卡利克塞 Sai Kahleek

六个小伙子加一头骆驼，小伙子们的命要更贱一些。他们有的是孤儿，有的是逃跑的奴隶，但大多都是弃子 —— 因为家里太穷而被抛弃的青少年。当沙伊布过来招工的时候，贾耶已经好几天没吃饭了。

Six boys and a camel, and the boys were cheaper to replace. Some were orphans and escaped slaves, but most were off casts — teenagers abandoned by families too poor to keep them. When Shahib offered him the work, Jaheje hadn’t eaten in days.

只有走投无路的人才会尝试穿越卡里克塞，但只要还有丁点财产，就一定会雇下沙伊布。贾耶隔着篝火看着对面坐着的年长一些的小伙子。沙伊布的脸上已经冒出几缕胡须，他的说话声音也已经变得浑厚。很少有几个小伙子能够在这片沙漠上奔波着活过几个季度。如果赚到了钱就一定不会再跑这趟活。除了沙伊布，他已经在卡里克塞上行走了近十年。

Only the desperate would try crossing the Sai Kahleek, but those with any meager possessions bartered for Shahib. Jaheje looked across the cooking fire at the older boy. A few small tufts of facial hair had sprouted on Shahib’s cheeks, and his voice no longer cracked when he spoke. Few boys survived crossing the desert for more than a couple seasons. No one chose to do it after earning any money. No one except Shahib, who had walked the Sai Kahleek for almost ten years. Shahib whistled and the other boys ran to his side. He showed them how to cut the callouses from their feet.

沙伊布吹了一声口哨，其他小伙子立刻跑到他身边。他给大家演示如何给脚底开皮。

“Feel each step,” he instructed. “Start with your big toe, then roll outward until your whole foot touches down. Only then do you shift your weight from your rear foot.” He stood and demonstrated how to move with long, silent strides.

“感受每一步”他指导着步伐。“首先大脚趾着地，然后向外滚动，直到整个脚掌落地。这个时候再把身体的重量从后面的脚移过来。”他站着向大家示范如何大步静走。“好好练习，”他继续说道。“如果骆驼走得太慢，就会暴露我们的位置。你们必须静，而且必须快。”

“Practice,” he explained. “If the camel walks too slowly, it will reveal our presence. You must be quiet, and you must be swift.”

第一天，贾耶的脚流了很多血；他几乎因为疼痛而昏了过去。商队停下以后，他又在冰凉的沙地上继续练习了很久。到了第四天，疼痛实在剧烈，他不得不找来一块皮子咬在嘴里，吞下剧痛。沙伊布表扬了他的技术。

Jaheje’s feet bled badly the first day; he nearly fainted from the pain. He practiced long after the caravan stopped and the ground cooled. By the fourth day, the pain was so intense, he used a bit of leather to bite down on. Shahib complimented him on his technique.

沙伊布大笑着告诉其他小伙子。“都来看，”他说。“贾耶走得比我都静 。都学他的动作。每一步都要像老鼠一样轻，像羚羊一样远。是的，只有这样才能活着走出卡里克塞。”

Shahib laughed as he indicated it to the other boys. “Watch,” he said. “Jaheje is quieter than me. Copy how he moves. Each step as soft as a mouse, each stride as long as a gazelle. Yes, this is how you survive Sai Kahleek.”

贾耶既向往得到大哥的表扬，又想学会生存的基础，于是沙伊布走到哪他就跟到哪。他看到沙伊布休息的时候抬起一只脚盘在旗矛的杆子上。他看到沙伊布每天早晨都重新给旗矛打结，保证让飘起来的旗子像棕榈树叶一样醒目。他看到沙伊布的双眼一直在有规律地巡视着周围的沙漠，一遍接一遍，只有在睡觉的时候才停下。

Longing as much for the older boy’s praise as the training he needed to survive, Jaheje soon followed him everywhere. He saw how Shahib rested with one foot raised and wrapped around the pendant spear. He saw how Shahib retied the spear’s pendant every morning, making sure the flag’s cut-cloth always flowed like the leaves of a desert palm. He saw how Shahib’s eyes searched the desert in a pattern, over and over, stopping only when he closed them for sleep.After the second moon, they arrived. From the top of the dunes, Jaheje looked down at the skeleton of the dead god. No one knew what the monster had been when alive, but its huge ribs raked into the sky, each casting a shadow that engulfed the caravan as they passed. Its bones meant they were entering the Sai Kahleek.

