星陨 Starfall

作者：Ariel Lawrence

我总在做一个梦。

There’s this dream I keep having.

梦的开头是一片漆黑。非常黑，我都不敢肯定自己有没有睁开眼睛。这感觉就像是在停电之后醒来一样。熟悉的点点灯火全都灭了，被黑暗吞噬一空。只剩下我一个人，还有空洞的夜晚。

It starts pitch black. It’s so dark, I’m not sure my eyes are even open. It’s like being woken up when the power’s gone out. All those familiar bits of light snuffed out, swallowed up. Just me and an empty night.

我不禁伸手四处摸索，心里希望真的只是停电了而已。孤独感沉甸甸的，像是许多层毛毯堆在身上。我尽力想要推开，但眼前的黑暗不为所动。

I can’t help myself. I reach out, hoping that it is just a blackout, that I can just push away the weight of being alone like too many heavy blankets. But the darkness doesn’t move.

我仿佛是在这口午夜的深井中踩水，冰凉的孤寂感顺着我的脊背滴落。我发现自己根本摸不到水面。我胸口一紧，呼吸越发困难。马上就要没顶了。然后有人，又或者是什么东西把塞子拔掉了，我被拖进了更深更黑的水底。我张开嘴想要大喊，想要尖叫，可却发不出一丝声音。

I tread midnight like water in a well, all the while the cold drip of loneliness slips down my back. Then I realize that there’s no surface to break. My chest tightens. My panic rises and it’s hard to breathe. I’m in way over my head. Then someone or something’s pulled the plug at the bottom of the darkness and I’m sinking further into the inky black. My mouth opens to yell, to scream, but only silence comes out.

我连喊都喊不出来，还能有什么好下场？心跳越来越快。就当我即将放弃，彻底随波逐流的当口，我感觉到了她们。

What did I expect when I have a mouth full of nothing? My heart’s beating too fast. Just when I’m about to give up, just when I’m about to let go, I feel them.

迦娜、璐璐、波比，还有金克丝。她们全身上下洋溢着欢乐、温暖、惬意和笑容，明媚热烈得似乎随时要着起火来。

Janna. Lulu. Poppy. Jinx. I feel their light. It’s like warmth and joy and comfort and laughter got balled up together so tightly they had no choice but to catch fire.

我的眼睛是睁开的。说不定她们一直都在，只是我现在才头一次真切地看清楚。她们的脸庞恬静而又美丽，都在熟睡着，说不定也在做梦，毫不在意我们周围的黑暗。我伸出手臂，但她们都太远了。这时我才意识到，我们都在坠落。

My eyes are open. Maybe they were there from the beginning, but this is the first time I can truly see. Their faces are so beautiful, so peaceful. They’re sleeping, dreaming maybe, untroubled by the darkness that surrounds us. I stretch my arms out, but they’re too far. That’s when I realize we’re falling.

一个广阔的蔚蓝世界正扑面而来。我没法集中精神考虑我们要去哪里，因为眼前的危险正在飞速靠近。我现在也不在乎。因为我只看到我的姐妹们正在下坠。下方的大气层变得红热，她们发出了亮光。

The horizon of a world big and blue rushes up to meet us. I can’t concentrate on where we’re going, the danger that’s fast approaching. At this point I don’t care. All I can see are my sisters falling. The atmosphere of the planet below us burns hot, and their lights ignite.

我的手臂痛得像是骨折了似的。我试着抓住她们，想要抓紧，但我没法阻止她们坠落。我不够强壮，没法把大家聚在一起。我远远不够。我的指尖开始发光，渐渐分离。她们的光芒迸散成纷纷扬扬的灰烬，拉出了一道彩虹，身上的徽记却渐渐灰暗。这是我最后看到的景象。

My arms ache to the bone. I try to catch them. I try to hold on, but I can’t stop them from falling. I’m not strong enough to keep us together. I’m not enough for them. The tips of my own fingers start to glow and break apart. The last thing I see is their emblems darkening as their light shatters into a rainbow of ragged cinders.

然后我就醒了。

And then I wake up.

我躺在自己床上，毯子已经是汗津津的一团。黑暗已经不见了，取而代之的是一片喑哑的灰蒙。有扇窗子没关我就睡着了。我爬起来，走到窗边看着下面的街道。轻柔的灯光在我脸上和房间里涂抹着阴影。

I’m in my bed, the blanket in a sweaty tangle. The darkness is gone, replaced by a muted gray. I’ve taken to sleeping with one of the windows open. I walk over to it and watch the street below. The soft glow of the lights outside paints me and my room in shadow.

在这一片众人沉睡的寂静之上，黑暗正盘踞着。我能感觉到那黑暗还在不断地延伸。城里很难看到星星，只有一些锐利的细小光点刺透了天幕。但我知道那里不止这些。一定不止。

Above all the sleeping quiet is darkness. I can feel it still, stretching on and on. It’s hard to see the stars from the city. Just a few pinpoints of light break it up. But I know more are out there. Somewhere.

我重新爬回床上，等着天亮。我没有睡着。不能睡。梦里又是那样。

I crawl back into bed and wait for the dawn. I don’t go to sleep. I can’t. The dream is the same.

总是那样。

Always the same.

“你要加入吗？”

“Are you going to join us?”

金克丝躺在后院的一把塑料躺椅上，小白和小黑在她脚边的草丛里打盹。很难说她到底有没有听见我的话。大得夸张的太阳镜盖在她脸上，连眉毛都快遮住了。她左耳塞着耳塞，但另一只却挂在躺椅旁晃悠。

Jinx is lying on a plastic lounge chair in the backyard, while Shiro and Kuro are napping in the grass at her feet. It’s hard to tell if she’s heard me. Abnormally large plastic sunglasses cover her eyes and most of her eyebrows. She’s got one earbud tucked in her left ear, but I can see the other dangling over the side of the recliner.

她肯定听见了。

She totally heard me.

“喂，你要进来吗？我们要开始了。”

“Hey, are you coming inside? We’re going to get started.”

金克丝往嘴里塞了一坨荧光色的口香糖，大声地嚼着，用牙齿不停捻破气泡，然后慢慢地吹了一个粉红色的大泡泡。等到泡泡大到快要挡住她的太阳镜时，她才猛地吸回去，响亮地啵了一声。

Jinx sticks a wad of fluorescent gum back into her mouth, chews loudly, cracking the bubbles with her teeth, and then slowly begins to blow a big, pink bubble. When she gets the bubble big enough to obscure her sunglasses, she sucks it back in with a loud pop.

“拉克丝，夏天可不会一直都在。”她手臂枕在脑后，看都不看我一眼。太阳镜倒映出天上羽毛状的云彩。“趁阳光正好，赶紧享受才对。”

“Summer’s not gonna last forever, Lux,” she says without looking over. She folds her arms behind her head. Feathered clouds pass in the reflection in her sunglasses. “Better soak all this up before it’s gone.”

她撩起一根红色的马尾，发梢在指尖上绕啊绕，似乎是在问我有什么好事值得她移驾进屋里去。

She twirls the end of one long red pigtail around the tip of her finger, challenging me to give her something worth coming inside for.

“你说的对。”我说。她要是觉得自己是对的，就特别喜欢听这句话。“夏天快要结束了。我觉得我们应该讨论一下……那些事。你知道吧，在开学之前。”

“You’re right,” I say. She loves it when she thinks she’s right. “Summer’s almost over. I just think we should talk about… things. You know, before school starts again.”

金克丝撅起嘴吐出一颗覆盆子。

Jinx purses her lips and blows a raspberry in the air.

我真不该提开学的。这下她再不会听我的了。

I should not have mentioned school. Definitely lost her there.

“那，”我换个策略，“我估计你也不想尝尝波比带来的棒冰咯？”

“Well,” I say, trying a different tactic, “I guess you don’t want any of the popsicles Poppy brought?”

金克丝噌地坐起来，两腿跨坐在躺椅上。小黑被弄醒了，打了个呵欠，然后淘气地把还在熟睡的小白掀了个跟头。金克丝把硕大的眼镜推上去架在额头上，看起来像是一对塑料星星正要从她的辫子上发射。

Jinx sits up, straddling the recliner. Kuro startles awake, yawns, and mischievously starts to tumble the still sleeping Shiro over in the grass. Jinx pushes the enormous sunglasses up to sit on her forehead, making it look like giant plastic stars are shooting out of her pigtails.

“棒冰？”

“Popsicles?”

“嗯。”我边说边走进了房子。”还是飞弹形状的。”我关上了身后玻璃拉门，朝厨房走去。五秒钟后，我听到拉门滑开又撞回去的声音。

“Yep,” I say as I step inside the house. “Shaped like rockets.” I shut the sliding glass door behind me and walk towards the kitchen. Five seconds later I hear the door slide open and shut.

感谢群星。虽然金克丝捉摸不定，可只要一说到甜食她就肯定会上钩。军火也行。

Thank the stars. As temperamental as Jinx is, she can be awfully predictable about desserts. And ammunition.

我没能心安太久。我走进厨房的时候，波比正站在炉子前的椅子上摊煎饼。她的手臂有力地弯着，手心握住一柄巨大的金属锅铲，全身上下透出一股坚毅。而从她到冰箱和料理台之间，滴了一路的面糊和糖浆。

My peace is momentary. As I walk into the kitchen, Poppy is standing on a chair in front of the stove, turning pancakes on the griddle, her determination and focus evident from the bend in her elbows and the iron grip she has on a big metal spatula. There is a trail of batter and sticky syrup linking her to the refrigerator and the counter.

“啊，波比，这是怎么回事？我就出去了，大概，五分钟？”金克丝一肘把我顶开，直直朝冰柜走去。

“Uh, Poppy, what’s going on? I was gone for, like, five minutes,” I say as Jinx elbows past me, making a beeline for the freezer.

“璐璐说她饿了。”波比头也不回地说。她耸耸肩，然后集中精神要把薄薄的面糊翻个面。“我就摊煎饼。”

“Lulu said she was hungry,” Poppy says over her shoulder. She shrugs and turns her concentration back to flipping the thin batter in front of her. “I made pancakes.”

璐璐坐在桌边，一只手在专注地画画，另一只手叉起了一整块煎饼。她完全没留意这一团糟的烹饪大戏。皮克斯在咬一根没了笔盖的绿色记号笔。璐璐挠了挠它的头，眼睛却一刻也没离开自己的画。

Lulu is sitting at the kitchen table intently drawing with one hand and stabbing a bite full of pancake with the other, unconcerned with the food drama surrounding her. Pix is gnawing on an uncapped green marker. Lulu scratches her familiar’s head without looking up from her own work.

“不错嘛，小矮子。”金克丝在波比背上拍了一下，一屁股滑到椅子上，全程一直在吮着飞弹形状的棒冰。“给我做个星星形状的吧？不要，等一下，导弹行吗？噢噢噢，我知道了，做个星形的导弹怎么样？我要彩虹糖！”

“Sounds good, Shortstop.” Jinx claps Poppy on the back and then slides into one of the chairs, all while slurping one of the rocket-shaped popsicles. “Make me one shaped like a star? No, wait, one shaped like a missile? Oooh, I know, how about a star missile? I need rainbow sprinkles!”

“哟，看看是谁终于打算加入了。”波比对着饼铛嘀咕道。

“Oh, look who finally decided to join us,” Poppy mutters to the griddle.

混乱。乱极了。就连天花板上都有面糊。如果我们都是一盘散沙，怎么可能去拯救宇宙呢？迦娜安静地洗着堆成小山的盘子，都是波比的杰作。她的眼神透过水槽上的窗户看出去。和风坐在她旁边的台面上，想要把爪子缝里的糖浆舔干净。

Chaos. Utter chaos. There’s pancake batter on the ceiling. How are we supposed to save the universe if we can’t get it together ourselves? Janna is quietly washing the pile of dishes that Poppy’s been creating. She’s staring out the window in front of the sink. Zephyr is sitting on the counter next to her attempting to lick the syrup from its paws.

