Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 Firestar jolted awake in terror. He was lying in the cavern beneath Highstones with his nose pressed against the Moonstone. The shaft of moonlight had vanished, and only the faintest glimmer of starshine lit the cave. But there was no relief in waking up, for the stench of blood was still all around him and his fur felt hot and sticky. Heart thudding wildly, Firestar scrambled to his paws. Across the cave he could just make out Cinderpelt. She had risen too, and was signaling urgently to him with her tail. Firestar's first impulse was to pour out to her all that he had seen, but he remembered her instructions to keep silent until they had left Mother mouth. Paws skidding on the cave floor in his haste, he pushed past the medicine cat and bolted into the tunnel. As he stumbled upward toward the open air, following his own scent trail along the dark passage, the way seemed twice as long as before. Firestar's fur scraped against the tunnel walls and he was filled with horror at the thought of being buried alive. The air felt too thick to breathe, and as his panic grew in the unbroken blackness of the

第五章火星吓得惊醒了。 他躺在海斯通山下的山洞里，鼻子紧贴着月光石。 月光已经消失了，只有微弱的星光照亮了山洞。 但醒过来并不能减轻他的痛苦，因为血的恶臭仍然弥漫在他的周围，他的皮毛又热又粘。 火星的心剧烈地跳动着，他爬向自己的爪子。 穿过洞穴，他只能辨认出灰姑娘。 她也站了起来，用尾巴急切地向他示意。 火星的第一个冲动是向她倾诉他所看到的一切，但他记得她的指示，保持沉默，直到他们离开妈妈的嘴。 匆忙中，他的爪子在洞穴地板上打滑，他推开了药猫，冲进了隧道。 他踉踉跄跄地朝露天走去，沿着黑暗的通道，循着自己留下的气味，这条路似乎比以前长了一倍。 火星的皮毛蹭到了隧道的墙壁上，想到要被活埋，他心里充满了恐惧。 空气浑厚得让人无法呼吸，随着他的恐慌在连绵不断的黑暗中增长

tunnel he began to imagine that it would never end, that he would be trapped for ever in blood and darkness. Then he saw the pale outline of the tunnel entrance, and burst out into the still night air, where the moon was sinking behind thin clouds. Firestar dug his claws into the loose earth of the hillside while shudders passed through his body from nose to tail. A few moments later, Cinderpelt emerged behind him and pressed herself against his side until he managed to control his dreadful shivering and his breathing steadied. "What happened?" she asked quietly. "Don't you know?" Cinderpelt shook her head. "I know that the ritual was interrupted—the scent of blood told me that. But I don't know why." She looked deep into his eyes; her own were burning with concern. "Tell me…did you receive your nine lives and your name?" Firestar nodded, and the medicine cat relaxed slightly. "Then the rest can wait. Let's go." For a moment Firestar felt too exhausted to

隧道，他开始想象，它永远不会结束，他将永远被困在血和黑暗。 接着，他看到了隧道入口苍白的轮廓，冲进寂静的夜空，月亮正沉入薄云后。 火星把爪子伸进山坡上松软的泥土里，浑身上下都在颤抖。 过了一会儿，灰姑娘出现在他身后，靠在他身边，直到他控制住了可怕的颤抖，呼吸也稳定了下来。 “发生什么事了？”她平静地问。 “你不知道吗？”灰姑娘摇了摇头。 “我知道仪式被打断了——血的气味告诉我这一点。 但我不知道为什么。”她深深地注视着他的眼睛；她的心因忧虑而燃烧起来。 “告诉我……你收到你的九条命和你的名字了吗？”火星点点头，药猫稍稍放松了一些。 “那其他的就等着吧。我们走吧。” 一时间，火星觉得太累了

move. But he did not want to stay anywhere near Mothermouth and the terrible things that he had seen in the cave. Shakily, pawstep by pawstep, he began to descend the hill. Cinderpelt padded beside him, sometimes nudging him toward an easier route, and Firestar was grateful for her unquestioning presence. As they drew farther away from the tunnel, the stench of blood faded from his mouth and nostrils. Still, Firestar felt that even if he washed for a moon he would never get rid of the last traces from his fur. He began to feel stronger, but he was still very tired, and as soon as the rocky hillside gave way to grass he flopped down in the shelter of a hawthorn bush. "I've got to rest," he meowed. Cinderpelt tucked herself into the grass beside him and for a few moments the two cats shared tongues in silence. Firestar wanted to tell the medicine cat what he had seen, but something kept him silent. Partly he wanted to protect her from the dreadful fear he had felt—even if she could explain what Bluestar's prophecy meant, would it help to have another cat look forward to

移动。但他不想呆在靠近母茅斯和他在山洞里看到的可怕的东西的任何地方。 他摇摇晃晃地一步一步往山下走。 灰姑娘在他身边走来走去，有时把他推到一条更容易走的路线上，火星很感激她毫无疑问的存在。 他们离隧道越远，他嘴里和鼻孔里的血腥味就越淡。 然而，火星觉得，即使他洗了一个月，他也永远洗不掉皮毛上最后的痕迹。 他开始觉得自己更强壮了，但他仍然很累，当岩石山坡被草所取代时，他扑倒在山楂树丛的庇护下。 “我得休息了。”他叫道。 灰姑娘躲在他身边的草地上，两只猫沉默地交谈了一会儿。 火星想告诉药猫他所看到的一切，但某种东西使他沉默。 部分原因是他想保护她不受他所感受到的可怕恐惧的影响——即使她能解释蓝星的预言是什么意思，再多一只猫会不会有帮助呢

