Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24 "Yellowfang!" Fireheart dropped Bramblekit and yowled the medicine cat's name. The blood pounded in his ears as he listened for her reply, but he heard nothing except the dreadful crackling of the flames. Bramblekit crouched at his paws, pressing his small body against Fireheart's legs. Pulsing with fear and frustration, and dimly aware of the pain from his singed flanks, Fireheart grabbed him and raced up the slope back to Patchpelt. The old tom hadn't moved. Fireheart saw his chest weakly rising and falling and knew that Patchpelt would not be able to run to safety. He lowered Bramblekit onto the ground. "Follow me!" he yowled before clamping his tired jaws onto Patchpelt's scruff. With a final glance down the burning slope, Fireheart dragged the black- and-white tom away from the ravine into the trees. Bramblekit stumbled after them, too shocked to mew, his eyes huge and unfocused. Fireheart wished he were somehow able to carry both of them, but he couldn't leave Patchpelt to

第二十四章“黄牙！”火心扔下了布兰布吉，嚎叫着那只药猫的名字。 他听着她的回答，耳朵里的血怦怦直跳，但除了可怕的火焰噼啪声之外，他什么也没听到。 布兰奇特蹲在他的爪子旁，把他的小身体贴在火心的腿上。 火心因恐惧和沮丧而怦怦直跳，模糊地意识到他烧焦的两翼所带来的痛苦，他抓住他，沿着斜坡跑回补丁皮身边。 老汤姆没有动。火心看到他的胸膛虚弱地起伏着，知道补丁儿不可能跑到安全的地方。 他把布莱克特放到地上。 “跟我来！”他大叫一声，然后用他疲惫的下巴咬住了大补丁的脖子。 火心最后看了一眼燃烧的山坡，把黑白相间的汤姆从峡谷拖到树林里。 布兰布吉踉踉跄跄地跟在他们后面，吓得不敢动弹，眼睛又大又乱。 火心真希望他能把他们俩都带走，但他不能把补丁丢下不管

die where he lay. Somehow Bramblekit would have to find the strength to survive the terrifying journey on his own paws. Fireheart followed the trail of the other cats blindly, hardly aware of the forest around him, even though he turned back every few moments to check that Bramblekit was still keeping up. His last sight of the ravine filled his mind, a terrifying trough of flame and smoke that engulfed the camp, his home. And of Yellowfang and Halftail, there had been no sign at all. They caught up with the rest of ThunderClan at Sunningrocks. Fireheart laid Patchpelt gently on the flat surface of the stone. Bramblekit raced straight to Goldenflower, who grasped him by his scruff and gave him a sharp, angry shake, choked by the purring that rose from her chest. Then she dropped him and began washing his smoke- stained fur with furious laps that softened to gentle strokes. The pale ginger queen glanced up at Fireheart, her eyes glistening with a gratitude she could not begin to put into words. Fireheart blinked and looked away. It was beginning to dawn on him that Yellowfang might

死在他躺着的地方。无论如何，布兰布吉必须找到力量，靠自己的爪子在这段可怕的旅程中幸存下来。 火心盲目地跟着其他猫的踪迹，几乎没有意识到周围的森林，尽管它每隔几分钟就回头看看布兰布利特是否还在跟上。 他最后看到的峡谷充满了他的脑海，一个可怕的火焰和烟雾吞没了营地，他的家。 至于黄牙和半尾巴，则完全没有任何迹象。 他们在桑宁石城追上了雷霆战队的其他成员。 火心把补丁轻轻地放在石头的平坦表面上。 布兰布利特直奔金花而去，金花一把抓住他的颈背，愤怒地猛烈摇晃了他一下，胸口发出咕噜声，让他窒息。 然后，她放下他，开始用狂怒的腿洗他被烟熏污的皮毛，这些腿软化成温柔的抚摸。 苍白的姜色王后抬头看了火心一眼，眼中闪烁着无法用语言表达的感激之情。 火心眨了眨眼睛，把目光移开。 他开始明白，黄牙可能会

