猎 Prey

作者：Anthony Burch

雷恩加尔在看到一群死人之前，已经闻到了血腥味。大概是六个人，他心里盘算。但是他们的尸体已经被撕得四分五裂，雷恩加尔很难准确判断具体的数字。他们的剑散落在周围的草地上，就像钝了的餐刀一样没用。

Rengar smelled the blood before he saw the dead humans. Six or so, he estimated, but it was tough to get an exact count thanks to the number of pieces they’d been torn into. Their swords were strewn about the meadow, as useful as dulled cutlery.

他屈膝跪下，舔了舔地上的鲜血。

He knelt, licking blood from the ground.

舌尖上满是冰凉，啊，铁器的味道，甜美中带点苦涩的芬芳。

Cold to the tongue. Still sweet, yet bitter with the taste of iron.

这场杀戮应该才结束不到一个小时。

It had been spilled less than an hour ago.

雷恩加尔拿起了一截残肢，发现这段肢体的断面上挂着有一丝绿色的唾液。他把断肢放在鼻子前，仔细闻了闻。

Turning over one of the stray limbs in his hand, Rengar found a line of greenish saliva dangling from where the arm had been ripped from its body. He raised the stump to his nose and sniffed.

那唾液带着一股腐烂的味道，就像是在臭水沟里腐烂的尸体。单单是这么一嗅，雷恩加尔就想吐，好在他的肠胃远非常人能比，这才忍住了恶心。

The saliva smelled foul, like a corpse that had rotted in a puddle of excrement. Just raising it to his nose nearly made Rengar want to vomit, and he had a stronger stomach than most.

他咧开嘴笑了。一个猎物如果留下了这样的伤口，那追踪起来就容易多了。

He smiled his wide, toothy smile. The creature who inflicted these wounds would be easy to track.

雷恩加尔猫在灌木里，看着利鬃兽用爪子举起一个老人的脑袋，用牙齿生生嚼碎。它有些失望地嚎叫了几声，显然是因为嚼头不够而不太满意。

Rengar watched from the brush as the razorhide worked its claws around an old man’s skull and crushed it between its boneteeth. It howled in disappointment, evidently unimpressed by the lack of a crunch.

那巨大的四足怪兽在老人的营地附近踱步，一脚便把帐篷踩得稀烂。然后它又开始撕咬帐篷，甩了一地的破布。

The giant, four-legged beast stomped through the elderly man’s tent, crushing it with a single step, then biting at the canvas and tearing it apart.

当那怪兽猛地抬起老人的铺盖时，它发出了愉快的嚎叫声。同时，雷恩加尔听到了一个小男孩的尖叫。

Tossing aside the man’s bedroll, it howled in delight as Rengar heard the scream of a young boy.

啊，小东西。

Little one.

害怕是吧？害怕就对啦，多好啊，多可口啊。Frightened. Good fear. Delicious fear.是时候开饭了，是时候让尖叫声归于寂静了，是时候——Time to eat. Time to silence screams. Time to—痛苦？Pain.痛苦先从后颈开始蔓延。又剧烈又灼热。是什么东西咬了一下吗？不是。是别的痛苦，又一下。尖利的刺痛。这好像是个带着武器的小东西。这好像还是个带着点斗志的小东西。Pain on the back of its neck. Sharp and hot. Something bit it? No. Another pain, then another. Sharp stabs. Something with a weapon. Something with some fight in it.也许是个什么可口的小东西呢。

Maybe something tasty.

雷恩加尔一手紧握住剑，利鬃兽前后甩动，要把他摔下来。另一只手里，雷恩加尔抓着一把小刀，一下又一下地扎进那厚实的外皮。

Rengar held onto the kirai saber with one hand as the razorhide bucked back and forth, trying to dislodge him. With his other hand, he grabbed a knife and punctured the beast’s leathery hide over and over. He knew he’d never kill the beast this way, but he’d get it bleeding. Confuse it.

他知道这样杀不死这只野兽，但能让它流血，陷入混乱。

With any luck, panic it.

如果运气好点的话，还能吓到它。

The razorhide dropped to its stomach and rolled over, taking Rengar with it. It was fast—much faster than Rengar would have thought for a creature of its size. He barely had time to dislodge his blades and jump away.

利鬃兽埋头一滚，身上还带着雷恩加尔。看那野兽的身形，雷恩加尔原本估计它速度不会太快，然而那野兽的矫健程度超过了他的预期。他勉强抽出了剑，远远地跳开了。

The two combatants got to their feet. Blood trickled down the razorhide’s scales, each one sharp enough to sever a limb. Combined, the scales made for a nigh-impenetrable defense and a thousand small weapons all at the same time. It circled Rengar, sniffing the air. Rengar could tell he’d never win a straight fight against it. It was too big, too quick, too strong.

现在，双方各自站定。鲜血顺着利鬃兽身上的鳞片流下，每一道伤口都深可见骨。然而，这层鳞片既是一层有力的护甲，又足够锋利到可以当作武器。利鬃兽绕着雷恩加尔打转，鼻翼翕动，嗅个不停。雷恩加尔明白自己不可能正面杀死它，

A lifetime of scars had taught Rengar the secret of hunting. It wasn’t about being strong. It was about knowing when to withdraw, and when to attack.

它太大，太快，太强壮了。

Right now? It was time to withdraw.

人生中无数的伤疤教会了雷恩加尔狩猎的秘诀。然而这秘诀并不是变得强壮，而是知道什么时候该收手，什么时候该进攻。

He sprinted away from the village toward the tall grass surrounding it. The razorhide leapt after him in pursuit, its feet pounding the earth. Rengar could hear it behind him. He could be hidden in the grass soon enough, but the razorhide would catch up to him long before then.

现在呢？是时候收手了。

He just needed a few extra seconds.

