驾车北上 Caravan North

作者： Rayla Heide

欧然的小刀在一块铁木上削出了柔软的弧线。作为一名八岁的孩子，他并不能算得上技巧精湛的工匠，他的木块仅仅能够显露出一种圆形带尖刺的形状。

Ojan’s knife whittled the edge of the ironwood into a soft curve. As an eight-year-old, he wasn’t the most practiced craftsman; his wood block was just starting to resemble something round and spiky.

他的姐姐，佳玛，从上铺弯腰下来露出一脸怪笑。

His sister, Zyama, leaned down from her bunk and grimaced.

“这是什么啊？罗莎屎壳郎吗？”她说。“没人愿意花钱买这个的。”

“What’s that? Rhoksha dung?” she said. “No one will want to buy that.”

“这不是屎壳郎，这是伟大威风的神明，身披铠甲，英勇无敌！而且它不卖，这是为了带来好运的。”

“It’s not dung, it’s a great and fearsome god, with his armor and everything! And it won’t be for sale. It’s for luck.”

“我们是商人，老弟，”她说。“所有东西都可以卖。”

“We’re traders, little brother,” she said. “Everything here is for sale.”

他们的大篷车越过重重沙丘，叮当作响。车厢里从上到下所有空间都挤满了香料罐子，刚好剩下勉强的空间用来放置全家的床铺。

The caravan clinked and clanged as it rolled over the dunes. Every space from floor to ceiling was packed tightly with jars of spices, leaving just enough room for the family’s narrow bunks.

“有东西从南方追上来了！”欧然的母亲在车厢外大喊道。欧然听到了她甩鞭的声音，催促着骆驼加快速度。

“Something’s chasing us from the south!” Ojan’s mother shouted from outside. Ojan heard her whip crack, urging the camels to hurry their pace.

佳玛从窗户探出身，手中举着她最珍贵的家当，一杆华丽的望远镜。

Zyama leaned out the window, staring through her most prized possession, an ornate spyglass.

“是米洛斯虫群！我来准备弓箭，”她说。“它们一定是被你的罗莎屎壳郎吸引来的。”

“They’re Kmiros! I’ll ready the arrows,” she said. “They must be after your Rhoksha dung.”

欧然接替她的位置探出窗外。可以非常肯定，上百只家犬大小的甲虫正在他们后方的沙丘上蜂拥而至。

Ojan replaced her at the window. Sure enough, hundreds of beetles the size of dogs swarmed over the dune behind them.

佳玛拿着一柄弓和一副箭袋回来了，箭羽色彩斑斓。她射出了一支箭，击杀了一只甲虫，但虫群依然毫无影响地向他们冲过来。

Zyama returned with a bow and quiver of colorful arrows. She fired, taking one beetle out, but the mass of insects charged on without pause.

“我们有多少支箭？”欧然问。

“How many arrows do we have?” Ojan asked.

“大概四十支，”佳玛说道，她打量了一眼箭袋，皱了皱眉。

“About forty,” Zyama said, looking into the quiver. She frowned.

前方传来他们妈妈的声音。“我们必须跑过它们。抓稳了！”

Their mother’s voice carried from the front. “We’ll have to outrun them. Hold on!”

又是几声鞭响，大篷车突然向前加速，欧然一不留神摔倒在地板上。

Whips cracked once more and the caravan jolted forward, knocking Ojan to the floor.

佳玛又向虫群射出了一支箭，一下射穿了两只。虽然两只倒下了，但立刻有更多甲虫填上了原来的位置。

Zyama loosed another arrow into the swarm, spearing two at once. The creatures fell, but plenty more took their place.

“油瓶！左侧橱柜！”他们的妈妈大喊道。

“Oil! In the left cabinet!” their mother shouted.

欧然窜了过去，拿着一瓶灯油和一团破布。他用灯油浸湿了布料，然后包裹在一支箭头上。他将包好的箭点燃，小心地交给了佳玛，佳玛将火箭射向一团甲虫。它们立刻燃烧起来，发出嘶嘶的声音。欧然露齿而笑。

Ojan ducked away and returned with a flask of lamp oil and a wad of rags. He doused a piece of cloth before wrapping it around the tip of an arrow. He lit the bundle on fire and carefully handed it to Zyama, who blasted the flaming shot into a cluster of beetles. They burst into flames, screeching as they burned. Ojan grinned.