我在厨房所剩无几的空间里踱步。”好吧，我觉得我们该讨论一下明年的事情了。学校就要开学……”

“So,” I start to pace in the little bit of open space in the kitchen. “I think we should talk about the next year. School’s about to start and…”

“喂，小璐你在画啥呢？”金克丝靠在璐璐的肩膀上，用一把叉子偷了一块煎饼。她完全不想考虑将来，甚至要通过假装关心璐璐来逃避。我尽量压住了自己叹气的声音。

“Hey, whatcha drawing, Loopy?” Jinx leans over Lulu’s shoulder, stealing a bite of her pancake with a spare fork. She doesn’t want to think about the future so badly, she’ll even feign interest in Lulu to get out of it. I try to keep my deep sigh inaudible.

我重新捡起话头。“我刚才说到，我们……”

I start again. “As I was saying, we…”

“是星陨。”璐璐打断了我，毫不关心我在说什么。“新的星星就要来了。”她眼睛都没抬一下，抓过一张传单然后一推。传单滑过桌面停在了金克丝面前，她正好咬下一大口煎饼。一坨奶泡混着糖屑掉在了传单上。她傻呵呵地笑了一下，就放着不管了。我看到传单上有不止十个字，却只有一张图。金克丝自然是没兴趣看的。

“It’s the starfall,” Lulu interrupts, completely unconcerned that words were coming out of my mouth. “The new stars are coming.” Without looking up she pushes a paper flyer across the table towards Jinx. A glob of whipped cream and sprinkles drips off Jinx’s pancake piece onto the paper as Jinx gives it a once over. She smirks and leaves it on the table. I can see the flyer has more than ten words and only one picture, so of course Jinx has totally lost interest in it.

我停在璐璐身后，第一次认真地打量起我们的小画家到底在涂些什么东西。画上是一片田野，边缘有一些树。我们五个站在田野里，抬头望着夜空。高个儿穿紫色衣服的是迦娜，拿锤子的是波比，显眼的红色长辫自然就是金克丝了。我猜那个粉红色的圆球是我。我的头发真的是那样往两边叉出去的吗？

I stop my pacing behind Lulu, taking a good look at what our little artist has been drawing for the first time. It’s a field with some trees around the edge. The five of us are standing in the field looking up at a night sky. Janna being the tall, purple one, Poppy has her hammer, and Jinx’s long, red pigtails are easy to pick out. I guess I’m the round pink one. Does my hair really stick out of the sides of my head like that?

“这个是你？”我指着一个绿头发的人问她——小人儿站在绿草地上，身边飞着几只黑色的萤火虫。璐璐点点头，一边咬着嘴唇，认真地给天空涂上深蓝。铅笔画的星星之间，还有一些其他的颜色。

“This is you?” I ask, pointing to the green-haired one in the meadow of green and black fireflies. Lulu nods, biting her lip in concentration as she shades in the dark blue of the sky. Among the penciled-in stars there are more colors.

“这些呢？”金克丝指着那些彩色的斑点问。

“What about these?” Jinx asks, pointing at the colored bits.

“当然是新的星星咯。”她对着金克丝翻了翻眼睛，然后抬头看我：“我们能走了吗？”

“New stars, of course,” she says, rolling her eyes at Jinx. Lulu looks up at me. “Can we go?”

“已经没有新的星星啦。”波比说着又摊了一个新的煎饼。

“There are no more new stars here,” Poppy says as she turns another pancake.

水槽传来哗啦一声巨响。迦娜笨手笨脚地摸索着：“抱歉。”她嗫喏着捉起了一个盘子。

There’s a loud clatter from the sink as Janna fumbles a plate. “Sorry,” she stammers as she catches it.

我走过去站在她身旁。从厨房的窗户看出去，天上细碎的云已经散尽了，只剩下一大片空旷的夏日晴空。迦娜拿着一块海绵，围着水槽里的一个盘子边沿慢慢地画着圈。

I walk over and stand next to her. Through the kitchen window I can see the wispy clouds are gone; it’s just a big, empty summer sky. In the sink, Janna slides the sponge around the plate’s outer rim in a slow, wet orbit.

“厉害呀。”我从橱柜上取下一条毛巾递给迦娜。”滑溜溜的盘子可不容易抓稳呢。”

“Nice save,” I say, offering Janna a towel off the counter. “The slippery ones are the hardest to hold onto.”

迦娜呆望了我一下，又低下头盯着手里在洗的盘子。她的脸颊泛起一阵绯红，完全不像她平日里冷静的作风。有些事不对劲。

Janna looks over at me and then down at the plate she’s been washing. Her cheeks color pink, betraying her normally cool demeanor. Something’s up.

她轻轻点点头，把干净得过分的盘子摆回到碗架上，然后把一绺淡紫色的头发拢到耳后，又从柜台上拿起一个沾满糖浆的盘子。

She nods and puts the extra-clean plate in the dish rack. She tucks a lock of lavender hair behind her ear and picks up another syrup-drenched plate from the stack on the counter.

嗯，绝对有事。

Yup, something’s definitely up.

金克丝和往常一样没心没肺，还在往成堆的煎饼上灌糖浆，先是有奶泡的一面然后再是有糖屑的一面。

Jinx, oblivious as usual, continues to drown her pile of pancakes in syrup, alternating layers with whipped cream and sprinkles.

“你知道我有多讨厌附和咱们那位蓝头发的小门挡，”金克丝把满满一叉子吃的塞进嘴里。“可是小璐，能够跟银河系里的大坏蛋打一架的也就只有我们了。”

“You know how much I hate to agree with our blue-haired door stop,” Jinx says as she crams a full fork in her mouth. “But Loops, it’s just us against all the big bad this part of the galaxy has to offer.”

璐璐放下画笔，拾起传单递给了我。我接过来，用抹布擦掉金克丝弄在上面的奶泡和糖屑，留下了一撇湿漉漉的虹彩。

Lulu puts down her pen and picks up the flyer, handing it to me. I take it and wipe off Jinx’s melting clump of whipped cream and sprinkles with a kitchen towel, smearing a wet rainbow trail across the top of the paper.

“巨神夏日星陨营。观赏盛大的夏日流星雨。远离城市，认识星空。现场游戏，文娱活动。夏末的最后狂欢。”我大声地念了出来。“由大学天文系组织，向本地所有高中生开放。”

“'Camp Targon’s Summer Starfall. Watch the summer meteor shower. Get out of the city and get to know some new stars. Games and amusement. Last chance for summer fun',” I read aloud. “It’s hosted by the Astronomy class at the university and open to all the local high school students.”

我抬起头，发现没人在听。璐璐继续画画。波比和金克丝在盘子里叠起更多的煎饼，打算比一比看谁更能吃。从窗户的反光看得到迦娜的表情，她又在呆呆地望天了。

I look up. No one’s listening. Lulu’s back to drawing. Poppy and Jinx are stacking more and more pancakes on their plates, determined to see who can eat the most. I can see Janna’s face in the reflection of the window. She’s lost in the sky again.

传单被我捏皱了。我突然觉得有些难为情，于是又放松了手。报名的最后期限就是今天。

The paper crunches in my hand. I ease my grip, embarrassed by how tightly I’m holding on. The deadline to register for the camp is today.

“机不可失。”我几乎是在自言自语。我看着大家，每个人都在各忙各的。她们肯定不高兴，但我才是领头的。这对她们有好处。“这对我们大家都有好处。”我稍微提高了一点音量，像是在说服自己。

“Last chance,” I breathe the words to myself. I look at the girls; everyone’s going in different directions. They are not going to be happy about this. But I’m the captain. This will be good for them. “It will be good for us,” I whisper out loud, talking myself into the decision.

“女士们，收拾东西吧。”我挤出一个明亮灿烂的笑容说道。这有些底气不足的信心既是做给她们的，也是给我自己的。她们纷纷看着我，不知道我要干什么。

“Pack your bags, ladies,” I say loudly, pasting a bright, shiny smile on my face. The bubbly confidence is as much a show for them as it is for me. Each of them looks up, unsure of what is about to happen.

我从口袋里掏出手机，摁下传单上的号码。“我们去欢迎一下新来的星星吧。”

I pull my phone out of my pocket and start dialing the number on the flyer. “We’re going to welcome some new stars.”

金克丝搭上一顶软边太阳帽，懒懒地走下巴士。她坚持要一路穿着泳衣过来。薄薄的罩衫被风吹起，在她身后大张旗鼓，稍微平衡了一下比基尼上花里胡哨的颜色。

Jinx slips a floppy sunhat on as she ambles down from the bus. She had insisted on wearing her bathing suit on the ride over. The obnoxiously loud colors of her bikini are tempered only by the sheer cover-up billowing behind her in the breeze.

“好了呆瓜们。”她叹了口气。“我要去池塘了。深水炸弹来喽。”

“Alright, nerds,” she sighs. “I’m going to find the pool. Time for some cannonballs.”

“那是个湖。”波比纠正道。她正细心地看着巴士司机把我们的东西搬到草坪上。

“It’s a lake,” Poppy corrects her while carefully watching the bus driver unload our gear onto a patch of grass.

“随便啦小墩子。”金克丝抓起一个满是涂鸦的手提袋，上面满是手画的星星和大得夸张的长枪短炮。她走过璐璐身边，顺手拨弄了一下璐璐头发上别着的蓝绿色蝴蝶结。“待会儿见，小璐。”

“Whatever, Short Stack.” Jinx grabs a tote bag graffitied with hand-drawn stars and over-sized guns from the top of the pile. As she passes Lulu, Jinx tugs on the teal butterfly bow in Lulu’s hair. “See ya later, Loops.”

我看着波比。

I look at Poppy.

“她确实没带着火炮过来吧，对不对？”

“She didn’t actually bring a cannon, did she?”

波比耸耸肩：“她要是带了，你觉得她会忍得住不说吗？”

Poppy shrugs. “Do you really think she could keep her mouth shut about it if she did?”

我正要叫住金克丝跟她说大家应该集体行动，却听到身后有一声闷哼。巴士司机手臂发颤，正在搬最后一件行李。蓝色的提包几乎跟波比一般大小。她全神贯注地看着司机，脚在干草地上点着不耐烦的节奏。

I’m about to call after Jinx and insist she stay with the group, when I hear a groan behind me. I watch as the bus driver pulls out the last bag, his arms quivering with the effort. The blue duffel is nearly as big as Poppy. She watches him carefully, her foot tapping out an impatient rhythm in the dry grass.

司机哼地一声把提包放在地上：“小姑娘，你这里面装了什么东西？石头吗？”

He sets the duffel down with a little grunt. “What have you got in there, kid? Rocks?”

“不是。”波比伸手抓起提包，轻松地甩到肩上。她满意地对司机露齿一笑：“是把锤子。”

“Nope.” Poppy reaches over and snatches up the handles of the duffel, swinging it over her shoulder with ease. She flashes a toothy, satisfied grin at the bus driver. “A hammer.”

波比给了我一个同样的笑容。我很确定的是，在出发之前我给大家布置了一个艰巨的任务，就是要混进人群随便逛逛，正常一点。她抓起金克丝忘了拿的拉杆包，轻轻地推了一把璐璐。

Poppy gives me the same smile, I’m sure remembering the challenge I gave everyone before we left, that we’re here to blend in and hang out. Be normal. She grabs the handle of Jinx’s forgotten wheeled bag and nudges Lulu gently.