第二个月的时候，他们到了。站在沙丘的顶端，贾耶可以俯视神的骸骨。没人知道这个怪物活着的时候是什么样子，但直到今天，它庞大的肋骨依然斜向天空，每一根肋骨投下的影子都足以遮住整个商队。这具骸骨意味着他们即将进入卡利克塞。

Northerners called Sai Kahleek the “Bone Sea,” but this was a mistranslation. The Laaji tribes had never seen an ocean. Sai was the word the Laaji used for plains of sand and loosely packed rock, which were slow and painful to walk on. It meant the land was pockmarked with tunnels. It meant the Xer’Sai preyed here. It meant death lurked beneath the sand. Dragging the old camel behind them, the team of boys left before dawn, a half day’s march ahead of the caravan.

北方人管卡里克塞叫做“骸骨之海”，但其实这是错误的翻译。拉伊部落从没见过大海。“塞”在拉伊语中指的是沙土和碎石的平原，让人走得缓慢而痛苦。它意味着这片土地已经布满坑道。它意味着艾克塞在此狩猎。它意味着死亡正在砂砾之下潜伏。

Jaheje found his first burrow on the second day, and waved his signal flag. Shahib soft-stepped over to him. They approached the burrow cautiously and stopped a dozen yards from it. Its opening was no larger than a melon, but from it, the poisonous vapors of activity brewed. Shahib sent one of the boys back to redirect the caravan.

天还没亮，小伙子们就牵着骆驼出发了，在商队前方保持半天路程的距离。

Jaheje looked back and asked Shahib, “Can we kill a Xer’Sai that large?”

贾耶第二天就发现了自己人生中的第一个地洞，于是摇晃起信号旗。沙伊布轻轻走到他身边。他们小心翼翼地接近地洞，在距离一码开外停住。开口直径还没有一颗甜瓜大，但里面正冒着毒气，意味着刚刚挖开不久。沙伊布派出一个小伙子回去给商队重新指路。

Shahib scratched his chin, responding, “Their skin gets harder with age.” Slowly, a grin appeared proudly. “Last season I killed one the size of a jackal. We lost the camel, but I killed it.”

贾耶望向身后，问沙伊布，“我们能杀掉那么大的艾克塞吗？”

Jaheje smiled, enjoying his mentor’s boast. But he found himself asking, “Does Rek’Sai exist?”

沙伊布挠了挠下巴，回答说，“他们的皮是越老越硬。”他的脸上渐渐浮出一个骄傲的笑容。“上个季度我曾经杀死过豺狗那么大的艾克塞。我们损失了那头骆驼，但我的确杀了它。”

Shahib chilled, his mood suddenly bitter. “I have seen her.” But before Jaheje could ask about the famous beast, Shahib stood and told Jaheje to keep moving. They crept away from the burrow, listening, waiting, scanning the horizon for any movement.When Jaheje heard the first gong of a sounding bell, it took him a moment to process what it meant. Something was coming from behind them, to the east. He had been so focused on looking for hidden burrows, he had forgotten to watch the horizon.

贾耶也笑了，分享着导师的那份骄傲。但他不由自主地追问道，“雷克塞真的存在吗？”

The camel brayed, and Jaheje looked for the signal spears of the other boys in his crew. At the edge of his visibility, he could see their three flags.

沙伊布打了个寒战，情绪立刻凝重起来。“我见过她。”还没等贾耶再详细打听那只传奇野兽，沙伊布就站起身 ，告诉贾耶继续前进。他们缓缓离开地洞，倾听者，等待着，巡视着地平线，寻找任何移动的影子。

The bell sounded again. The boy who had sighted the Xer’Sai would now use the sounding bell to confuse the beast. Jaheje had to chase the camel away from the path of the caravan and toward the lookout. Assuming the lookout wasn’t killed, the Xer’Sai would follow the camel away from the caravan and allow the lookout a safe path to retreat.