be lost because he stopped to save Tigerclaw's son. He shook his head violently. He couldn't think about that. His Clan needed him. He gazed around at the horror-struck cats that crouched on the smooth stones. Did they think they were safe here? They should have kept going to the river. Fireheart narrowed his eyes, trying to spot Sandstorm among the huddled shapes, but an infinite weariness made his legs feel heavier than stone, and he couldn't find the strength to get up and look for her. He felt Patchpelt stir beside him. The old tom lifted his head, gasping for air, before collapsing into a coughing fit that brought Cinderpelt hobbling stiffly out from the throng of cats. Fireheart watched as she pressed her paws heavily on Patchpelt's chest, desperately trying to clear his lungs. Patchpelt stopped coughing. He lay still, strangely silent now that he was not even wheezing, and Cinderpelt looked up, her eyes brimming with sorrow. "He's dead," she murmured. Shocked mews rippled back across the rock.

因为他停下来救了虎爪的儿子。 他使劲摇了摇头。 他想都不敢想。 他的家族需要他。他环顾四周，看着那些蹲在光滑的石头上的惊恐的猫。 他们觉得在这里很安全吗？ 他们应该一直往河边走。 火心眯起眼睛，试图在拥挤的人群中找到沙暴，但无尽的疲惫让他的腿觉得比石头还重，他找不到力气起身去找她。 他感到补丁在他身边动了动。 老汤姆抬起头，大口地喘着气，然后突然咳嗽起来，把灰姑娘从猫群里拽了出来。 火心看着她把爪子重重地压在补丁皮的胸口上，拼命地想让他的肺清干净。 Patchpelt停止了咳嗽。 他静静地躺着，奇怪的是，现在他甚至没有喘息，灰姑娘抬起头来，她的眼睛里充满了悲伤。 “他死了，”她喃喃地说。 震惊的消息在岩石上荡起涟漪。

Fireheart stared at Cinderpelt in disbelief. How could he have brought Patchpelt this far, only for him to die? And on almost the exact spot where Silverstream had passed into the paws of StarClan. He looked anxiously at Cinderpelt, knowing she must be sharing the same thought. Her eyes were shadowed with grief and her whiskers quivered as she leaned down to close the old tom's eyes gently. Fireheart feared the pain would be more than she could bear, but as the other elders padded forward to share tongues with Patchpelt, the gray medicine cat sat up and raised her eyes to Fireheart. "We've lost another cat," she whispered, her voice ringing hollow with disbelief. "But my grief won't help the Clan." "You're beginning to sound as strong as Yellowfang," Fireheart told her softly. Cinderpelt opened her eyes wide. "Yellowfang! Where is she?" Fireheart felt a pain in his chest, so sharp it was as if a splinter from the burning tree had lodged in his heart. "I don't know," he admitted. "I lost her in the smoke while she was rescuing Halftail. I was going to go back, but the kit…" His

火心难以置信地盯着灰姑娘。 他怎么能把Patchpelt带这么远，就为了让他死呢？ 几乎就在银溪落入星族魔爪的地方。 他焦急地看着灰姑娘，知道她一定也有同样的想法。 她的眼睛蒙上了悲伤的阴影，她的胡须在颤抖，她俯下身来轻轻地闭上老汤姆的眼睛。 火心担心疼痛会让她难以忍受，但当其他长老纷纷上前与补丁皮交谈时，灰药猫坐了起来，抬起眼睛看着火心。 “我们又丢了一只猫。”她低声说，她的声音因难以置信而空洞。 “但我的悲伤帮不了氏族。” “你的声音开始像黄牙一样强壮了。”火心轻声对她说。 灰姑娘睁大了眼睛。 “Yellowfang !她在哪儿？”火心感到胸口一阵剧痛，就像燃烧的树的碎片扎进了他的心脏。 “我不知道，”他承认。 “她在救半尾的时候被烟雾弄丢了。 我本来想回去的，但是那个工具箱……