“走吧璐璐。咱们的营地要有人动手才能扎好。”她欢快地说。

“Come on, Lulu. Our campsite isn't going to set itself up,” she says cheerfully.

璐璐点点头，哼起了一首只有她自己知道的歌。她在野花、松果和卵石间蹦蹦跳跳，欣赏着每一处瑰丽的美景，而波比迈着稳稳的步子顺着小路向前走去。

Lulu nods, humming a song only she knows the melody to. She flutters from wildflower to pinecone to pebble, marveling at every treasure the camp has to offer while Poppy maintains her dutiful march down the trail.

巴士重新启动上路。我看着车子开远，直到它消失在一片生着树丛和岩石的小丘背后。

The bus starts back up again and then pulls onto the road. I watch until it disappears behind an outcropping of rocks and trees.

“没回头路咯，嗯？迦娜？”我只听到一阵轻风拂过松林。最后几个下车的人已经走到半路了，下车的地方空空如也。“迦娜？”

“No turning back now, huh, Janna?” All I can hear is a breeze blowing through the pines. I spin around slowly. The last of the other stragglers from the bus are already halfway down the trail to the camp. The bus drop off point is empty. “Janna?”

终于，我看到迦娜站在一块大半截入土的花岗岩圆石顶上，背对着我。她双手抱臂，薰衣草颜色的发卷被看不见的微风吹动。

I finally find Janna standing on the rounded top of a granite boulder that’s sunk deep in dirt. She’s got her back to me. Her hands are wrapped around her arms and the curls of her lavender hair are bouncing in the invisible breeze.

“迦娜？”

“Janna?”

我把背包扔到一丛草上，爬上岩石，与她并肩而立。下方小小的峡谷里，已经有不少露营的人开始扎营了。树影间闪烁着皎月湖的点点波澜。我敢肯定金克丝已经跳进去了。要是她知道这个湖是融化的雪水汇成的……我不禁笑了起来。

I drop my backpack on a clump of grass and clamber up to stand next to her. Down in the little valley below us I can see the bustle of other campers and teams setting up. Between the trees there’s the glittery sparkle of Lake Lunari. My bet is that Jinx has already launched herself in there. I feel a smile cross my face as I wonder if she realizes that it’s fed by snowmelt.

但是迦娜的眼神却不在那儿。她很高。我遮住眼前的阳光抬头远眺，努力想看到她在看的东西。夏天的晴空蓝得刺眼，除了嶙峋的巨神峰和几抹白云之外再无他物。我换了个位置，手肘轻轻碰了碰她的手臂。

But Janna’s not looking at any of that. She’s so tall. I shade my eyes from the sun and look up for a few minutes, straining to see what she sees. It’s another piercingly blue summer sky, empty save for the craggy face of Mount Targon and a few white clouds. My elbow brushes her arm as I shift my position.

迦娜有些吃惊地看着我。

Janna looks over surprised.

“噢，嗨。”她的语气仿佛是刚才过去的五分钟里我都不在似的。她笑了一下，但我仍能感觉得到她在忧虑着什么事情。她望向我们刚刚下车的地方。

“Oh. Hi,” she says, like I haven’t been standing next to her for the last five minutes. She smiles, but I can tell that she’s still worried about whatever it is that’s been bothering her. She looks over to where the bus dropped us off.

“大家都去哪儿了？”

“Where did everybody go?”

“哇，你真的是心不在焉得够可以的。”我摇摇头。松树林给巨神峰勾出一圈紫灰色的幽暗轮廓，而即使是夏天，峰顶依然积着皑皑的雪。

“Wow.” I shake my head. “You really are somewhere else, huh?” I look back at the purplish-gray outline of Mt. Targon framed by a dark fringe of pine. There’s still snow on the peak this late in the summer.

迦娜摩挲着自己裸露的肩膀，深吸了一口气，像是突然感觉到了寒意。但其实一点也不冷。头顶澄澈的天空和阳光让我头一次忍不住想要听从金克丝的提议，换上一身泳装和短裤。我拿起营地指南往脸上扇风。

Janna rubs her hands over her bare shoulders and sucks in a breath as if she were suddenly chilled. It’s not even a little cold. The clear sky and sun overhead make me wish for the first time that I had followed Jinx’s advice and just worn a swimsuit and shorts. I fan my face with our camp registration.

“我们该走了。”迦娜迈开长腿，仿佛乘着轻风一样轻松地跨下岩石。她回头看着我笨手笨脚地爬下来。迦娜重又望向天空，笑意一闪即逝：”风暴就要来了。”

“We should get going,” Janna says, her long legs stepping down easily from the boulder as if walking on air. She looks back at me as I fumble down the rock. Her smile fades as she glances back up at the sky. “There’s a storm coming.”

“什么？”我想要回头望天，但花岗岩圆滚光滑，脚下又恰好踩到一窝碎石——跟平常一样，弄得我应接不暇。我重重地坐到地上，激起一股尘土，腿后面在石头上狠狠蹭了一下。

“What?” I try and look back at the sky, but my foot slips on a pocket of loose gravel and the roundness of the rock. As usual, too many things at once. I sit down hard in a puff of dust, the back of my leg scraping on the rock.

“哎哟。”我痛叫一声。真是太会挑时候了。璐璐、波比和金克丝不知道跑到营地的哪个角落去了。迦娜一副置身事外的样子。现在，她们英勇无畏的队长干脆把自己给弄瘸了。

“Ow.” I wince at the sting. Just what I need. Lulu, Poppy, and Jinx blown to the corners of the camp. Janna feeling like she’s on another planet. And now their intrepid leader is going to be taken out by her own two left feet.

“真棒。”我捂着脸低声说。

“Fantastic,” I mumble into my hand as I rub my face.

一阵凉风吹动了我颈后汗湿的头发。我抬起头，迦娜朝我伸出了一只手。

A cool breeze catches the damp hair at the back of my neck. I look up to Janna offering a healing hand.

“不用了。”我挤出一个笑脸。”我很好。记住了，在这里不要显露我们的能力。”

“Nope,” I say. I manage a smile. “I’m fine. Remember, no powers while we’re here.”

迦娜耸耸肩：”那就小心点。我们只有一个队长。”她看着我，似乎能听见我脑子里的犹疑在不停回响。我爬起身来，她已经走上了小路。

Janna shrugs. “Better be careful then, we’ve only got one leader,” she says. She looks at me and I’m sure she can hear all the doubt rattling around in my head. She turns back to the trail as I stand up.

“我们快点儿吧。”她头也不回地说：“没有你我们都会迷路的。”

“Let’s hurry,” she calls over her shoulder. “We’d all be lost without you.”

我呼出一口憋了好久的气——这恰恰是我担心的事情。

I let out the breath I’ve been holding. That’s what I’m afraid of.

营地登记台上垂挂着深紫色的桌布。桌子上用石块和大个儿的松果压着一摞摞不同样式的复印传单。登记台后面坐着个黑色长发的女孩。不对，不是女孩。她看起来年纪远不像是高中生，而且冷冰冰的模样与尘土飞扬的夏令营一点也不搭。她肯定是来自天文系的组织者之一。我朝着“女孩”走过去的时候，听见迦娜的脚步声在我身后停住了。我猜这大概意思是，我得靠自己了。

The camp information table is draped in dark purple fabric. Rocks and big pinecones hold down stacks of different photocopied flyers. Sitting behind the table is a girl with long black hair. No, not a girl. She looks too old to be in high school and way too cool for a dusty table at a summer camp. She must be one of the Astronomy class sponsors. I hear Janna’s footsteps stop behind me as I walk towards the ‘girl.’ I take this as a not so subtle clue that I’m on my own.

我走到台子前。午后的阳光被高大的松树割出一道光线，直接打在我眼睛里，不管我怎么站都躲不开。强烈的光线下我几乎看不清桌子后面那人的样子。她完全没有探出阴影的打算，相反却饶有兴致地打量起我不知如何开口的窘迫模样。

I walk up to the table. The tall pines and late afternoon sun combine at an angle so there is shaft of light stabbing me in the eye no matter where I try to stand. The contrast of light and dark makes it hard to see the person behind the table. She makes no effort to move out of the shadows and instead sounds somewhat amused by my inability to find a good spot to have a conversation.

“嗨。”我向着她大概所在的方向伸出手。

“Hi,” I say, sticking my hand in the general direction of where I think she is.

“名字。”

“Name.”

这不像是非常友好的回应。而且，她在我猜想的位置还要再往左边一步。“拉克丝。”我有些慌张地回答：“拉克珊娜。我的小组是——”

Not exactly the friendliest response. Also a step more to the left than I anticipated. “Lux,” I answer, a bit flustered. “Luxanna. My group is the—”

“嗯……‘星光姐妹’。”她打断了我。语气里满是不以为意的嘲讽。“这个名字挺……可爱的。你们俩是最后报到的。通常队长都是第一批到的。”她生气地叹了口气。

“Hmmm… ‘the Star Sisters,’” the girl interrupts. Her voice holds a strong note of mocking disapproval. “That’s such a… cute name. You two are the last to check in. Leaders are usually the first ones to check in.” She lets out an exasperated sigh for emphasis.

太阳和行星转动之下，我脸上的光终于稍微暗了一些，也让我看清了这位来自学院的刻薄小姐。近看之下，我觉得我还是更愿意只听到她的声音。她紧抿着嘴唇，好像刚吃了什么恶心的东西，但又因为礼节所迫而没有吐出来。胸前的挂牌上有几个相间得宜的字：辛德拉。

Sun and planet align so I’m finally granted a sliver of shade to get a better look at our collegiate judge. On closer inspection, I think I preferred the audio only version. She’s pursing her lips as if she had just eaten something gross, but still had manners enough not to spit it out. A lanyard name tag with perfectly put together letters reads: Syndra.

“对不起。”我试着让自己听起来更加自信一些。我就知道应该要求她们集体行动的。”我留在后面是为了确定我们的包裹没有落在巴士上。其他人因为要参加露营太兴奋了。”

“I’m sorry,” I try again, trying to sound more confident. I knew I should have told everyone to stay together. “I stayed to make sure all our bags made it off the bus. The others were really excited about getting to the campsite.”

我的手臂传来迦娜指尖的触感。她在帮我。我看向她，她正盯着辛德拉，往日平静的脸上浮现出愠怒的神色。我吃惊地打量着她们俩，顾不上说话。

I feel Janna’s fingertips on my arm, supporting me. I look over at Janna. Her normally calm face is grimacing at the girl behind the table. I do a double take between them before returning to the conversation.

“好吧，我们现在不是到了吗。”迦娜撇下一句。

“Well, we’re all here now,” Janna says curtly.

“很好。”但她的口气一点也不好。”二零一六号空地。你们小组已经有人在那儿了。湖边还有个很聒噪的家伙，我猜她应该是和你们一起的。”

“Great,” Syndra says, totally not meaning it. “Space twenty-sixteen. Some of your group is already there. There’s also a loud one down by the lake. I assume she’s one of yours.”

金克丝。真棒。

Jinx. Fantastic.

辛德拉倾过身子，拣出几张花花绿绿的纸片。她停下动作看着我——因为我没有立刻回应说金克丝是我带来的。

Syndra leans over and picks out some of the colored papers. She stops and looks up when I don’t immediately acknowledge Jinx as my responsibility.

“你也许会打算，你懂的，管一管。”她说：“这是地图和日程表。流星雨的最佳观测时间是午夜之后。”

“You might want to, you know, deal with that,” she says. “Here’s a map and a schedule. The best viewing for the meteor shower starts after midnight.”