他们继续用燃烧箭轰炸着虫群，欧然尽可能快地用油布包裹箭头。几丁质燃烧产生的烟雾开始飘散。大篷车不断加速，他们之间的距离拉大，眼看就安全了。

Together they bombarded the horde with flaming arrows, firing as fast as Ojan could wrap each arrowhead. The air smoked with burning chitin. The caravan accelerated, and the gap increased. They were nearly safe.

欧然的心突然凉了一截。米洛斯甲虫张开了闪亮的翅膀，飞上天形成了一团黑压压的乌云。

Ojan’s stomach dropped. The Kmiros spread glittering wings and rose to the skies as a unified black cloud.

大篷车棚顶传来砰的一声，欧然下意识地缩了缩脖子。更多同样的声音从棚顶传来，木板车厢在巨型昆虫的重负之下发出吱嘎声。

Ojan flinched as a heavy thud shook the cabin from above. More followed, and the wooden slats groaned under the weight of the oversized insects.

“抓稳了！”他的妈妈在前方大喊道，随后紧急左转弯。甲虫被甩下棚顶，但欧然听到了刺耳的刮擦声，他知道更多的甲虫落在了车上。

“Hold on!” his mother shouted from the front as she veered them sharply left. Beetles tumbled from the roof, but Ojan heard a discordant scratching from above and knew more had landed.

大鳌冲破了棚顶的层层横梁，一只巨大的甲虫闯进了大篷车。佳玛抽出匕首向它戳去，但她的匕首无法穿透它的硬壳。她将欧然推到身后，用匕首在面前晃来晃去，拼命地想要将它逼退。

Pincers broke through the layered beams in the ceiling and an enormous beetle tumbled into the caravan. Zyama drew her dagger and stabbed it, but her blade was unable to pierce its tough carapace. She pushed Ojan back and waved her blade before her, desperately trying to hold it at bay.

更多米洛斯甲虫从棚顶落下，全都咬合着双颚、挥动着大鳌。欧然躲到了床铺下面，拼命地踢开甲虫的爪钳。他从口袋里掏出那枚圆形木雕。

More Kmiros dropped through the smashed roof, all snapping jaws and clicking pincers. Ojan dove beneath his bunk, desperately kicking the insects as they clawed for him. He prised the round wooden figure from his pocket.

“求求你，拉莫斯。我向你祈祷，”他小声说。“帮帮我们！”

“Please, Rammus, I pray to you,” he whispered. “Help us!”

越来越多的甲虫落在棚顶，大篷车摇晃颠簸，就像惊涛骇浪中的小船一样剧烈晃动。然后整个世界都向侧面倾覆，大篷车被完全掀翻了，在沙土中无力地滑行。

The caravan jolted as beetles landed on the roof. It pitched back and forth like a ship on a rough sea. Then the world tilted sideways as the caravan overturned completely, skidding in the sand.

欧然捂住脸，四处掉落的物品和尘土遮蔽了他的视线。他被甩到墙上，耳朵轰鸣，脑袋跳痛。一切静止下来以后不久，他感觉到一只手抓住了他的胳膊，他的妈妈将他从碎屑中拖了出来。强烈的阳光让他睁不开眼。

Ojan shielded his face from tumbling objects as dust clouded his vision. He was flung against the wall, his ears ringing and head throbbing as the caravan swerved. After a moment of stillness, he felt a hand tug his arm as his mother dragged him from the rubble. He squinted in the blinding sunlight.

一家人在大篷车的残骸中抱成一团，在尘埃中止不住地咳嗽。米洛斯甲虫围了上来，一只甲虫向前冲刺，欧然的妈妈刺入了它双颚之间的弱点。随后她又刺穿了另一只想要咬她女儿的甲虫，它们体内恶臭的黄浆洒在了沙地上。第三只甲虫从大篷车顶跳到了它们身后。佳玛尖叫一声，她的脚被甲虫的大鳌钳住了。

The family huddled in the wreckage of their caravan, coughing in the dusty air as the Kmiros circled. A beetle charged forward and Ojan’s mother stabbed it between its clicking jaws. She skewered another as it scrambled to bite her daughter, spilling rank yellow innards across the sand. A third beetle leapt from the top of the caravan and landed behind them. Zyama screamed as it seized her foot in its pincers.