voice trailed away and he could only stare at the gray medicine cat as her eyes clouded with unimaginable pain. What was happening to their Clan? Did StarClan truly want to kill them all? Bramblekit began coughing, and Cinderpelt roused herself, shaking her head as if emerging from icy water. Fireheart watched her hobble to the kit's side and bend her head, vigorously licking his chest to stimulate his breathing. The coughing died away into a rhythmic wheezing that in turn eased as Cinderpelt worked. Fireheart sat still and listened to the forest. He could feel his fur prickling in the sultry air. A breeze rustled through the trees, blowing from the direction of the camp. Fireheart opened his mouth, trying to distinguish fresh smoke from the stench of his singed fur. Was the fire still burning? Then he realized he could see the sky filling with clouds of smoke as the breeze drove the flames steadily toward Sunningrocks. His ears flattened as he heard the roaring of the fire rise above the soft murmuring of the leaves. "It's coming this way," he yowled, his voice sore and harsh after breathing in the smoke. "We

声音渐渐消失了，他只能盯着那只灰色的药猫，她的眼睛里充满了难以想象的痛苦。 他们的部落发生了什么事？ StarClan真的想要杀光他们吗？ 布兰布吉开始咳嗽，灰姑娘醒了过来，摇着头，好像从冰水里钻出来似的。 火心看着她一瘸一拐地走到小马身边，低下头，使劲地舔着他的胸膛，以刺激他的呼吸。 咳嗽消失了，变成了有节奏的喘息声，随着灰姑娘的工作，喘息声又减轻了。 火心静静地坐着，倾听着森林的声音。 他感到自己的皮毛在闷热的空气中刺痛。 一阵微风从营地的方向吹过树林，沙沙作响。 火心张开嘴，试图从烧焦皮毛的恶臭中分辨出新鲜的烟味。 火还在燃烧吗？ 然后他意识到，他可以看到天空中充满了烟雾，微风把火焰吹向桑宁岩。 当他听到大火的轰鸣声盖过树叶的轻柔低语时，他的耳朵平了下来。 “它朝这边来了。”他嚎叫着，吸进烟后，声音又痛又刺耳。 “我们

must keep going to the river. We'll only be safe if we cross to the other side. The fire won't reach us there." The cats looked up, startled, their eyes gleaming dimly through the night. The light from the fire was already shining through the trees. Clouds of smoke began to billow down onto Sunningrocks, and the sound of the flames grew louder, fanned by the rising wind. Without warning the rocks and the forest were illuminated by a blinding flash. A thunderous crack exploded over the heads of the cats, making them flatten themselves against the rock. Fireheart lifted his eyes toward the sky. Behind the billowing smoke, he could see rain clouds rolling in overhead. Age-old terror mingled with relief as he realized that the storm had broken at last. "Rain is coming!" he yowled, encouraging his cowering Clanmates. "It will put out the fire! But we must go now or we won't outrun the flames!" Brackenfur pushed himself up from the rock first. As understanding rippled through the rest of the Clan, the other cats stood up too. Their horror of the fire outweighed their instinctive fear of the

必须一直往河边走。 只有到对岸我们才安全。 那里的火不会烧到我们的。” 猫们抬起头来，吓了一跳，它们的眼睛在黑夜里隐隐发亮。 炉火发出的光已经透过树林照进来了。 滚滚浓烟开始向太阳岩翻滚，火苗的声音越来越大，风越吹越大。 毫无征兆，岩石和森林被一道眩目的闪光照亮了。 一声雷鸣般的爆裂声在猫的头顶上炸开，把它们压扁在岩石上。 火心抬起眼睛望向天空。 在滚滚浓烟的背后，他看到雨云在头顶滚滚而来。 当他意识到暴风雨终于停下来时，长久以来的恐惧和宽慰交织在一起。 “要下雨了！”他大声喊着，鼓励着畏缩的同族人。 “它会把火扑灭！”但我们必须现在就走，否则就逃不过火焰了！”布莱肯弗先从岩石上爬了起来。 其他的猫也都站了起来。 他们对火灾的恐惧超过了他们对火灾本能的恐惧