辛德拉把一沓纸交给我。她最后审视了我一遍，眯起了眼睛。显然我没能让她满意。”你知道各个小组的队长的责任吧？天黑之后要让组员们都聚在一起别跑远了。”

Syndra hands me the stack of papers, her eyes narrowing as she looks me over for a final judgment. I am obviously not living up to expectations. “You understand that leaders are accountable for keeping their groups together when it gets dark, right?”

“是的。”我吱声道，像个小毛孩一样愣愣地点头。我清清嗓子想找回原本的音调：”我保证不会让她们走散的。”

“Yes,” I squeak. I nod dumbly, feeling like a child. I clear my throat to try and find my voice. “I promise I’ll keep everyone together.”

仿佛是有人一声令下，四个人慢悠悠地从一条小路上走来，炫目得似乎在营地中瞬间引爆了一颗超新星。不少人好像是追星族一样凑上去，一串串地跟在几人身后。我没资格说他们，因为我的眼珠子也挪不开了。

As if on cue, a group of four wanders in from one of the trails. It’s like cool just supernovaed in the middle of camp. A wake of starstruck campers begin to gather in little eddies behind them. I can’t blame them; I can’t look away either.

“好好学学人家。”辛德拉不客气地说。她的尖刻融化成一团笑意，尖叫道：”阿狸！”

“Now there’s a team you can learn something from,” Syndra says pointedly. I watch as her snark melts into a smile. “Ahri!” she squeals.

四人组成的星座的中心那颗抬起了头。她从眼前拨开侧梳的精致刘海，笑了起来。一个高个儿的红头发，一个薄荷卷发的恬静姑娘，还有一个金发的有点儿帅的小伙儿，簇拥着他们亮眼非凡的队长。他们朝我们走过来，像磁铁似的吸引了更多的人。不用说他们个个都神采奕奕，走在一起更是浑然一体般。我忍不住嫉妒得牙疼。

The center star in the approaching constellation looks up. She brushes her perfectly side-swept, peach bangs from her eyes, and smiles. A tall redhead, a quiet girl with mint colored curls, and a kinda cute guy with blonde hair flank their all-too popular leader. Of course the group makes their way over to us, picking up more followers like a magnet. Not only does each member exude individual awesome, they move together effortlessly. I can’t help it. I’m so jealous my teeth hurt.

“辛德拉，你完事了吗？下午远足的时候我们可想你了。”阿狸说。

“Syndra,” Ahri says. “Are you all done? We missed you on the hike this afternoon.”

“我得等一些落后的人。”辛德拉看着我说。

“I had to wait for the stragglers,” Syndra says looking at me.

“嗯，我很抱歉。”我转向阿狸，笑着伸出手：“嗨，我是拉克丝，你一定是——”

“Yeah,” I say. “Sorry about that.” I turn to Ahri and smile, extending a hand. “Hi. I’m Lux. You must be—“

“好。”我还没来得及好好开头就被她截断了。我伸出的手停在半空，她无动于衷看了我好一会儿，把我窘得人人都看在眼里。终于，她精心修剪过的指甲碰了碰我的手心，算是半握了一下。“是很迷人，我知道。”她补完了我刚才要说的话，虽然跟我想的不一样。

“Cool,” she says, finishing the conversation before it even got a chance to start. She eyes my extended hand floating out in space in front of her for an extra moment, really letting my awkwardness sink in for everyone. Finally her perfectly manicured fingers touch my hand in a halfhearted shake. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

阿狸说完就撇开我转向了辛德拉。

Ahri turns to Syndra, effectively dismissing me from the conversation.

“行吧，很高兴见到你们，大概吧。”我稍稍提高音量说道。

“Okay,” I say a little too loudly. “Nice meeting you, I guess.”

风吹过营地，我用力地转身走开，不管去哪里，只要不是登记台的方向就行。

A breeze starts to blow through camp and I turn around abruptly and pick a direction to just start walking in, any direction, as long it’s not towards the information table.

于是我狠狠地撞上了迦娜。一瞬间，纸片漫天飞散。真是一出好戏。我再次一屁股摔到地上，仰脸看着迦娜。可这一看，我的怒火就被迦娜脸上的表情镇住了。

Which is exactly when I run smack into Janna. The stack of camp papers goes flying. So much for situational awareness. Once again I’m on my butt in the dusty grass looking up at Janna. Only this time my annoyance is tempered by the expression on Janna’s face.

她刚才的不忿此刻已经变成了阴森的怒容。环绕着我们的微风渐渐变得强劲。

Her earlier grimace has been replaced by a dark scowl. The light breeze around us picks up into a stronger gust.

“我要去散散心。”迦娜并不是在问我。她甚至根本都没看我一眼。这很奇怪。我从来没见过迦娜这么……这么生气过。

“I have to take a walk,” Janna says. She’s not asking. She doesn’t even look down in my direction. This is weird. I’ve never seen Janna so... so angry.

“但是，迦娜。”我一边胡乱抓着飞舞的纸片，一边从嘴里拨开被风吹乱的头发。”他们说我们要待在一块儿才行。”

“But Janna,” I say, grabbing at the flying papers and trying to pull my wind whipped hair from my mouth at the same time. “They just told us to stay together.”

但是太迟了。迦娜已经挟着风走下了一条林荫小道。在我身后，风声渐息，却听到辛德拉的笑声。我打心底希望是因为阿狸说了什么有趣的事情。可我还是硬着头皮飞快地回头瞥了一眼，却正见到辛德拉直直地看着我。笑容满面。

It’s too late. Janna walks down a shady trail taking the wind with her. Behind me, above the dying wind, I hear Syndra laughing. I hope it’s at something clever Ahri must have said. I venture a quick look back, only to catch Syndra looking directly at me. And smiling.

我集中精神，专心收捡好五颜六色的纸片。就让顺着小路飞舞的纸片把我引开吧，离这些酷小孩儿们越远越好。

I turn away and concentrate on putting my multi-colored stack of flyers back together, letting the trail of lost paper take me as far away from the cool kids as I can get.

我在一个树洞里找到了最后一张纸。但我没有弯腰捡起来，而是把自己埋进了一堆松针里，靠着树干坐了下来。面前就是湖，但这一停下来我才发现，我不太清楚自己到底在哪里了。

I find the last flyer curled in the hollow of a tree. Instead of bending over to pick it up, I let myself sink down onto a pile of pine needles and lean against the tree. In front of me is the lake, but now that I’ve stopped moving I realize I have no idea where I am.

我用力地背顶着斑驳的树皮。这趟出行跟我想象中差别实在太大了。我们几个人根本都不在一块儿，更别提什么团队合作了。

I push my back against the scratchy bark. This trip is so not going how I wanted it to. We’re not even together, let alone working more as a team.

我脸颊一阵发烫，喉咙发紧。湖面闪烁的波光变得模糊起来。我感觉眼睛里涌起了浪花。

My face feels hot. The back of my throat tightens. The light glinting off the lake in front of me blurs a little. I can feel the water well in my eyes.

我开始翻看手里的纸片，想要分散自怨自艾的悲惨情绪。

I start rifling through the stack of papers I’ve collected to distract myself from my sudden pity party.

“甚至连一张蠢地图都没有。”我沮丧地呻吟起来。”要是我连方向都搞不清楚，还当什么队长啊？”

“And not a single, stupid map.” I let out my frustration out in a groan. “How can I be a leader if I don’t even know where I’m going?”

“呵，地图这种东西真是被高估了。”远处营地的嘈杂背景声中蹦出一个男孩的声音。我抬头看，真棒，是阿狸那伙星光璀璨的跟班里有点儿帅的金发小子。我飞快地站起来，用手背抹了抹眼睛。

“Meh. Maps are totally overrated.” A guy’s voice breaks the background noise of distant campers. I look up. Great. It’s the cute, blonde guy from Ahri’s star-studded entourage. I stand quickly and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.

“但是呢，如果你真的觉得有必要，我身上恰好有一张。”他递给我一张稍微被风吹皱了的营地地图。我们组的营地被清楚地画了出来，还标上了辛德拉漂亮的手写数字。他歪着嘴微笑着说：”找东西我特别在行。我是伊泽瑞尔。叫我伊泽就行。”

“But, if you really think you need one, I happen to have this on me.” He hands me a slightly wind-crumpled map of the camp. My group’s site is clearly circled and numbered in Syndra’s perfect handwriting. His grin is a little lopsided. “I have a knack for finding lost things. I’m Ezreal. You can call me Ez.”

我点点头，努力压抑着不要抽鼻子。他还在笑着。这是在和我调情吗？我四处望望。他从口袋里掏出一张手帕给我。

I nod, trying to control my sniffling. He’s still smiling. Is he flirting with me? I look around. He takes a handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to me.

“谢谢。”我尴尬地咕哝。就算是在松树林荫里，他的眼睛依然蓝得耀眼。

“Thanks,” I murmur awkwardly. Even in the shade of the pine trees, his eyes are really blue.

“说不定你能帮我找到我的队员们。”我指着周围的树林说。这块地方除了我们俩之外再没什么人了。”似乎除了你和我之外其他人都不见了。”

“Maybe you can help me find my team.” I gesture to the trees around us. This little corner of camp is empty except for the two of us. “Seems everybody’s lost but me and you.”

“好极了。”他拨开眼前的一束金发，绅士般地朝着小路的方向鞠了个躬。”拉克丝对吗？光的意思？”

“Sounds perfect.” He sweeps a lock of blonde hair away from his eyes with his hand and gestures with a gentlemanly bow back to the trail. “It’s Lux, right? Like a light?”

“嗯。”我点头道。搞得好像只有他知道似的。”我妈妈对台灯有种情结。”我觉得自己跃跃的自信又回来了，就是金克丝老是抱怨说烦人的那种自信。我看到他自负的笑容凝固了一秒。他不确定我是不是在戏弄他。轮到我笑了。我是不是笑得太多了一点？

“Yeah,” I nod. If he only knew. “My mom had a thing for desk lamps.” I feel my bubbly confidence returning, the one that Jinx constantly complains is so annoying. I look over and watch his cocky smile falter for a second. He’s not sure if I’m teasing him. It’s my turn to smile. Am I smiling too much?

“我开玩笑呢。”我主动说。

“I’m just kidding,” I offer.

“是，台灯挺酷的。”他有些如释重负。”但不是我最喜欢的那种光。”

“Sure, lamps are cool,” he says a little relieved. “But not exactly my favorite kind of light.”

“你还有最喜欢的光？”

“You have a favorite kind of light?”

“拜托，谁没有啊？”自负的笑容重新爬上了他的脸。我们沿着小径走去，很快就要回到更大的路上。那条路从湖边一直延伸到营地的中心。

“C’mon, doesn’t everybody?” His cocky grin is back. The small footpath we’ve been following is about to join up with the larger trail that goes from the lake to the main part of the camp.

“你是打算直接告诉我还是要我猜？”我知道很蠢，但我已经完全忘记了几分钟前自己有多难过。自从来到营地，我头一次不再担忧其他事情，就连自己绊倒自己都不在意了。

“Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?” It’s silly, but I’m totally forgetting how sorry I was feeling for myself a few minutes ago. For the first time since getting to the camp, I’m not worrying about anything, not even tripping over my own feet.

就在这时，金克丝蹦了出来。她脸上挂着几缕被湖水浸湿的头发，还有一个鬼鬼祟祟的坏笑。等到伊泽瑞尔从阴影里走出来时，她的坏笑僵住了。

Which is exactly when Jinx shows up, a mischievous grin plastered on her face along with wisps of lake-soaked hair. Her smile tightens as Ezreal steps out of the shadows and onto the path.

“哟呵呵，好姐们儿。交了个新朋友？”金克丝在我背上一拍，像是惊醒了我。我赶忙想要回答，却差点儿闪了舌头。

“Hey there, Lux buddy. Find a new friend?” Jinx’s clap on my back startles me back into reality and I nearly choke on my tongue trying to answer her.