当贾耶听到第一声铃响的时候，反映了好一阵才明白铃声的含义。有东西从他们身后出现了，从东面来。他一直过于专注于寻找隐藏的地洞，结果忘了盯紧地平线。

Jaheje could see Shahib running toward him. The bone-thin teen had abandoned silent-stepping, racing as fast as he could toward the camel and Jaheje. Shahib dropped his spear as a cloud of dust suddenly appeared behind him.

骆驼叫了起来，贾耶开始寻找其他小伙子的信号旗。在视线可及的最远处，他能看到三面旗子。

Jaheje ran to the huge king-bell attached to the camel. He dragged it down to the ground and struck it with all of his might. Even muffled by the earth, the sound battered his ears. He kept hitting, but the cloud of dust pursuing Shahib didn’t change course. Each second it gained ground.

铃声又响了一次。最初发现艾克塞的小伙现在应该会用铃声来干扰野兽。贾耶必须将骆驼赶出商队原定的路线，赶向哨童的位置。如果那个哨童还活着，艾克塞就会追着骆驼离开商队，哨童也能安全撤回。

At the moment, it seemed certain to overtake Shahib. Instead of running or dodging, he froze and screamed, “Don’t move!”

贾耶看到沙伊布正在向他跑过来。这个骨瘦如柴的小伙现在已经放弃了静走的技巧，全速向骆驼和贾耶飞奔过来。一团沙尘突然出现在他身后，沙伊布立刻丢下了手中的旗矛。

The other boys stood as motionless as their bodies would allow. At the exact instant, the old camel began running.

贾耶跑向骆驼身上挂着的大铃铛。他把大铃铛拽到地面，用尽全力敲打。虽然沙土捂住了声音，但浑厚的铃声依然振聋发聩。他不停地敲响铃铛，但沙伊布身后的那团沙尘并未改变方向。每一秒都在更加逼近。

And then, before a word could be spoken, an energy crackle hit them like a wall. The hair on Jaheje’s neck stood on end.

看上去沙伊布是注定要被赶上了。但是他没有继续跑，也没有向旁边躲开，而是突然僵在了原地，同时大喊一声。“别动！”

“It’s close,” Jaheje whispered.

其他小伙子们全都尽可能纹丝不动地站在原地。就在这时，那头老骆驼开始飞奔。

“No,” Shahib warned. “It’s not close. It’s big.” And for the first time Jaheje saw real fear on the older boy’s face.

说时迟那时快，一股能量迸发出来，像一堵墙一样撞向他们。贾耶后颈的汗毛高高立起

Shahib scanned the desert, looking for a fin, a dust cloud, anything. Then he judged the distance. “The caravan’s too far. If it heads for the camel we can make it to the rocks.”

“很近了，”贾耶悄声说。

Jaheje desperately turned, looking for the hidden creature. “Where is it?!”

“不，”沙伊布用警告的声音说。“不是很近，是很大。”这是贾耶第一次看到大哥脸上露出真正的恐惧。

In the distance, they heard the camel bray in pain. The animal’s screams ended suddenly.

沙伊布目光扫视沙漠，寻找背鳍、沙尘或者任何踪迹。然后他估算了一下距离。“商队离我们太远。如果它被骆驼引开，我们可以到达那边的岩石地带。”

“What could kill a camel that quickly?” Jaheje asked.

贾耶绝望地回过身，搜寻那只潜伏起来的生物。“跑哪去了？”

Shahib pushed them forward. “We have to reach the rocks,” he insisted.

远处，他们听到了骆驼的痛苦嘶嚎。然后它的嚎叫戛然而止。

And with that, they began to run.

“这么快就杀死一头骆驼，这是什么东西？”贾耶问。

When Shahib told them to stop, they stopped. When he indicated for them to silent-step, they did so. Jaheje could only hope Shahib saw what he did not.

