Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 "Look!" Rainwhisker yowled, making the cats jump. At the top of the rise that marked the beginning of WindClan territory, silhouetted against the gray sky, stood WindClan. They lined the crest of the hill like stones, waiting. "Let's go," Blackstar ordered. He plunged out of the shelter of the trees and hurried up the muddy slope, followed by his Clanmates. Squirrelpaw stared sadly at the forest, sinking her claws into the familiar rain-softened earth. All the RiverClan and ThunderClan cats lingered at the edge of the trees, as though leaving was harder than they had ever imagined. "This is no longer our home," Firestar reminded them gently. "Home is waiting for us at the end of our journey." He began to pad away, lowering his head against the driving rain. Squirrelpaw joined the other cats as they poured slowly out of the forest after him. Beside her, Brackenfur arched his back against the bracken fronds, brushing his scent on their dripping tips one last time.

第18章 “看！” 雨须一声嘶吼，吓得猫儿们都跳了起来。 在风族领地起点的高坡顶端，风族全体静立着，轮廓映在灰蒙蒙的天空中。 他们像石块一样排在山脊上，静静等候。 “我们走。”黑星下令。 他冲出树林的遮蔽，急匆匆爬上泥泞的坡地，族猫们紧随其后。 松鼠爪难过地望着森林，爪子深深扎进被雨水泡软的熟悉泥土里。 河族和雷族的所有猫儿都在林边徘徊，仿佛离开比他们预想的还要艰难。 “这里已经不再是我们的家了。”火星温柔地提醒他们。 “旅程的终点，我们的家正在等着我们。” 他迈开步子出发，低下头抵挡倾盆大雨。 松鼠爪跟上其他猫儿，跟着他慢慢走出森林。 在她身旁，蕨心弓背蹭过蕨叶，最后一次在滴水的叶尖留下自己的气味。

"We thought you'd changed your mind," Mudclaw growled as the three Clans neared the top of the slope. "Mudfur was dying," Leopardstar explained. "We waited until he had gone to join StarClan." Tallstar sat shivering beside his warriors. His ribs stuck out like gnarled twigs. As the Clans reached the top of the rise, he stood up, wincing at the stiffness in his limbs. "I'm sorry to hear about Mudfur," he meowed. "At least he died beneath Silverpelt, which is more than we will," muttered Blackstar. His words sent a shiver of unease down Squirrelpaw's spine. "We saw Silverpelt at the sun-drown-place," she objected. "StarClan will be waiting for us when we arrive." Mudclaw's tail twitched. "You saw stars, but were they our warrior ancestors or someone else's?" Squirrelpaw blinked, thinking of the Tribe of Endless Hunting who watched over the mountains. What if Mudclaw was right, and they were leaving StarClan behind as well as their homes?

“我们还以为你们改主意了。”三个族群走近坡顶时，泥爪低吼道。 “泥毛快不行了。”豹星解释道。 “我们一直等他加入星族后才动身。” 高星坐在武士们身旁不住发抖。 他的肋骨凸出来，像扭曲的枯枝一样。 等族群走到坡顶，他站起身，四肢僵硬得疼得他皱起了眉。 “听到泥毛的事我很难过。”他说道。 “至少他死在了银带之下，这我们可未必能做到。”黑星低声咕哝。 他的话让松鼠爪的后背泛起一阵不安的寒意。 “我们在太阳沉没之地也看到银带了呀。”她不服气地说。 “等我们到了目的地，星族一定会等着我们的。” 泥爪的尾巴抽了抽。 “你是看到星星了，可那是我们武士祖先的，还是别的族群的？” 松鼠爪眨了眨眼，想起了守护群山的无尽狩猎部落。 如果泥爪是对的，他们不仅丢下了家园，也把星族抛在了身后，该怎么办？

Blackstar clawed the muddy ground. "Are we going or not?" "We're ready," Tallstar replied. The moorland that stretched ahead of them was unrecognizable, all the grass swept away to reveal bare, rutted earth. Leopardstar stared across the broken ground. "Are there many monsters?" "Too many," Tallstar growled. As the cats scrambled over the first stretch of exposed ground, Squirrelpaw soon began to struggle. The mud sucked at her paws, and her legs felt stone-heavy with exhaustion. Brambleclaw clawed his way back to join her. "Come on; you can make it." "It's okay," she snapped. "I can manage." He blinked. "I know you can," he meowed, and Squirrelpaw wished she hadn't been so harsh. Dustpelt was behind them, carrying Birchkit in his jaws. Cloudtail struggled to his side. His pelt was streaked with mud, only his back kept white by the relentless rain. "I'll take the kit," he offered. He took Birchkit from Dustpelt's jaws,

黑星扒拉着泥泞的地面。 “我们到底走不走？” “我们准备好了。”高星答道。 眼前的荒原已经完全变了模样，所有草都被扫光，露出光秃秃、坑洼不平的泥土。 豹星凝望着这片残破的土地。 “这里怪物多吗？” “太多了。”高星低吼道。 猫儿们爬过第一段裸露的土地后，松鼠爪很快就吃不消了。 淤泥吸住她的爪子，她累得双腿像灌了石头一样沉重。 黑莓掌爬回来陪在了她身边。 “加油，你能走到的。” “我没事。”她没好气地说。 “我自己能行。” 他眨了眨眼。 “我知道你可以。”他说道，松鼠爪不由得后悔刚才自己态度太差了。 尘毛走在他们身后，嘴里叼着桦崽。 云尾费力地走到他身边。 他的皮毛沾满泥污，只有后背还被不停落下的雨水冲得保留着白色。 “我来帮你带幼崽吧。”他提议道。 他从尘毛嘴里接过了桦崽，

trying not to let the swaying bundle drag in the mud. Dustpelt nodded his thanks and plunged down a muddy ridge to help Ferncloud, who was fighting to stay on her paws. Crowpaw was carrying a kit too. He looked on the verge of collapse, but his paws kept moving, his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. Squirrelpaw heard the rumble of Twoleg monsters ahead, and their stench reached her even through the rain. She lifted her face, raindrops stinging her eyes, and saw Twolegs cluttering the horizon. "How will we get past?" she gasped. "Can we go around?" Firestar yowled to Mudclaw. "They're everywhere on the moor," Onewhisker called back. "This is the quietest place to cross, I promise." A monster with huge round paws and gleaming teeth roared across the landscape, while another churned up earth in its wake. Just beyond them, a small rocky outcrop rose from the mud.