“金克丝，这是伊泽。”我咳得上气不接下气。”伊泽，这是金克丝。”

“Jinx, this is Ez,” I cough, trying to catch my breath. “Ez, this is Jinx.”

伊泽瑞尔向金克丝伸出一只手。金克丝欣然接受了挑战，大力地握住他的手指死命上下甩动，就好像是在掰腕子。可是让金克丝惊讶的是，伊泽毫不在意地顺着她的意思玩了起来。

Ezreal extends a hand to Jinx. Jinx accepts the challenge and strong arms him, squeezing his fingers and pumping his hand up and down like some kind of backwards arm-wrestling contest. Much to Jinx’s surprise, Ez takes the awkward handshake in stride.

金克丝把他拉近了一点，问道：”我来问问你，你到底想对我们的拉克丝做什么？”她咄咄逼人的低语却让我们都听见了。

Jinx yanks him closer. “What exactly are your intentions towards our Lux, may I ask?” she says in a threatening whisper that all of us can clearly hear.

我觉得自己的脸变得比头发还要红。

I feel my face go pinker than my hair.

“我们……我们……”伊泽结巴起来：”我们只是在聊我们最喜欢的光。你……你有没有啊？”

“We… We…” Ez stammers. “We were just talking about our favorite kind of light. Did… Did you have one?”

接得漂亮。如果说要分散金克丝的注意力，没什么比让她聊聊自己更好的办法了。

Nice save, Ez. If there’s one thing that can distract Jinx, it’s talking about herself.

“噢很简单啊。”金克丝手上的力道一松，放开了伊泽瑞尔。伊泽张开手指又收拢，确认自己没有落下残疾。

“Oh, that’s easy,” Jinx says. She eases some of the tension in her grip and lets go of Ezreal’s hand. Ez opens and closes his fingers, double-checking that they still work.

“真的？”我惊讶极了：”你有最喜欢的光？”

“Really?” I say, surprised. “You have a favorite kind of light?”

金克丝看着我。”那当然了，谁没有啊？”

Jinx turns to me. “Well, of course. Doesn’t everybody?”

伊泽瑞尔耸起肩膀，一脸得意地笑了。

Ezreal shrugs. His cocky grin is back.

“伊泽瑞尔，有什么情况吗？”一个冷静的声音问道。好啊，这下可更加热闹了。是那个高个儿的红头发，炫酷星座四人组里闪亮程度仅次于阿狸的女孩。她从营地的主路上远远地走近。从脸上的表情来看她好像对我们都不太高兴。尤其是金克丝。

“Ezreal, is everything alright?” a cool voice asks. And now it’s a party. The tall redhead, the second star in Ahri’s constellation of awesome, approaches from farther up the main camp path. She doesn’t look too pleased with any of us. Especially Jinx.

“没什么情况，莎拉。”伊泽瑞尔试图缓和红头发粗暴的干涉。

“It’s alright, Sarah,” Ezreal says, attempting to smooth over the redhead’s rough contempt.

“你好，我是拉克丝。”我在短裤上拍拍手，然后伸了过去。她眯起眼睛，突然间我觉得自己好像被放在了显微镜底下。而我只要一紧张就会说个不停。我滔滔不绝起来：”就是，呃，很高兴认识你，莎拉。你的头发真酷！我觉得我根本撑不起这种红色，可是你就很——哇。”

“Hi. I’m Lux,” I dust my hand off on my shorts and offer it to her in greeting. Her eyes narrow and suddenly it feels like I’m under a dissection microscope. And, of course, when I get nervous, I can’t stop talking. The words just start to pour out like someone left the faucet on. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Sarah. Your hair’s super cool! I don’t think I could ever pull off red, but on you—wow.”

“厄运小姐。”她打断我说：”莎拉是给朋友叫的。”她的脸色显然说明我不在这个分类里面。

“Miss Fortune,” she interrupts. “Sarah is for friends.” From the look on her face, I do not fall into that category.

“噢，当然。我是拉克丝。我是不是说过了？我只是在给我的组员们找点儿零食，结果有些迷路了。”我翻着手里的传单，因为我敢肯定之前我在某张纸上看到过。”对了，零食，就在大帐篷那里。有巧克力、曲奇，还有……还有……橘子。”

“Oh, of course. I’m Lux. Did I say that already? I was just looking to pick up the team snack and got a little lost.” I search one of the flyers in my hands for the details I know I saw a few minutes ago. “Yep, team snack, right here at the mess tent. Looks like it’s chocolate chip cookies and... and… oranges.”

“我讨厌橘子。”厄运小姐冷冷地说。她看着伊泽瑞尔：“阿狸要我们在天黑之前绕着营地巡视一圈。”

“I hate oranges,” Miss Fortune says coldly. She looks at Ezreal. “Ahri wants us to walk the perimeter before dark.”

伊泽瑞尔调皮地给她敬了个礼。“是，是，船长。”

Ezreal gives her a mock salute. “Aye, aye, captain.”

厄运小姐翻了翻眼睛，朝着营地走回去。金克丝拉着我往反方向走去。

Miss Fortune rolls her eyes and begins walking back up to camp. Jinx begins to pull me in the opposite direction.

“我待会儿再找你咯，拉克丝。”伊泽瑞尔说完，蹦着步子跟上了厄运小姐。

“I’ll catch you later, Lux,” Ezreal says and starts to jog after her.

我受不了了。我对他大叫：”你都没说你最喜欢什么！”

I can’t help it. I call after him. “You never said what’s your favorite!”

他停下来，甩开眼前的头发，双手拢在嘴边。

He stops, shakes the hair out of his eyes, and cups his hands together.

“星光呀。”他叫嚷着说。就算是隔着这么远，我也能清楚地看见他歪着嘴的浅笑。他转过身跑远了。

“Starlight,” he shouts back. Even from this distance I can see his lopsided grin clearly. He turns and catches up to Miss Fortune.

“哈，我还以为他会说双重彩虹呢。”金克丝若有所思地说。

“Huh,” Jinx muses thoughtfully. “I totally thought he was gonna say double rainbows.”

轮到我翻白眼了。我轻轻地捣了她一拳。

It’s my turn to roll my eyes. I punch her gently in the arm.

“行了，我们去拿点儿曲奇吧。”

“Come on, let’s go find those cookies.”

我和金克丝回到营地时天已经擦黑了。波比正在对付一捆柴火，看得出来她不太高兴。金克丝大声地嚼着曲奇，咋咋呼呼地告诉大家我们回来了。

It’s nearly dark by the time Jinx and I make it back to camp. By the way Poppy is going after a cord of firewood, I can tell she isn’t pleased. Jinx loudly crunches through another cookie, announcing our arrival.

“你去了挺久的呢。”波比抱怨了一句，又捡起一块木头，准备削成合适的大小。

“Took you long enough,” Poppy grumbles. She picks up another piece of wood to cut down to size.

“噢噢，你来了！”璐璐跳下树桩，冲过来给了我一个拥抱。至少还是有人希望见到我们的嘛。

“Ooh. There you are!” Lulu jumps off the stumps she’s sitting on and rushes me in a hug. At least someone’s glad to see us.

“瞎操心什么，小家伙。”金克丝把装有橘子的袋子扔到野餐桌上。”我带了橘子和一些曲奇。”她看了看袋子里面，拿出最后一块曲奇。”我是说，我带了橘子和一块曲奇。”

“Don’t sweat it, Bam Bam,” Jinx tosses the bag of oranges onto our picnic table. “I brought oranges and cookies.” Jinx looks into the bag again and brings out the last uneaten cookie. “I mean, I brought oranges and one cookie.”

金克丝把曲奇掰成两半，给了璐璐一半，自己留下另一半。

Jinx breaks it in two, giving half to Lulu and keeping the other for herself.

“呐，给你的，老好人。别说我自私噢。”她说。

“Here you go munchkin, don’t say I didn’t share,” she says.

璐璐抬头看着金克丝笑了。波比又抱怨了一句。

Lulu looks up at Jinx and smiles. Poppy groans.

“好吧。”金克丝说：”只是因为你比我更疯而已。”她把剩下的半块曲奇也给了璐璐。”还因为我连渣渣都不想给波比。”她故意大声地假装耳语道。”喂，我们是不是要找些东西来点把火啊？”

“Alright,” Jinx adds, “But only ‘cuz you’re crazier than me.” She gives Lulu the other half as well. “And because I don’t want Poppy to have any,” she whispers loudly. “Hey, aren’t we supposed to set some stuff on fire?”

“你说的是篝火吧。”我说。

“You mean a campfire,” I say.

“对，就是那个。”金克丝把手伸进满是星星和弹头图案的提包里。我能听见小黑吱吱的叫声，还有清脆的扳机响动。

“Yeah, one of those.” Jinx reaches into her Stars and Ammo tote bag. I can hear Kuro’s squeaking and the distinctive click of a trigger.

“喔哦，别用能力。”我摇摇头。

“Uh-uh.” I shake my head, “No powers.”

“扫兴。”金克丝翻个白眼。波比劈着柴大笑起来。

“Killjoy.” Jinx rolls her eyes. Poppy laughs between wood chops.

迦娜往篝火堆里放了一把干燥的松针，然后划了根火柴。几秒钟后松针便着了。一缕青烟袅袅升起，迦娜轻柔地吹着气，在火焰中心塞进一根粗柴。她戳戳弄弄，在火堆里搭出了一个木头的尖顶，然后给了金克丝一个满意的笑容。

Janna bends over the campfire ring with a lit match and a bundle of dry pine needles. After a few seconds, the needles catch fire. A thin waft of smoke rises and Janna blows gently, coaxing a bigger stick in the middle to ignite. She tucks the flaming bunch into a teepee of wood in the center of the ring and gives Jinx a satisfied smile.

“这不算作弊吗？”金克丝把空了的曲奇袋子扔到桌上，夸张地叹了口气。她四下张望，想找根棍子。”随便吧。我们带了棉花糖吗？”

“And that’s not cheating?” Jinx drops the empty cookie bag on the table with a melodramatic sigh and starts looking around for a stick. “Whatever. Did we bring marshmallows?”

波比把一堆切削整齐的圆木放在迦娜身边，说：”棉花糖不是你负责带的吗？”

Poppy sets the neatly-chopped logs in a pile next to Janna. “Aren’t marshmallows all you brought?”

“噢哦哦哦对。”金克丝大声嚷道。她从提包里翻出一袋棉花糖，用一根细长的棍子串了四个。”我还带了一条毛巾呢，小矮子。我很负责的。”

“Ooooh yeah,” Jinx snaps loudly, remembering. She finds her discarded tote and pulls out a bag of marshmallows, threading four on long, thin stick. “I brought a towel too, Shorty. I’m responsible.”

我拣了个树墩子，在迦娜附近坐了下来。她看起来比之前好多了。

I settle onto a stump near Janna. She seems better than before.

“你还好吧？”我问。她点点头。

“You alright?” I ask her. She nods.

“我觉得我只是需要一些新鲜空气。”

“I think I just needed a bit of fresh air.”

我对着四周的树林比了个手势，笑着说：”嗯，我觉得我们来对地方了。”

I gesture to all the trees around us and smile. “Well, I guess we came to the right place.”

迦娜又点点头表示同意，不过不像我这么热情。还没等我再问，璐璐拍掉手上沾着的曲奇碎屑，爬上了迦娜身边的树桩。

Janna nods her agreement, but without my enthusiasm. Before I can ask further, Lulu dusts the cookie crumbs off her hands and climbs up next to Janna.

