗在她身旁的水里扑腾，拼命想把脑袋露出水面 冬青爪用前爪扶住幼崽，松开咬着的尾巴改叼住他的后颈，用后腿划水让他俩的脑袋都露在水面上 她强迫自己放松，让水托住身体，爪子按着平稳的节奏划动

held them afloat. Thistlekit coughed and wheezed, trembling against her chest. Hollypaw scanned the dark surface of the lake for the others. Joy sparked in her belly when she saw Lionpaw's golden head bobbing a few tail- lengths away. Sedgekit was clinging to his back, eyes shining in the moonlight. Bubbles exploded near him, and Breezepaw burst to the surface with Swallowkit. Jaypaw? Heatherpaw? Panic started to grip Hollypaw. Had they made it? She heard splashing behind her and she twisted around, dragging Thistlekit so fast he squealed with surprise. Jaypaw and Heatherpaw were flailing beside each other, their paws spraying water as they fought to stay afloat. "Jaypaw!" she called. "We're okay!" Heatherpaw coughed. Hollypaw swam toward them, kicking out with her hind legs, surprised to find herself swimming like a RiverClan cat. "The shore's over there!" She could see it not far off and, reaching Jaypaw, she nudged him toward it. Heatherpaw was splashing toward Lionpaw.

让他俩浮在水面上 蓟苗咳着喘着，靠在她胸口不停发抖 冬青爪扫视漆黑的湖面，寻找其他伙伴 看到狮爪金色的脑袋在几个尾长开外浮动，她心头一阵欣喜 莎苗趴在他背上，眼睛在月光下闪闪发亮 狮爪身边冒出泡泡，微风爪带着燕苗冲出了水面 松鸦爪呢？ 石楠爪呢？ 恐慌紧紧攫住了冬青爪 他们活下来了吗？ 她听到身后的水花声，连忙转过身，拖动蓟苗太急，吓得蓟苗惊叫出声 松鸦爪和石楠爪在旁边扑腾，爪子拍得水花四溅，拼命想要浮在水面上 "松鸦爪！" 她喊道 "我们没事！" 石楠爪咳着说道 冬青爪朝他们游去，后腿用力蹬水，惊讶地发现自己游得像河族猫一样好 "岸在那边！" 她看到岸边就在不远处，游到松鸦爪身边后，把他往岸边推 石楠爪正朝着狮爪的方向游去

Why wasn't the WindClan apprentice trying to help her own Clanmate? Then she realized that Lionpaw was thrashing in the water, ducking his face under. As he came up for a breath, she saw his eyes were wild with panic. "Sedgekit's gone!" he yowled. Heatherpaw dived beneath the surface. Hollypaw held her breath, treading water as Lionpaw ducked under again. Had the current dragged the kit back down into the black, bottomless water? Suddenly, Heatherpaw bobbed up, Sedgekit between her jaws. The kit's paws flapped wildly. He was alive! Lionpaw broke the surface, his eyes lighting as he saw Sedgekit. He swam to Heatherpaw's side and grasped the kit's tail between his teeth, and together they headed for the shore. Hollypaw swam beside Jaypaw, casting an eye back to make sure Breezepaw was still managing. The black WindClan apprentice was pounding through the water with Swallowkit's scruff in his jaws and his eyes fixed on the shore. Hollypaw's muscles burned with exhaustion,

为什么风族的学徒不帮帮自己的同族同伴？ 接着她发现狮爪正在水里挣扎，脑袋一个劲往水下沉 他浮上来换气的时候，她看见他的眼睛满是恐慌 "莎苗不见了！" 他大声吼道 石楠爪一头扎进了水里 冬青爪屏住呼吸，一边踩水，看着狮爪再次沉了下去 难道水流把幼崽拖回漆黑无底的深水里了吗？ 突然间，石楠爪浮了上来，莎苗正叼在她的嘴里 幼崽的爪子疯狂地乱挥着 他还活着！ 狮爪浮出水面，看到莎苗后，眼睛一下子亮了起来 他游到石楠爪身边，咬住莎苗的尾巴，俩人一起往岸边游去 冬青爪挨着松鸦爪游，不时回头确认微风爪还撑得住 这只黑色的风族学徒咬着燕苗的后颈，眼睛牢牢盯着岸边，正拼命划水前进 冬青爪的肌肉累得阵阵发烫