the future with the dread that he now felt? And partly he hoped that if he never spoke of the dreadful vision, it might not come true. Or was there a curse on his leadership that nothing could avert? Bluestar had told him before she died that he was the fire who would save the Clan. How could that be true, if the fire was quenched by the tidal wave of blood he had just seen? Firestar had experienced prophetic dreams before, and he had learned to take them seriously. He could not ignore this, especially when it came at such a significant moment, while he was receiving his nine lives and his new name. Cinderpelt broke into his reverie. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it yet, you know." Firestar pushed his muzzle into her fur, grateful for her warmth. "I'll think about it first," he mewed slowly. "Right now…it's too close." He shivered again at the memory. "Cinderpelt," he went on, "I've never told any cat this before, but…sometimes I have dreams that tell me about the future." Cinderpelt's ears twitched in surprise. "That's unusual. Clan leaders and medicine cats commune

带着他现在所感到的那种恐惧的未来？ 部分原因是他希望，如果他不把那可怕的景象说出来，它就不会成真。 还是他的领导能力受到了诅咒，无法避免？ 蓝星死前告诉他，他就是拯救氏族的火焰。 这怎么可能是真的，如果火焰被他刚刚看到的血潮扑灭了呢？ 火星以前经历过预言梦，他学会了认真对待它们。 他不能忽视这一点，尤其是在这样一个重要的时刻，在他接受他的九条命和他的新名字的时候。 灰姑娘打断了他的遐想。 “如果你还不想谈这件事，也没关系，你知道的。” 火星把他的嘴伸进她的毛里，感谢她的温暖。 “我要先考虑一下。”他慢慢地叫道。 “现在……太接近了。” 一想起这事，他又打了个寒颤。 “灰姑娘，”他继续说，“我从来没有告诉过任何一只猫，但是……有时候我做的梦会告诉我未来。” 灰姑娘的耳朵惊讶地抽搐着。 “这是不寻常的。氏族首领与药猫公社

with StarClan, but I never heard of ordinary warriors having prophetic dreams. How long has this been going on?" "Since I was a kittypet," Firestar admitted, remembering the dream of hunting a mouse that had first driven him into the forest. "But I…I don't know if the dreams come from StarClan." After all, before he came to the forest, he hadn't even known about StarClan. Could they have been watching over him even then? The medicine cat's eyes were thoughtful. "In the end, all dreams come from StarClan," she murmured. "Do they always come true?" "Yes," Firestar replied. "But not always in the way I expect. Some are easier to understand than others." "Then you should bear that in mind when you're trying to understand this latest dream." Cinderpelt gave him a comforting lick. "Remember, Firestar, you're not alone. Now that you're Clan leader, StarClan will share many things with you. But I'm here to help you interpret the signs. Tell me as much or as little as you want."

但我从没听说过普通战士会有预言梦。 这种情况持续多久了？”“当我还是一只小猫的时候，”火星承认道，回忆起第一次把他赶进森林的那个捉老鼠的梦。 “但我……我不知道这些梦是不是来自《星际战队》。” 毕竟，在他来到森林之前，他甚至不知道星际部落。 他们会不会一直在监视他呢？ 药猫的眼睛若有所思。 “最后，所有的梦想都来自星际战队，”她喃喃地说。 “它们总能成真吗？”“是的，”火星回答。 “但并不总是像我期望的那样。 有些比较容易理解。” “那么，当你试图理解这个最新的梦时，你应该记住这一点。” 灰姑娘给了他一个安慰的舔。 “记住，火星，你并不孤单。 既然你是战队首领，StarClan会和你分享很多东西。 但我是来帮你解读征兆的。 你想多告诉我，想少告诉我就多告诉我。”

Though Firestar was grateful for her understanding, Cinderpelt's words chilled him. His new relationship with StarClan was driving him along new paths where he might not want to go. For a few heartbeats he longed to be no more than a warrior again, hunting with Graystripe or sharing tongues with Sandstorm in the den. "Thank you, Cinderpelt," he meowed, forcing himself to his paws. "I promise I'll talk to you when ever I feel the need." But even though he meant what he said, deep down he wondered how helpful she would be. Firestar couldn't help feeling that this was something he had to face alone. He let out a long sigh. "Let's keep going." However much Firestar longed to get home, his strength was failing. Since the discovery of the dog pack and the heart-stopping dash through the forest to lead them to the gorge, he had eaten little, and scarcely slept except to dream. The long journey to Highstones and the agony of receiving his nine lives, followed by the terrible vision, had taken all he had to give. His steps became slower and more uncertain.

虽然火星很感激她的理解，但灰姑娘的话使他感到寒心。 他与《StarClan》的新关系将他带往他可能不愿去的新道路。 有那么几次心跳，他渴望再次成为一名战士，与灰条纹一起狩猎，或在洞穴里与沙暴分享舌头。 “谢谢你，灰姑娘。”他喵喵地叫着，勉强站起来。 “我保证，当我觉得有必要的时候，我会和你谈谈的。” 尽管他说的是真心话，但他内心深处还是怀疑她能帮上什么忙。 火星不禁感到，这是他必须独自面对的事情。 他长叹一声。“我们继续前进吧。” 无论火星多么渴望回家，他的体力都在下降。 自从发现了那群狗之后，他就惊心动魄地穿过森林，把它们带到了峡谷里，他几乎没有吃什么，除了做梦几乎没有睡觉。 到海斯通的长途旅行和接受九命的痛苦，以及随之而来的可怕的幻象，耗尽了他的一切。 他的脚步变得越来越慢，越来越不稳定。