沙伊布催促他们立刻前进。“我们必须到达岩石地带，”他的语气斩钉截铁。

But the black rocks seemed to run away from them. No matter how many steps they took, they never grew closer. So they ran as clouds covered the sun and the desert became black. They ran as the wind swept away their trail. They ran knowing the Xer’Sai was behind them; knowing it heard every misstep, every stumble. They ran knowing that it followed, and that every mistake led it closer.When Jaheje saw it, it seemed to be a giant mouth cut into the rock, vapors hissing from it menacingly. The burrow’s entrance was so large, even standing upright, he would be able to walk into it without lowering his head.

于是他们开始飞奔。

“Rek’Sai,” he whispered in terrified awe. As he turned, he realized that all around them, the black stone was pockmarked with the creature’s giant tunnels.

他们全都听从着沙伊布的命令，时而突然停下，时而大步静走。贾耶只能寄希望于沙伊布的老道经验真的管用。

Young Xalee gave voice to the horrible realization that they all understood: “She can tunnel through rock.” The cliffs they had thought to be their salvation were instead Rek’Sai’s lair.

但是那片黑色的岩石却似乎有意躲着他们。无论他们走了多远，眼前的距离似乎都没有缩短。所以他们跑了起来，接着乌云遮日投下的阴影。他们跑了起来，身后的足迹被风沙吹散。他们跑了起来，知道艾克塞就在身后不远，知道它能听到每一次失足、每一次踉跄。他们跑了起来，知道它正在追赶，知道每一次失误都会让它更接近自己。

“We should go back, try and reach the caravan,” Xalee suggested.

贾耶第一眼去，还以为是石头上长出了巨大的嘴巴，里面冒着恶毒的雾气。这个地洞的入口实在是太大了，甚至足以让他站直身子抬着头径直走进去。

“Try if you like,” Shahib answered.

“雷克塞”，他微弱的声音中浸透了恐惧。随后他环顾四周，突然意识到他们周围的黑色岩石上全都布满了这只生物的巨型地洞。

“We can silent-step.”

稍微年幼一些的匝李失声惊叹了一声，因为他们全都意识到一个恐怖的事实：“她能够挖穿岩石。”他们原以为到达岩壁就得救了，没想到恰恰走进了雷克塞的老巢。

“A day’s travel,” Shahib cautioned. “Can you travel soundlessly for a whole day?”

“我们应该回去，试着回到商队里。”匝李提议道。

“What will you do Shahib?” Jaheje asked.

“你走我不拦着，”沙伊布答道。

“If we go back, we will die in the Sai Kahleek. I will go forward and pray a guardian watches over me.”

“我们可以静步走 。”

Xalee asked, “Where does this valley lead?”

“一天的路程，”沙伊布仔细推算。“你能一声不出静走一整天吗？”

“It doesn’t matter where it leads. It is our only choice.”

“你打算怎么办，沙伊布？”贾耶问道。

They moved cautiously along the cliffs, entering a wind cut valley, and hoping it would lead to water soon. Avoiding the monstrous burrows was impossible. Each boy silently prayed Rek’Sai had heard, and pursued, the distant caravan instead of them.

“如果我们回头，就一定会死在卡里克塞里。我打算往前走，祈祷守护神保佑。”

As the sunlight crept over the edge of the valley, it revealed the desolate obstacle they faced. It was impossible to walk silently in the canyon, for bones were scattered underfoot. The sound of each footstep echoed with a hollow lifelessness.She launched from an unseen hole behind them, which had appeared dead. For Jaheje, everything became a blur.

匝李追问道，“这条峡谷通向哪里？”

“Back!” Shahib screamed to the others. “Get downwind!”

“通向哪里都无所谓。这是我们唯一的选择。”

The warning was already too late for Xalee. The creature brought down the boy like a wolf taking a mouse. Her huge fangs snapped Xalee’s spine, killing him before he could cry out.