“迦娜给我们讲个故事吧。”她说。

“Tell us a story, Janna,” she says.

“璐璐，我真的不知道什么故事。”

“I don’t really know any stories, Lulu.”

“鬼故事怎么样，迦娜？你年纪这么大，总该听过一两个鬼故事吧？”金克丝补了一句。

“How about a ghost story, Janna,” Jinx adds, “You’re old. You probably know some ghosts, right?”

迦娜对着金克丝挑起了紫色的眉毛。

Janna arches a lavender eyebrow at Jinx.

“拜托嘛。”璐璐恳求道。

“Please?” Lulu pleads.

迦娜做了个深呼吸。看来今晚谁也没法狠心拒绝璐璐。

Janna takes a deep breath. It seems no one can deny Lulu tonight.

“好吧。很久很久以前，有一道光芒独身对抗着茫茫黑暗。”迦娜开始了。

“Alright,” Janna begins. “Once upon a time, there was a lonely light that stood against darkness.”

“是最初的星星的吗？”璐璐问。

“Was it the First Star?” Lulu asks.

迦娜点点头。

Janna nods.

“是的。一开始的时候，最初的星星是孤单的。过了一段时间，它不想再这么孤独下去了，于是便调集起全身的光芒，散布到整个夜空中。”迦娜温柔地朝天挥手，向我们头顶缱绻的星河致意。

“Yes. In the beginning the First Star was all alone. After a while it didn’t want to be alone anymore so it took all of its starlight and spread it across the night.” Janna waved her hand gently across the sky, gesturing to the blanket of stars above us.

“这就是我们的来历。”璐璐骄傲地说。

“And that’s where we came from,” Lulu says proudly.

“是你，是我，还有动物和森林。甚至包括金克丝。”迦娜笑着继续说：”每个人都分到了一点星光。这光芒蕴含着强大的力量，最初的星星知道必须保护它不被黑暗侵扰。于是，最早被选中的星之守护者据说浑身充满了光芒，非常强大。”迦娜的声音稍微低落了一些。”但是，他们因此明亮地燃烧着，烧得很快。”

“You. Me. The animals and the trees. Even Jinx,” Janna adds with a smile. “Everyone carries a little bit of that light. It’s very powerful stuff and the First Star knew it needed to be protected from the darkness. The first Star Guardians that were chosen were said to be very strong and full of light.” Janna’s voice drops slightly. “But, those that burn bright, burn quickly.”

“这不就是我们来这儿的原因吗？”波比困惑地插嘴。”我们的责任就是保护最初的星光呀。”

“Isn’t that what we’re here for?” Poppy adds, confused. “It’s our duty to protect all of the First Star’s light.”

“没错。”迦娜看着我。”但这不仅仅是责任，更是我们的命运。是我们共同的命运。最初的星星很明白，这份责任如此重大，一个人根本无力承受。”

“Yes,” Janna agrees. She looks over at me. “But it’s more than duty; it’s our destiny. And it's our destiny to do it together. The First Star knew how hard it was to be responsible for so much and do it all alone.”

“有没有人曾经不想这样任人摆布，你知道，就是反抗这套什么鬼命运的说法？”金克丝用插着棉花糖的棍子捅了捅燃烧的木柴，敲出几粒火星。我有些惊讶，她居然会有心思搭理烤棉花糖之外的事情。

“Did anybody ever decide not to go with the flow, you know, against the whole destiny thing?” Jinx pokes her marshmallow stick at one of the burning logs, knocking off a few glowing embers. I’m surprised. I didn’t think she was paying attention to anything except burning sugar.

“曾经有一位星之守护者，觉得自己受够了这个轮回。她不想重新变回星光，只想保持她自己的模样。”

“There was a Star Guardian, once, who decided she’d had enough of the cycle. She didn’t want to return to starlight. She wanted to stay just who she was.”

“你吸引了我的注意力。”金克丝面对着迦娜说。

“You have my attention,” Jinx says, turning to face Janna.

“据说她最先抵达的是一个充满了黑暗的星系。”迦娜继续说。

“It’s said that she first came to be in a system full of darkness,” Janna continues.

“她有找到自己的姐妹们吗，像我们一样？”璐璐问。

“Did she find sisters, like us?” Lulu asks.

“有啊。”迦娜说：”而且因为她所在的地方是银河系中最黑暗的角落，她们就是她最重要的伙伴。她们度过了十分快乐的一段时光。她很开心能和她们在一起。然后有一天，战争来了。一股可怕的邪恶力量降临了，迅猛又恐怖的力量。她在战斗中失去了自己的姐妹们，所以她伤透了心。”

“Oh, yes,” Janna says. “And because her corner of the galaxy was so dark, they meant everything to her. For a time they were happy. And she was happy with them. Then one day there was a battle. A great evil came, swift and terrible. She lost her sisters in the fight and she became very sad.”

“要是我我也会很伤心的。”璐璐吸了吸鼻子。

“That would make me sad too,” Lulu sniffs.

“我也是的，璐璐。”迦娜抱了抱璐璐。”但是据说，她并没有一味地悲痛下去，反而是愤怒地抛下了最初的星光。他们说，她追到了那股邪恶的源头，希望能够找到办法来改变自己的命运。”

“Me too, Lulu.” Janna says, hugging her. “But they say that instead of staying sad, she became angry and turned away from the First Star’s light. They say she followed the evil to where it came from, hoping she could find some way to undo her destiny.”

璐璐身子一颤，往迦娜身上靠得更紧了。

Lulu shivers and snuggles closer to Janna.

“她还活着吗？”波比问。

“Is she still alive?” Poppy asks.

“我不知道。”迦娜想了想。”如果她还活着，那她的光芒就已经很老了。”

“I don’t know.” Janna thinks. “If she is, her light would be pretty old by now.”

“比你还老吗，迦娜？”金克丝嘲笑道。

“Older than yours, Janna?” Jinx mocks.

“是的。”迦娜顶了回去。”比我还老。”

“Yes,” Janna says, mocking her right back. “Older than mine.”

璐璐打了个呵欠，”这是个真实的故事吗？”她问。

Lulu yawns. “Was that a real story?” she asks.

“我不敢肯定，璐璐。”迦娜小声地说。

“I’m not sure anymore, Lulu,” Janna says quietly.

周围很安静。夜幕沉沉，只能听见柴火的噼啪声。我决定打破沉默。

It’s quiet. All I can hear is the crackle of the fire as the weight of the night settles over us. I decide to break the silence.

“好吧，流星雨还有大概四个小时就开始了。要不我们先睡一会儿吧。”我提议道。

“Well, the meteor shower begins in about four hours. Maybe we should get some sleep before then,” I offer.

迦娜搀着困倦的璐璐站起来，往两顶帐篷之一走去。我紧随其后。波比拦住我，指了指另一顶帐篷，然后赶上迦娜超过了她。

Janna stands the sleepy Lulu up and marches her slowly towards one of the two tents. I go to follow her. Poppy stops me and points to the other tent, before going in ahead of Janna.

“你和金克丝一起。”波比低声说。”她打呼噜。祝你好运。”

“You’re with Jinx,” Poppy says quietly. “She snores. Good luck.”

“我听到了，小不点。”金克丝往嘴里又塞了一把棉花糖。

“I heard that, Little Bits,” Jinx says, stuffing another handful of marshmallows in her mouth.

“别担心。”迦娜拖着璐璐走进帐篷。”我会照顾她的。”

“Don’t worry,” Janna says as she navigates Lulu into the tent. “I’ll look after her.”

我笑了一下，提起一桶水正要浇灭篝火。我抬头看天，数不清的星星铺满了夜空。数不胜数。也许还有数不清的星之守护者。和我们一样。自己并不孤独的感觉挺好的。我摇摇头，甩掉这些想法，把水浇在火堆上。柴火嘶嘶作响，腾起一股蒸汽。余烬熄灭了，只留下我一个人在夜色里。

I smile and grab a bucket of water to douse the campfire. I look up. More stars than I can count cover the sky. So many. Maybe more Star Guardians. Just like us. It would be nice not to feel so isolated. I shake the hope from my head and pour the water onto the fire. It sizzles and steams as the glowing embers are drowned, leaving me alone in the night.

我钻进了黑乎乎的帐篷里。金克丝已经发出了吹哨似的鼾声，而波比在另一个帐篷里砸吧着嘴。虽然算不上宁静祥和，但至少我们在一起。帐篷顶上有四个洞，我能看见外面的天空。我开始数起这个世界之外的星星。

I climb into the dark tent. Jinx is already whistle-snoring and I can hear Poppy smacking her lips in the other tent. Not exactly peace and quiet, but we’re together. There are four holes in the tent roof. Through them I can see the sky. I try and count the stars beyond our world.

还没有坚持到十，我就被睡魔带走了。

I don’t even make it to ten before I’m swallowed by sleep.

黑暗一如往常，但这次梦境已经大有不同。

The darkness is the same, but this time the dream is terrifyingly different.

除了我一个人待在黑暗的井底，我们都在这儿。璐璐、迦娜、金克丝和波比。我们都被扔到了这片黑暗里。她们的镇定全都烟消云散了，只剩下恐慌。她们的声音模模糊糊地叠在一起，恳求我带她们离开。

Instead of just me at the bottom of the lonely well, we’re all there. Lulu, Janna, Jinx, and Poppy. We’re all lost in the darkness. Their calm serenity has been replaced by panic. Each of their muffled voices lap over each other, pleading with me to get them out.

在我们头上很远很远的地方，我能看到一捧星星。它们的光芒翕动着，似乎即将熄灭。它们也在呼唤着我，但我根本碰不到。我动弹不得。闪光的灰烬如雨般飘落，灼灼地穿过我的指间。在光芒彻底融进黑暗之前，我认出了那是什么。

Above us and far, far away I can see a handful of stars. Their light wavers, nearly blinking out. They call to me too, but I can’t reach them. I can’t move. Glowing ash rains down from above. It glitters as it falls through my fingers. I recognize what it is before the muted light winks out completely.

星之守护者的徽记。已经支离破碎。

Star Guardian emblems. Shattered and broken.

一股看不见的重量撞中我的心口，几乎把我砸晕过去。我被按得又沉下去了一点。头顶的星光愈发黯淡了，而且正在远去。那重量上下跳动，不停晃动着我，但我的手脚都像死了一般不听使唤。我被困在黑暗里，彻底凝固了。

An unseen weight hits me full in the chest, knocking the wind out of me, pushing me down further. The starlight above fades even more, moving away from me. The heavy weight bounces up and down, shaking me, but my arms and legs are dead weights. I’m stuck, frozen in the darkness.

重量不再动弹。但我还在下沉。

The weight stops bouncing. I keep sinking.

“没用的。”波比的声音既颓然又愤怒。听起来她离我近了一些，但我仍然够不着她。

“It’s no use,” Poppy’s voice is annoyed and resigned at the same time. She sounds closer, but I still can’t reach her.

“来，好好看着这事该怎么办，小矮子。”

“Here. Let me show you how it’s done, Smalls.”

一声金属的刮擦，伴着液体晃动的声响。冷水劈头盖过来，惊得我大吸了一口气。我溺水了。这次是真的。我竭力咳嗽着，眼睛眨个不停地睁开了。那只是个梦。大概是吧。我终于看清了胸口的重量，显然是波比的形状。

There’s a metal scraping sound and a slosh of liquid. I suck in a huge breath as cold water splashes over me. I’m drowning. I am literally drowning this time. I sputter and blink my eyes open. It was just a dream. Sort of. The weight on my chest is distinctly Poppy-shaped.

金克丝高高在上地站着，手里拎着一个空水罐。”噢快看，我们英勇无畏的队长醒了耶。”

Jinx is standing over the both of us with an empty canteen in her hand. “Oh look, our fearless leader is awake now.”