他飞快地向村外环绕着的高草丛跑去。利鬃兽紧随其后，脚步如雷，仿佛就在雷恩加尔的耳畔。他很快就可以钻进草丛里了，但那野兽能抢先一步抓住他。

他只需要再多一点时间。

One-eyed vastaya will be delicious. Only one thing tastier than something young: something that just tried to kill you.

Stomp the cat-beast to death before eating? No. Better to swallow him whole, feel thrashing grow weaker and weaker until it deliciously stops.那个一只眼睛的瓦斯塔亚人肯定很美味。只有一种东西比幼年的动物还好吃，那就是想杀死你的家伙。Unhinge jaw. Bite down, feel warm spurts of blood—把那个猫咪似的家伙踩烂再吃？不不不，最好是把他直接生吞，感受他的挣扎一点一点消失停止──啊呀，好个美味！Tripping. Falling. What?扯掉他的下巴，一口下去，感受温热的鲜血喷出——Some sort of weapon—three balls, tied together with leather—tangled around legs.绊了一下，倒地了。怎么会？Bad.那是什么——武器？三个用绳子绑起来的球，缠在腿上？Still. Broke free easily. But cat-beast gone. Only slight rustle in tall grass to show where he went.真不好。Bound into field after it. Cat-beast: small, scared.没什么区别。挣脱很容易。但是小猫咪不见了。只有草丛的沙沙声。他在那边。Me: big, fast.紧跟着他，这小猫咪，而且已经吓破胆了。Will stomp all tallgrass down if it takes—我，又壮，跑得又快。Pain.有必要的话，能把这片草全部踩平。Warmth running down hind legs. From where? Behind?有点疼。No cat-beast. Ran away again.后腿上碰到什么热热的东西了。从哪儿来的？后面吗？Pain. New pain, in side. Annoying. Not problem. Just annoying.小猫咪不见了，又跑开了。Start running. Doesn’t matter which direction. Put distance between us. Regroup.又开始疼了，里面越来越疼。真是烦人。不过没关系，只是烦人罢了。

Turn around. Where vastaya? Maybe ran away. Maybe hiding, waiting.

得跑起来，方向不重要，只要离他远点儿。休整休整。

我得转头看看。那瓦斯塔亚人呢？也许跑走了，也许是躲在哪里等着我。

现在，最精彩的部分来了。雷恩加尔躲在草丛里，利鬃兽看不见他。他的狩猎小心谨慎，但还不够明智，不懂得害怕。

This was the best part. Invisible within the tall grass. His prey cautious, but not smart enough to be terrified.

空气中弥漫着狩猎前的片刻宁静。猎物的绝望，痛苦的哀嚎，鲜血，肾上腺素还有欢乐，马上就都要来了。

The momentary silence before the attack. Before the quarry realized just how helpless it was. Before the howls of pain, and the blood, and the adrenaline, and the joy.

雷恩加尔昂起头颅，厉声咆哮。

Rengar threw his head back and roared.

那嚎叫是哪儿来的？听起来到处都是。既不是生气，也不是害怕。

Where roar coming from? Sounds like everywhere. Not roar of anger. Not roar of fear.

是兴奋。Excitement.越来越近了。Getting closer.不好，失误了。暴露了。赶快跑，往回跑。No. This was a mistake. Out in the open. Run. Run back.喘不上气了，怎么回事？Hard to breathe. Why?伤口在身侧，比感觉起来还要深？喉咙有点湿，要窒息了。出血了。The wound in the side. Deeper than it felt? Throat wet. Choking. Blood.快走。Don’t slow down.那村庄在哪儿？这边？不，是另一边？Where is village? This way? No. The other.瓦斯塔亚人还在嚎叫，越来越近了。Vastaya still roaring. Still getting closer.得跑起来，不管是往哪儿跑。得——Run. Doesn’t matter where. Just r—好像有什么金属的东西闪了一下。一股凉风吹过肚皮。Flash of metal. Cool air blowing on stomach.不对，是肚子里面。

No, inside stomach.

感觉自己轻了许多。好像有什么又湿又沉的东西砸在地面上。又湿又沉的东西越来越多。Feel self growing lighter. Sound of something wet and heavy hitting the ground. Many wet and heavy things.回头看，内脏，液体。红色的，绿色的，洒了一路。Look back. Guts. Fluid. A trail of red and green.啊，好疼！针扎一样，疼得要抽搐了，钻心的疼。浑身都是。Pain. Stinging pain, throbbing pain, stabbing pain. Everywhere.站不起来，腿直不了了。呼吸困难。有脚步声。Can’t stand up. Legs buckle. Breathing hard. Hear footsteps coming closer.有刀出鞘的声音。Sound of knife leaving sheath.感到了什么，好像是新的东西，好像很糟糕。不是饥饿，不是生气，也不是快乐。Feel something. Something new. Something terrible. Not hunger, anger, joy.害怕。

Fear.

雷恩加尔走到仰卧着的利鬃兽旁边。那野兽的腿还在空气中不停乱踢，鲜血从他肚皮上巨大的伤口里涌出。它的眼睛瞪着。

Rengar approached the prone razorhide, its feet still kicking at the air as blood poured from the massive slash across its belly. Its eyes were dilated.

这次他要拿什么做战利品呢？头骨？鬃毛？

What trophy would he take? The skull? The mane?

那野兽昂着头，大颚一张一合，好像撕咬着空气，不知是生气还是困惑。

The creature lifted its head and worked its jaw, biting at the air out of anger or confusion.

雷恩加尔笑了。这野兽的牙真是又锋利又光滑。

Rengar smiled. The creature’s boneteeth were sharp. Smooth.

挑上一颗加在他的项链上，真是再好不过了。

One of those would make an impressive addition to his necklace.