尽量不让这个晃悠悠的小身子蹭进泥里。 尘毛点头致谢，冲下泥泞的山脊去帮蕨云，蕨云正费力地稳住脚步。 鸦爪也叼着一只幼崽。 他看上去都快倒下了，可爪子还是不停迈步，眼睛牢牢盯着前方的地面。 松鼠爪听到前方传来两脚兽怪物的隆隆声，就算隔着雨，那股臭味还是飘了过来。 她抬起脸，雨滴刺得眼睛发疼，才看到地平线上到处都是两脚兽。 “我们要怎么过去啊？” 她倒吸一口冷气。 “我们能绕路走吗？” 火星对着泥爪大声喊道。 “荒原上到处都是它们。”一根须高声回话。 “我保证，这里是过路最清静的地方了。” 一只有着巨大圆轮、闪着亮“牙”的怪物轰隆驶过，另一只跟在后面，把泥土翻得乱七八糟。 就在怪物身后，一小块岩石高地从淤泥里耸了出来。

"If we can make it that far, we'll be safe for a while," Mudclaw advised. "The Twoleg monsters can't climb those." But they can crush them if they want, Squirrelpaw thought, remembering the Great Rock. "You're right; it could be our only chance. Let's wait for these two monsters to pass and make a run for it." Firestar glanced at the other leaders, who each nodded their approval. Squirrelpaw pressed her belly deeper into the mud, feeling the cold earth seep through her fur and drench her skin. Cinderpelt crouched beside Tallstar, pushing a pawful of herbs toward him. The last of the traveling herbs, to give him strength, Squirrelpaw guessed. As soon as the monsters rumbled past, Firestar gave the command to run. The ThunderClan cats rushed forward. Squirrelpaw staggered blindly through the mud, keeping her eyes fixed on Brambleclaw's tabby pelt. As long as he was in sight, she felt she would be safe. By the time she reached the rocks, she was panting with fear and exhaustion.

“如果我们能爬到那儿，就能暂时安全了。”泥爪建议道。 “两腿动物的怪物爬不上这些石头。” 可松鼠爪想起了那块大岩石，心里暗忖：它们真想撞的话还是能撞碎的。 “你说得对，这或许是我们唯一的机会。 我们等这两辆怪物过去，就冲过去。” 火星瞥了一眼其他族长，他们纷纷点头同意。 松鼠爪把肚皮贴得更低，紧贴泥浆，冰冷的泥土渗进毛发，浸湿了皮肤。 炭心蹲在高星身旁，把一爪草药推到他面前。 松鼠爪猜，这是最后一点行路草药，能帮他提振力气。 怪物刚轰隆隆驶过，火星就下令出发奔跑。 雷族猫一齐向前冲去。 松鼠爪在泥里深一脚浅一脚地蹒跚前行，眼睛死死盯着黑莓掌的虎斑皮毛。 只要还能看见他，她就觉得自己是安全的。 等她爬到岩石边时，已经因为恐惧和疲惫大口喘气了。

Brambleclaw reached down and hauled her onto the ledge, where the others had already gathered. Firestar wove among them, his orange fur turned brown by the mud. His eyes were fixed on the cats still struggling toward the outcrop. Crowpaw reached the rock and held up the kit for Onewhisker to take before scrambling after it. Squirrelpaw heard a Twoleg shouting and turned to see it running unsteadily across the mud, waving its arms. It had seen the cats still heading for the rocks. Tawnypelt was among them, trying to drag a RiverClan apprentice out of the mud. "Blackstar and Leopardstar must have hesitated before giving the order to run!" Squirrelpaw hissed. The monsters were turning now, steering their paws toward the straggling cats. "They'll never make it to the rocks in time!" Brambleclaw gasped. "We must go back and help them!" Firestar yowled. Desperation drove every scrap of tiredness from Squirrelpaw's body, and she leaped back

黑莓掌探身向下，把她拉上岩石平台，其他猫都已经在这儿集合了。 火星在猫群里穿行，他橙色的皮毛被泥浆染成了棕褐色。 他的眼睛紧紧盯着那些还在往岩地赶的猫。 鸦爪爬到岩石边，先把幼崽举给一根须接过去，才自己爬上来。 松鼠爪听见一个两腿动物在大喊，转身看见他摇摇晃晃穿过泥浆，挥着胳膊。 他看到了那些还在往岩石跑的猫。 藤尾就在落队的猫当中，她正试着把一名河族学徒从泥浆里拖出来。 “黑星和豹星肯定是犹豫了，没立刻下令冲！” 松鼠爪低吼道。 怪物这会儿正在转弯，朝着这些落队的猫开过来。 “他们来不及跑到岩石这儿了！” 黑莓掌倒抽一口冷气。 “我们必须回去救他们！” 火星吼道。 绝望把松鼠爪浑身的疲惫都一扫而空，她猛地跳回去