“你们俩有必要吗？”我抹着眼睛，用富余的一件运动衫吸干睡袋里的水。

“Was that completely necessary, you two?” I wipe my eyes and try to sop up the water from my sleeping bag with a spare sweatshirt.

“璐璐不见了。”波比飞快地说。

“Lulu’s missing,” Poppy says quickly.

下一个瞬间，我已经站在了帐篷外头，手里还在提着鞋子。我掀开璐璐的帐篷门帘。她的睡袋空空如也，迦娜的也是。

I’m on my feet, out of the tent, and pulling on my shoes. I open the flap of Lulu’s tent. Her sleeping bag is empty. So is Janna’s.

“迦娜甚至都没带上我给她做的手杖。”金克丝声音尖锐，露出了一丝焦虑。”要是老太太摔倒了爬不起来怎么办？”

“Janna didn’t even take the cane I made her,” Jinx adds, true concern peeking out in her voice. “What if the old lady falls and can’t get up?”

这比那个噩梦还糟糕。

This is worse than the dream.

“没有你的话我们没法出去找她们。”波比坚持说：”你说过的，我们的责任就是同进同退。”

“We couldn't go find them without you,” Poppy says insistently. “You said it’s our duty to stick together.”

“我只是想往你头上浇一罐水，看看会怎么样。”金克丝说话的音调显得满不在乎，但她的神情却骗不了人。

“I just wanted to dump a canteen of water on you and see what happens,” Jinx says. Her tone says she doesn’t care, but her face disagrees.

“我们可以出发了吗？”波比拉着我的手臂。

“Can we leave now?” Poppy pulls at my arm.

迦娜的枕头上放着一张璐璐的画，画着我们五个在草坪上，齐齐望着天空。新的星星，璐璐说过。等我仔细看清楚画面的时候，感觉心沉到了肚子里。画上的萤火虫，发着黑色和绿色的光，围绕在我们身边。我有一种很不好的预感。

Resting on top of Janna’s pillow is the picture Lulu made of all of us in the meadow. We’re all looking up at the sky. New stars, Lulu said. My stomach sinks as I look closer at the picture. The fireflies. Black and green glowing things surround us. I have a totally bad feeling about this.

我看向波比和金克丝。我从来不记得她们两人脸上曾经出现过同一种表情。而现在，两人的担忧明明白白地写在脸上。手电的光芒无法穿透这深沉的夜。

I look at Poppy and Jinx. I can’t remember the last time they shared the same expression. Their worry is clear. Flashlights aren’t going to cut it tonight.

“波比，拿上你的锤子。金克丝，叫醒小白和小黑。”我说：”是时候动真格儿的了。”

“Poppy, get your hammer. Jinx, wake up Shiro and Kuro,” I say. “It’s time to bring out the big guns.”

我手杖的光芒比手电筒强得多，但却无法平息我不安的心跳。我停下脚步，好好地研究了另一只手里抓着的营地地图。不幸的是，璐璐肯定是找到了什么不该去的地方。我们已经离开营地边缘相当远了。

The light from my staff is infinitely better than a flashlight, but does nothing to calm my pounding heart. I stop my run to get a better look at the map of the camp I’ve clenched in my other hand. Unfortunately, Lulu must have found someplace out of the way. We’re well past the boundaries of the camp.

“这附近有一块空地。”我说：”一片岩地把它隔在了营地外。”

“There’s a clearing near here,” I say. “A rock slide’s made it off limits to the rest of the camp.”

“听起来是个不错的地方，用来迎接新来的星星。”金克丝喘着气说。要是只是爬山，她显然不至于这么喘。”都怪那些烂曲奇。”

“Sounds like a great place to welcome the new stars,” Jinx pants, more than a little winded from the growing elevation. “Stupid cookies.”

波比握紧了锤子：”我们走。”

Poppy tightens her grip on her hammer. “Let’s go.”

树林变得愈发稀疏起来，终于变成了一片空草地。我深深地吸了口气。金克丝低声吹了个口哨。

The distance between the trees becomes greater, finally opening up to a full meadow. I take a deep breath. Jinx lets out a low whistle.

真的美极了。

It’s beautiful.

一片低垂的雾气如缎面的被子般覆盖着空地。月光花丛中间杂着小小的野蔷薇。蓝色的小花从雾气上探出头来。白色的花岗岩倒映着银色的月光，点缀在幽暗的草坪上，恰似头顶的一方星空。而此时，流星雨也正好开始。

A low fog has settled like a misty quilt over the area. Moonflowers trail over tiny wild roses. Arcs of little blue flowers poke up and hang over the mist. White granite boulders catch the sliver of moonlight and dot the dark meadow like a stony star field. Above, the meteor shower has just begun.

空地中央摆着一块红白格子的野餐布，绿色头发的小璐璐正坐在那里。她甚至还带来了橘子。

Sitting in the center of it all on a red and white checkered picnic blanket is our little green-haired Lulu. She even brought the oranges.

“噢，感谢最初的星星，她在这儿呢。”温柔的风吹散了一层雾气，迦娜从附近一棵高大的松树后面走了出来。她肯定是从营地的另一个方向过来的。即使是她的呼吸也有一些急促。

“Oh, thank the First Star. She’s here.” A gentle breeze pushes some of the mist away as Janna steps out from behind a tall pine next to us. She must have come up the opposite way from camp. Even she is a little out of breath.

“拉克丝！”璐璐跳起来。我没法忍住不跑向她。我跑得很快，感觉地面都在颤动——等等，不对。我停了下来，但是大地还在震颤。雾气里有一道绿色的暗光开始搏动，看起来像是病人的静脉一样。与此同时，还有一阵隆隆的震动，与跃动的光芒一起传来。

“Lux!” Lulu jumps up. I can’t stop myself from running to her. I’m running so hard, the ground shakes. Wait, no... I stop running, but the ground’s still shaking. A greenish black glow starts to emanate like sickly veins beneath the mist. A vibration rumbles in time with the now pulsing glow.

“璐璐。”脚下的岩石发出深沉的低吼，我几乎听不见自己的声音。

“Lulu.” I can barely hear myself over the deep growl of the moving rock beneath us.

“我们并不孤单。新的星星就要来了，拉克丝。”璐璐眼底的无忧无虑消失了。她抓住我的手说：”我在梦里见到他们了。”

“We’re not alone. New stars are coming, Lux.” The innocence in Lulu’s eyes has disappeared. She takes my hand. “I’ve seen them in my dreams.”

她就站在我身边，可她的声音听起来却是那么地遥远。就好像她仍然被困在那个梦境里。

Even though she’s standing right next to me, her voice sounds so far away. Like she’s still caught in that dream.

金克丝、波比和迦娜在草坪边缘围成一圈。大地在我们脚下起伏。

Jinx, Poppy, and Janna circle around the edge of the meadow. The earth heaves beneath my feet.

“退后！”我大叫。

“Stay back!” I shout.

但是我的警告太晚了。地面裂开，缝隙变成了深深的沟壑。雾气翻滚着散开，一群像狗那么的黑色昆虫爬了出来，发出古怪的绿色光芒。

The warning comes too late. The cracks break into deep fissures. The mist ruptures and a horde of black insects the size of dogs comes crawling out, dripping an eerie green light.

我的手杖射出一道星光，正中最近的一头怪物。光芒穿透了它带着翅膀的甲壳，爆出一团恶心的荧光绿色粘液。

Staff in hand, I reflect a beam of Starlight to the nearest creature. The light hits the creature beneath its winged carapace. It explodes in a disgusting burst of lucent green goo.

“星光在上。”我喃喃地说。”它们有翅膀。”

“By Starlight,” I whisper. “They have wings.”

我对着其他人大喊：”它们有翅膀！我们不能让它们接近营地！”

I shout to the others. “They have wings! We can’t let them reach the camp!”

“哟吼。”我听见金克丝仿佛事不关己的呼哨。”小白。小黑。谁才是最凶的？！”她话音未落，导弹就飞了出去。”来吧小墩子！除虫时间到了！”

“Woo-hoo.” I can hear Jinx whooping over the fray. “Shiro. Kuro. Who’s feeling ferocious?!” Missiles start firing before she even finishes her sentence. “Come on Short Stack, it’s bug squashing time.”

“你不用跟我废话，火箭妞。”波比吼了回去。

“You don’t have to tell me twice, Rocket Breath,” Poppy shouts back.

我看到迦娜的身子离地升高了几尺。”稳住，璐璐。”我感觉她的手指握紧了。迦娜的声音回荡在空地上。

I see Janna rise off the ground a few feet. “Hold on, Lulu.” I feel her fingers tighten around mine. Janna’s voice echoes in the field.

“宁静！”一股强风吹开了雾气。几只怪物被旋风裹住，甩到了树干上。雾已经散了，我现在才看清这些恶心的东西比我想的还要多。这可不是什么骚扰。我们完全是寡不敌众。

“For tranquility!” A gust of wind blows the mist from the meadow. Several of the creatures get caught in the whirlwind eddies, smashing into heavy tree trunks. Now that the fog is gone, I see there’s way more of the awful little things than I thought. This isn’t like the other attacks. We’re in way over our heads.

“看！新的星星！”璐璐大叫。

“Look, the new stars!” Lulu shouts.

五道光线划破了天空，径直向我们坠落。我盯着它们的轨迹直到落地。光线精准地击中了草地，一共是五个着陆点。巨大的撞击碾碎了好几只怪物。

Five lights streak across the sky. They’re heading straight for us. I follow their arc as they touch down. The lights separate and hit the meadow in a perfect, five point landing. Several of the creatures explode with their impact.

等到烟尘和粘液止息之后，我的下巴都惊得快掉在了地上。

When the dust and goo settle, I nearly have to pick my jaw up off the floor.

是阿狸，还有她的跟班们。厄运小姐、辛德拉、伊泽瑞尔，还有那个安静的薄荷色头发女孩。

It’s Ahri and her entourage. Miss Fortune, Syndra, Ezreal, even the quiet, mint-haired girl.

“你是星之守护者？”我尖叫道：“你们全都是星之守护者？”现场一片混乱，没人听到我。他们都听着阿狸的话。

“You’re a Star Guardian?” I yell. “You’re all Star Guardians?” No one can hear me over the fray. That, and everyone is listening to Ahri.

“尽情闪耀吧，姑娘们。”光是她的笑容就能够点亮整片草地。“哦，你也一样，伊泽瑞尔。”

“Time to shine, ladies,” she says. Her smile alone could light up the meadow. “You too, Ezreal.”

他们整齐划一地行动了。厄运小姐抬起一只白芒四溢的手枪，开了第一枪。子弹穿过一只怪物，然后带倒了它身后的另一只。我头一次看到她的笑容，同时心里对着我的幸运星祈祷自己不要成为她的目标。阿狸和伊泽瑞尔变成了一抹残影，在战场中来回穿梭。这些怪物显然跟不上两人的速度。阿狸咯咯笑着，朝一个大块头的怪物抛出了一个飞吻。怪物瞬间变得比之前还要无脑，缓缓地朝阿狸走去，而她手里正把玩着几个光球。她的笑声骤然冰冷，同时甩出光球，将怪物炸成了一滩暗绿色的粘液。

They move as an efficient, synchronized unit. Miss Fortune raises a gleaming white pistol and fires the first shot. It blows through one creature and right through to the one behind it. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile and I count my lucky stars that I’m not the current object of her attention. Ahri and Ezreal are blurs of light as they dash into and out of the fight. The creatures are definitely not fast enough to keep up. Ahri giggles and blows a kiss towards one of the bigger monsters. Seemingly even more mindless than before, it starts to walk slowly toward her and the glowing orbs she’s playing with. Her giggle stops cold as she lobs the orb at the creature, obliterating it in a burst of dark ooze.