but she didn't dare stop moving. With Thistlekit's fur blocking her mouth, every breath was a struggle, but she kept her gaze pinned on the shoreline and pushed on. At last, she felt pebbles graze her hind paws and, reaching down, touched the bottom with a forepaw. Thank you, StarClan! Wading from the water, she dropped Thistlekit in the shallows and stood panting for a moment, struggling to get her breath back. Heatherpaw and Lionpaw already lay farther up the shore, their flanks heaving while Sedgekit crouched beside them, vomiting water onto the pebbles. Pebbles clacked behind her as Jaypaw followed her out of the lake. "How did you know it would carry us into the lake?" Hollypaw gasped. "It... it made sense," Jaypaw mewed between coughs. He splashed onto the beach, and Thistlekit stumbled after him. Breezepaw was struggling out of the shallows a few foxtails along the shore. Swallowkit dangled from his jaws, her paws flailing as she fought to be put down.

可她不敢停下脚步。 蓟崽的毛堵住了她的嘴，每一次呼吸都很费劲，可她还是死死盯着岸边，咬牙往前划。 终于，她感觉到石子蹭到了后爪，她往下伸，前爪碰到了湖底。 星族，谢谢你们！ 她蹚着水走上岸，把蓟崽放在浅滩，站在那儿喘了好一会儿，才慢慢缓过气。 石楠爪和狮爪已经躺在更远的岸边上，肚皮不停起伏，莎崽蹲在他们旁边，正往石子上吐水。 松鸦爪跟着她走出湖水，身后的石子咔嗒作响。 “你怎么知道它会把我们冲到湖里来？” 冬青爪喘着气问道。 “这……这说得通呀，”松鸦爪一边咳嗽一边说。 他溅着水花走上沙滩，蓟崽跌跌撞撞跟在他身后。 沿着岸边往前走几狐尾远，微风爪正费劲从浅滩走出来。 燕崽挂在他嘴边，爪子不停乱挥，挣扎着要他把自己放下来。

"We're all safe!" Hollypaw breathed. She padded to Lionpaw and Heatherpaw, her trembling paws slipping on the wet pebbles. "Are you two okay?" Lionpaw lifted his head. "Only half-drowned." A purr burst from Heatherpaw. She flicked Lionpaw with her dripping tail and got to her paws. "We'd better get the kits back to camp." Hollypaw glanced up the beach. Brambles and ferns crowded the shoreline, the forest dark behind them. This was ThunderClan territory. "Let's take them to Leafpool," she suggested. "It's nearer and we need to make sure they're okay." Sedgekit was still coughing up water. Thistlekit had collapsed beside him, and though her eyes were open, her breathing was rapid. "Hollypaw's right." Jaypaw joined them. "They need treatment for shock." Swallowkit hurried toward them, Breezepaw at her side. "That was the horriblest thing I ever did!" She shook the water from her fur. "You wait till you taste Leafpool's medicine," Jaypaw warned. Breezepaw's eyes glittered with suspicion.

“我们全都平安啦！” 冬青爪松了口气说。 她轻轻走到狮爪和石楠爪身边，爪子不停发抖，在湿石子上直打滑。 “你们俩没事吧？” 狮爪抬起头。 “就差一点淹死啦。” 石楠爪忍不住发出了呼噜声。 她甩了甩滴着水的尾巴，拍了狮爪一下，站起身来。 “我们最好带幼崽们回营地。” 冬青爪望向沙滩上方。 荆棘和蕨类长满岸边，身后的森林黑沉沉的。 这里是雷族的领地。 “我们带他们去找叶池吧，”她提议道。 “这里更近，我们得确认他们都没事。” 莎崽还在往外咳水。 蓟崽瘫在他旁边，虽然眼睛睁着，呼吸却十分急促。 “冬青爪说得对。” 松鸦爪走了过来。 “他们需要治疗受惊带来的不适。” 燕崽连忙朝他们跑来，微风爪跟在她身边。 “这是我做过的最可怕的事了！” 她抖了抖毛，把水甩掉。 “你等着尝尝叶池的药，”松鸦爪提醒道。 微风爪的眼睛里闪着怀疑的光。