虫群突然凝滞了，停下了攻击。它们紧贴地面趴下，触须卷曲着。寂静之中，欧然听到了远处一阵旋风的声音。他望向西边地平线，一阵沙尘向他们的方向飞速突进。一家人挥舞着武器，准备面对这新的威胁。

The beetles froze abruptly, halting their attack. They hunkered low to the ground, antennas flexing. In the silence, Ojan heard a distant whirring. He watched the western horizon as a sand cloud rushed toward them in a fury of dust. The family brandished their weapons in readiness to fight this new threat.

一个圆滚滚身披铠甲的身影在沙尘中浮现，用恐怖的力量将距离他们最近的一只甲虫碾成了碎末。

A round armored shape exploded from the flurry of sand and smashed into the nearest beetle with terrible force, crushing it to pulp.

这个身影继续滚动着，左冲右突，碾压着虫群。虽然这些甲虫用钳鳌攻击那个身影，但却如螳臂当车，没过一会，米洛斯甲虫就无一幸存。

The shape barreled on, smashing beasts left and right. Though the insects snapped at the shape with their sharp pincers, it was unstoppable, and in a moment, no living Kmiros remained.

尘埃落定，欧然望向前方的圆形身影，他瞥见了尖刺铠甲突兀而出。

The dust began to settle once more, and Ojan glimpsed spiked armor jutting from the round shape ahead.

“难道是…?”佳玛说。

“Is that...?” Zyama said.

“拉莫斯！”欧然大声喊。他爬下沙丘迎接他的英雄。

“Rammus!” Ojan shouted. He scrambled down the hill to meet his hero.

拉莫斯的甲壳上布满了复杂的纹路和螺旋的鳞片，他的爪子像小刀一样锋利。他慢慢地嚼着一只毛茸茸的甲虫大腿，汁水从嘴里流出来。

The creature’s shell was intricately patterned with spiral scales, and his claws were sharp as knives. He gnawed slowly on the hairy leg of a beetle, juice dripping from his mouth.

欧然和佳玛吃惊地望着他。

Ojan and Zyama gaped.

他们的妈妈走近披甲龙龟，低下头深深鞠了一躬。

Their mother approached the Armordillo, bowing her head deeply.

“你救了我们，”她说。“我们很感激。”

“You saved us,” she said. “We are grateful.”

拉莫斯在这一家人的注视下继续吃着甲虫大腿。几分钟过去了。

Rammus crunched the beetle leg as the family watched. Several minutes passed.

他滚到了大篷车的残骸旁，在废墟中翻来翻去，然后捡起了欧然做的披甲龙龟的木雕。形象并非完美，但足以让人辨认出来。

He rolled to the fallen caravan and rummaged through the debris, emerging with Ojan’s wooden carving of the Armordillo. The likeness wasn’t perfect, but certainly discernible.

“那个是你。”欧然说。“请收下。”

“That’s you,” Ojan said. “Please, take it.”

拉莫斯半跪下来，用力一咬，将木雕断成两半。他转身走了几步，然后将两片木头扔到沙土中。佳玛突然大笑了一声。

Rammus knelt down and bit the wooden figurine in two with a crunch. He turned and walked a few paces before spitting the pieces into the sand. Zyama stifled a laugh.

“嗯。”拉莫斯说。

“Hmm,” said Rammus.

他又从另一只甲虫尸体上扯下了一条大腿，然后拖着它缓缓滚动离开了。

He tore a leg from another dead beetle and dragged it through the sand as he rolled away.

一家人怔怔地看着他消失在地平线。

The family watched him disappear over the horizon.

欧然向拉莫斯消失的方向跑过去，捡起了木雕的碎片，装进口袋里，然后向远处鞠了一躬。

Ojan ran after Rammus to retrieve the broken pieces of the statue. He pocketed them and bowed.

“为了好运。”他说。

“For luck,” he said.