他们沿着岩壁小心前行，走进了一道风蚀形成的峡谷，只能祈祷前方不远就是水源。想要避开恐怖的地洞根本不可能。每个小伙子都在默默祈祷雷克塞探听和追逐的目标，是远方的商队而不是自己。

Rek’Sai loomed above Jaheje, twice his height. Her powerful forelimbs stalked left and right. Her leech-like tail, many times the size of an alligator, dragged behind her body. Her long tongue rose, then swayed like a dancing cobra, sniffing the wind.

太阳爬到峡谷顶端，着凉了他们面前荒凉的障碍。在峡谷中走路不发出声音是不可能的，因为脚下灵性散落着各种骸骨。每一个脚步声都能激起空荡荡、死沉沉的回响。

Jaheje could feel every muscle in his body aching to move. He stood transfixed as the huge Xer’Sai turned toward him. Gore covered the beast’s eyeless face and armored beak.

她从他们身后的一个看似废弃的隐蔽洞口里腾空出现。贾耶眼前的一切都变成模糊一片。

Rek’Sai was so alien and perfect in her deadliness, Jaheje felt his mouth open in awe. The boy gripped his spear staff, certain he wouldn’t be able to pierce her armored hide if she attacked.

“撤！”沙伊布对其他人大喊。“顺风跑！”

“Down!” Shahib barked.

他的警告对匝李来说已经太迟。巨兽扑杀了那个小伙子，就像饿狼猎杀一只小老鼠。她巨大的牙齿刺穿了匝李的脊梁，他死之前甚至都没能叫出声。

All the boys ducked flat to the earth as Rek’Sai’s “fin” pulsed a sickly green color. Jaheje could feel the invisible energy crackling above him.

雷克塞正笼罩在贾耶的正上方，身高是他的而被。她强大的前肢左右开弓。她的尾巴像水蛭一样，而尺寸则相当于一条鳄鱼，重重地拖在身后。她吐出长舌，像眼镜蛇一样舞动，嗅着风中的气味。

The Xer’Sai turned, facing the distant caravan. Her tongue sniffed the air again, and considered the distance. Suddenly, the fin returned to its original violet color, and Rek’Sai pulled Xalee’s body down into her burrow.

贾耶全身每一块肌肉都紧绷得生疼，想要立刻跑开。但他却一动也不敢动地看着眼前这只巨型艾克塞转身面对他。无眼锋喙的面孔上涂满了血肉。

Save the pool of thickening blood and Xalee’s absence, no evidence of the great beast remained.

雷克塞的夺命是如此诡异而又完美，贾耶不由自主地张大了嘴巴，目瞪口呆。小伙子握了握手中的矛，他确定如果她发动进攻，自己不可能刺穿她的硬皮。

Shahib whispered to go. The survivors silently retreated, deeper into the canyon.No one spoke. The dark stone, pockmarked with burrows, robbed them of the ability to speak, to cry, to mourn.

“趴下！”沙伊布厉声大喊。

Breaking free of the spell, his exhaustion cast over him. Jaheje looked around the canyon walls. He realized in an instant the enormity of what stalked them and why Shahib had decided to press on. Since Omah ‘Azir’s time, when stone was clay and Shurima built itself to the sun, Rek’Sai had fed here. This valley was hers alone. And all believed the Xer’Sai existed only to eat.

所有小伙子们全都紧紧贴在了地面上，这时雷克塞的“背鳍”放出了邪绿色的光。贾耶可以感觉到自己上方某种看不见的能量迸发爆裂。

“But why do they stay here?” Jaheje said aloud.

雷克塞转过身，面朝远处商队的方向。她又用舌头嗅了一下空气，估算着距离。突然，她的背鳍恢复了原来的紫色，随后拖走了卡尔的尸体，消失在地洞中。

Suddenly, the monster appeared. She burst out of the ground in front of them, diving at Jaheje.

除了地上多了一滩浓血和少了匝李一人，巨兽没有留下任何存在的证据。

Jaheje ducked as Rek’Sai soared past him, her mass blocking the sun. As she landed, her forelimbs ripped apart the ground and she disappeared beneath the surface.

沙伊布悄声告诉大家离开。幸存者一言不发地后撤，向峡谷深处走去。

Hidden in the brush, VezKah, the youngest boy, motioned Jaheje closer. Just then, his mouth opened in horror. A pulse of dark energy ripped from Rek’Sai’s fin, tearing apart the earth as she rushed toward VezKah. The earth cracked apart as Rek’Sai ripped the ground up and threw the boy into the air. VezKah landed in a heap as the huge fin rushed toward them.

没人开口说话。黑色的石头地面下布满了地洞，让他们无法说话、无法哭泣、无法哀伤。

Together, Shahib and Jaheje ran out of the gully as quickly as they could.

克服了恐怖的魔咒以后，疲劳感压了上来。贾耶环顾四周峡谷岩壁。他立刻意识到追在身后的东西有多么恐怖，也意识到为什么沙伊布决定抓紧甘露。早在阿兹尔王朝，那时的粘土还没有形成石块，那时的恕瑞玛还直冲烈日，那时的雷克塞就已经在这里进食了。这条峡谷只属于她。所有人都相信艾克塞的存在单纯是为了吃。

The creature lurched forward, then slowed a rhythm, which matched the swerving pattern of her pursuit. She pushed them even further into the valley, blocking any other road of escape.

“但他们为何留在这里？”贾耶不小心说出了声。

Silent-stepping was meaningless now. Rek’Sai was too close. All that was left was to run.When Caleeb lost his breath, Rek’Sai took him. Seeing this, Shahib stopped. He collected Caleeb’s spear and waited. All around him, the air churned and bent like a reflection in the water.

突然，那头怪物出现了。她从他们面前的地面钻了出来，扑向贾耶。

“What are you doing?” Jaheje whispered.

贾耶弯腰躲避，与雷克塞擦身而过，她庞大的身躯挡住了太阳。落到地面的同时，前肢撕裂了地面，随后消失在地下。

“I will be the camel. Go silently.” Shahib acknowledged the walls around them. “Tell people what you have seen here.”

最年幼的男孩，维兹卡，正躲在草丛里，比划手势让贾耶靠近他。就在这时，他惊恐地张大了嘴，雷克塞的背鳍射出一道黑暗的能量，撕裂了地面，她紧随其后，冲向维兹卡。雷克塞冲破了土地，将最小的男孩抛到空中。维兹卡剩下的尸块散落一地，雷克塞的背鳍又开始向他们俩冲过来。

Jaheje followed Shahib’s eyeline. Behind him, the stone cliffs had been cut apart by burrows into a pattern of intersecting circles. From them, a bizarre connection of ink-black energy flowed and dripped like a sticky liquid. And through this matrix, an incompressible reality bent and twisted as someplace else prepared itself to enter our world.

沙伊布和贾耶一起拼命地快跑

Hidden in this isolated valley, the true lair of Xer’Sai was a half-constructed tunnel. A tunnel to the nightmare place where these creatures had been born, and fouler things waited hungrily at this unfinished gateway to our world.

那只巨兽放慢了速度，向侧面倾斜了一个角度，对应着猎物迂回路径的终点。她把他们赶近了峡谷更深处，堵住了其他退路。

“Keep going, Jaheje,” Shahib said with a tired smile. “Each step as soft as a mouse, each stride as long as a gazelle. You must survive the Sai Kahleek.”Jaheje made it to the far cliff before he heard the scream. Turning to look, Jaheje rolled his foot down, then slid his heel to the ground just as Shahib had taught him.

静步走已经毫无意义了。雷克塞距离太近了。能做的只有跑。

He did this as his teacher was reduced to the sound of bones snapping, and the great beast chewing.

卡李布喘不过气来，雷克塞立刻夺走了他。看到这一幕，沙伊布停了下来，捡起了卡李布的矛，静静等待。他周围的空气在不停搅动，就像水面波纹的倒影一样。

Jaheje watched as Rek’Sai opened her maw and pulled a sticky ball of dark energy from Shahib’s ruined body. The ball rotated as tendrils dripped to the ground, sticking and stretching as Rek’Sai manipulated it into a pattern, which she attached between two of the burrows.

“你要干嘛？”贾耶细声问道。

Jaheje looked away, then turned silently and soft-stepped out of the valley.Jaheje ran out of sweat the next day. He felt his dry eyes scratching against his eyelids. His lips swelled, then split open bloodlessly.

“我来当骆驼。你静走。”沙伊布看了看他们周围的岩壁。“把你看到的告诉别人。”

When his calf muscles locked in a cramp from dehydration, and he was no longer able to soft-step, only then did he fall to the ground to cry. He cried for the days of hunger he’d suffered before joining Shahib’s caravan. He cried for knowing his parents off cast him instead of his brothers. He cried for Shahib, the first person who’d shown him kindness. And it was those last tears that dragged him back onto his cramped legs and made him stand. Knowing each shaky and tired step revealed his position to any Xer’Sai nearby, Jaheje stumbled onward.When Jaheje reached the great river Renek and told his story, few believed him. But soon, those who tried to cross the Sai Kahleek with any meager possessions left, bartered for Jaheje. And Jaheje taught off cast boys how to cut the callouses from their feet and how to soft-step by rolling their heel. He taught them how to survive the Sai Kahleek, and he warned his students of the monster named Rek’Sai.

贾耶随着沙伊布的视线看去。在他身后，岩壁上布满了地洞，而各处地洞形成了规则的圆圈形状。在地洞之间，流淌着异样的漆黑的能量，像某种粘稠液体一样滴落。通过这诡异的矩阵，某种呼之欲出的现实被拉伸扭曲，似乎另外某个空间正在准备进入我们的世界。

在这与世隔绝的峡谷中，艾克塞真正的巢穴是一条挖了一般的通道。这条通道连接的是噩梦之境，是这些生物诞生的地方，在那里有更加邪恶的东西正在饥饿地等待这这条通道被打通，并来到我们的世界。

“别回头，贾耶，”沙伊布面带疲惫的微笑。“每一步都要像老鼠一样轻，像羚羊一样远。你一定要活着走出卡里克塞。”

贾耶走到了远处的岩壁，这是他听到了一声惨叫。转身回头，缓缓滚动脚掌，最后将脚跟滑倒地上，就像沙伊布教他的那样。

他遵循着老师的教诲，而此刻的老师只剩下了骨头碎裂和巨兽咀嚼的声音。

贾耶看到雷克塞张开巨口，从沙伊布残破的尸体中钩出一个粘稠漆黑的能量球。球体滚动着，粘液的触须淌到了地上，随着雷克塞的操控渐渐拉伸变形，织成了某种规则的图案，然后把它黏在了两个地洞口中间。

贾耶转移了视线，然后安静地转身，大步静走，走出了峡谷。

接下来的一天，贾耶已经流不出汗水。他觉得自己干涩的眼睛摩擦着眼皮。他的嘴唇发肿开裂，但却流不出血。

最后他的小腿肌肉开始由于缺水而抽搐，而他也无法继续静步走，这时他倒在地上开始哭泣。他为了自己再加入沙伊布商队之前的饥饿哭泣，他为了自己父母抛弃自己留下其他兄弟而哭泣，他为沙伊布哭泣，头一次有人对他显示出些许善意。最后这几滴眼泪将他拉了起来，站在抽筋的小腿上。他知道每一次动摇疲惫的脚步都将暴露自己的位置，引来附近的艾克塞，于是贾耶踉跄着继续前行。

贾耶终于抵达雷克江并讲述了自己的故事，但是几乎没人相信他的话。但很快，只要有人想要尝试穿越卡里克塞，只要他们只要还有丁点财产，就一定会雇下贾耶。随后贾耶会告诉小伙子们如何给脚开皮，如何滚动着脚跟着地静步走。他教会他们在卡丽卡塞上的生存技巧，并且警告他的学生们当心一个名叫雷克塞的怪兽。