辛德拉后退了几步，但只是一小会儿，她便带着自己的三粒光球重新走进战场。光球上显出疯子般的坏笑，让小黑和小白都有些相形见绌。在场地中心，薄荷色头发的女孩高举着一根长杖，从天空召唤来星光。看着她的时候，我感觉自己狂跳的心开始放慢，呼吸也渐渐平和。阿狸的光球轻巧地打中了最后一只怪物，爆出一坨混着虫壳碎片的荧光粘液。他们这群人几乎是刚一落地，战斗就结束了。

Syndra hangs back, but only for a moment, entering the fray with three of her own orbs. The maniacal grins on the balls could give Kuro and Shiro a run for for their money. At the center, the girl with mint green hair raises a long staff in the air, channeling Starlight from above. Looking at her, I feel my racing heart start to slow down and my breathing get easier. Ahri’s orb catches the last creature effortlessly, exploding it in a shower of black insect exoskeleton and bioluminescent goo. As quickly as the new team had arrived, it’s over.

阿狸收起光球，摩挲着指间，显然是被怪物的残骸弄得有些不舒服。辛德拉调戏着她的紫色小伙伴，一副淡然的高傲表情让她显得超然世外。

Ahri rubs the tips of her fingers together as she gathers her orbs, obviously not pleased by the creature’s residue. Syndra juggles her dark purple familiars while her casual arrogance lifts her up above the mess.

“日常工作，啊应该说是夜常，对不对，索拉卡？”伊泽瑞尔对着那个安静的女孩挤挤眼睛。“多谢刚刚帮了我一把。”

“All in a night’s work, eh Soraka?” Ezreal says, giving the quiet girl a wink. “Thanks for the little pick me up.”

索拉卡依然恬静地笑着，同时热情地向伊泽点头致意。

Soraka maintains a serene smile while nodding enthusiastically at Ez.

伊泽瑞尔对我笑笑，显然是对今晚的精彩战斗感到满意。他那只带翅的伙伴乖乖地钻进了他的手套里。厄运小姐吹去双枪枪口的青烟，脸上是毫不在意的表情。

Obviously satisfied with all the excitement, Ez smiles in my direction as his winged familiar tucks itself neatly back into his gauntlet. Miss Fortune blows a trail of smoke from her twin pistols and ignores both of them.

轻松的时刻没有持续多久，大地再度开始震动。我还没来得及反应，地面一拱就把我顶得倒退出去，脑袋狠狠地撞在一棵树上。

The easy moment is fleeting as the ground rumbles again. Before I can count to two, the earth ruptures, knocking me back. I hit my head hard against a log.

“哎哟。”我甩甩头，想把金属似的耳鸣晃出去。但我停下了动作。因为我看到草坪变得波涛汹涌，仿佛是时空正在我的眼前扭曲。绿光又回来了，并且比之前还要猛烈。

“Ow.” I try and shake off the metallic whine now stuck between my ears. I stop moving when I see the meadow itself is going all wonky, like the fabric of space and time is warping in front of me. The green glow is back and stronger than before.

“璐璐！金克丝！”我着急地呼唤着，却看到沟壑里升起一个巨大的甲壳身体，足足有两头大象那么大。

“Lulu! Jinx!” I search for the girls, but all I can see is the hulking carapace of what looks like a space bug the size of two elephants emerging from the biggest rupture in the ground.

我感觉地面传来一阵波动，然后一束光划过我眼前。一只白色的手套伸过来抓住了我的手，地面正好开始陷落。

I feel the ground ripple and then there’s a streak of light in front of me. A white gauntleted glove reaches out and catches my hand as the earth beneath me starts to give way.

是伊泽。

It’s Ez.

“说了我会来找你的。”他的声音淹没在混乱中。“那只跨时空的恶心玩意儿可不会自生自灭。”整个世界都在不断崩溃，可他依然挂着笑意。“准备好了吗，星光？”

“Told you I’d catch you later.” His voice is drowned out in the chaos. “That inter-dimensional nasty isn’t going to explode itself.” The world is literally going to pieces and he’s still smiling. “You ready, Starlight?”

我点点头。早就准备好了。他拉着我升上了半空，高过了那头怪物。从这里，我能看到每个人。

I nod. Ready as I’ll ever be. He lifts me up, launching me into the sky above the monster. From this vantage point I can see everyone.

迦娜和索拉卡困住了一群从更小的裂缝里爬出来的虫子。阿狸、厄运小姐和辛德拉把它们挨个儿清理掉，同时开始寻找一个更好的位置来对付那个大家伙。我落在璐璐身边，她正在躲避着怪物的无数手足，而皮克斯正在攻击其他小喽啰。金克丝和波比正在空地边缘争吵。我几乎听不清她们在说什么。

Janna and Soraka contain a new horde of little evils crawling up from the smaller cracks. Ahri, Miss Fortune, and Syndra begin taking those out as they start to maneuver into a better position against the big one. I land close to Lulu as she avoids the monster’s many limbs while Pix zaps at the smaller creatures. Jinx and Poppy look like they’re arguing at the edge of the field. I can barely hear them above the fray.

“你要我干什么？”金克丝尖叫着。

“You want me to what?” Jinx yells.

“飞弹。用飞弹射我！”波比大吼。

“The Rocket. Fire me on the Rocket!” Poppy shouts back.

“波比！”金克丝不禁张大了嘴。然而不一会儿，她的脸上慢慢绽开了一个笑容。她兴奋地抱了一下波比：“我还以为你永远都不会这么说呢。”

“Poppy!” Jinx’s jaw drops in shock. Then a smile slowly blossoms on her face as she leans over and excitedly hugs the short blue haired girl next to her. “I thought you’d never ask.”

片刻之后，波比就骑在了一颗飞弹上，手里握着锤子飞向怪物的血盆大口。锤子一声巨响砸中了怪物，把它推得倒退出去。时候到了。我举起法杖，灌进星光。怪物贪婪地磨着尖牙。它看到璐璐就在脚边，便张开了嘴。

A moment later Poppy is riding a missile towards the creature’s dripping maw, hammer in hand. The hammer connects with a loud crack. The creature reels back. Its moment is up. I lift my wand and channel Starlight into it. The creature’s sharp incisors snap greedily in the air. It sees Lulu at its feet and opens wide.

我的激光贯入它的大嘴，在脑后开了个大洞。恶臭的粘液喷了一地。怪物尖利地惨叫着翻倒在地。

My beam of light smashes into it, bursting right out of the back of its head. A spray of noxious liquid drenches the field. The creature screeches and starts to topple over.

临死前的剧痛下，怪物沉重的肢体乱晃一通，向着身后倒去。恰好是璐璐的位置。我四下一看，其他人都太远了。我奋力一扑，一把推开了璐璐。黑色的怪物残骸铺天盖地地砸了下来。

Its heavy, flailing limbs reach back in its death throes. Right where Lulu is. I look around. There isn’t anyone closer. I dive in and push Lulu out of the way. Black monster pieces rain down on top of me.

一切都坠入了黑暗。

And then it all goes dark.

我听见了声音。帆布轻柔的扑打着。然后是鸟儿的吟唱。我的手指摸到了一块薄毯。我勉力睁开眼。阳光穿透四个孔洞，直刺我的眼底。我在帐篷里。

The first thing I can hear is canvas flapping gently. And birds chirping. My fingers are resting on a thin blanket. I crack my eyes open. Sunlight stabs me in the eye through the four little holes in the ceiling. I’m in my tent.

“呃啊……我……”我口干舌燥，说不出话来。我努力想要坐起身子，但稍一用力帐篷顶就开始转圈。“……怎么了？”

“Ugh... What…” The words get caught in my dry mouth. I try to sit up more, but think better of it as the ceiling starts to spin. “…am I?”

“还没死。”一个冷冰冰的声音说。

“Not dead,” a too-cool voice answers.

有人翻动了一下睡袋的另一头。我顶着眩晕，眯起眼睛瞥了一下。阿狸把美丽的桃红色秀发别在了耳后。

The fabric at the foot of my sleeping bag pulls as someone adjusts their position. I try and squint through the dizziness. Ahri tucks her perfectly peach hair behind her ear.

“你昨晚可是结结实实地挨了一下。”她说。

“You took quite a fall last night,” she says.

昨晚的回忆潮水一般涌来，像是一部被切得七零八落的糟糕电影。在树林间奔跑。一片空地。怪物们。璐璐。所有片段围着我嗡嗡作响。这可不是一个噩梦。

The events of the night start rushing back in some kind of horribly disjointed movie. Running through the woods. The field. The creatures. Lulu. Then everything crumbling around me. It wasn’t just a bad dream.

我蹭地坐起来，立刻就后悔了。猛然这么一动，我的脑子差点没跟上，整个儿甩了出去。

I bolt up, completely regretting the sudden move a moment later when my brain catches up and slams into the inside of my head.

“璐璐呢？她怎么样？”我疼得面孔有些扭曲。我抚摸着额头，想要缓解头痛。

“Lulu? Is she?” I grimace a little in pain. I rub my forehead to try and shake off the headache.

“大家都没事。我让她们去吃早餐了。”她说：“要是你醒了我却没跟那个蓝头发的壮实孩子说，我的名字就会被刻在一把锤子上。”

“Everyone’s fine. I sent them to get breakfast,” she says. “I’ve been told there’s a hammer with my name on it if I don’t tell the stubby, blue one when you’ve woken up.”

阿狸拿起旁边的一个水罐递给我。

Ahri picks up a canteen that’s sitting next to her. She hands it to me.

我小口地喝着凉水，一边看着她。在这个距离下，我才发觉我们俩其实年纪相仿。但她有些不一样。她似乎经历过很多事情，也更加自信。她见识过这个宇宙更不为人知的一面。她就是真正的领袖应该具备的样子。我很肯定。

I look at her as I take a sip of the cold water. This close and I can see that we can’t actually be that far apart in age. But there’s something about her. More experience. More confidence. She’s seen more of what the universe can throw at us. She’s the leader we’re meant to have. I know it.

“我要说，你做了正确的决定。”她说：“舍身冒险，一往无前。”

“I wanted to tell you, you made the right choice,” she says. “Risking yourself and stepping in like that.”

“没什么啦。”我婉拒了她的称赞。“无论是谁都会这么干的。这是星之守护者的本分。我们是姐妹呀。”

“It was nothing,” I say, pushing away the compliment. “Any one of us would have done it. It’s what Star Guardians do. We’re sisters.”

她浅浅地笑了，但立刻又飘过一抹阴郁。只一小会儿，她的脸上没有了表情。拒人千里之外的气息重新回到了她身上。

She laughs softly, but then a touch of darkness washes over her face. A moment later it’s gone, the mask of perfection back in its place.

“我们不是姐妹。”她带着一丝遗憾说道：“只是萍水相逢的陌生人。”

“We’re not sisters,” she says quietly, her voice tinged with regret. “We’re just strangers with memories.”

她站了起来。

She stands up.

“我们封印了入侵点。我的小队今天早上就会返回城里。从现在开始我们会接手一切事情。你和你的姑娘们留在这里直到完全恢复。好好享受夏天的阳光吧。再往后，记得不要插手。”

“We’ve sealed the incursion point. My team will be returning to the city this morning. We’ll take care of anything that comes up from now on. You and your girls can stay here until you’re recovered. Enjoy the summer sun. After that, stay out from underfoot.”

“等等，你不打算带领我们吗？”我困惑地问，脑袋突突直跳。”我是说，带上我们一起？双倍的人手，双倍的力量，昨晚我们不是合作得很好吗？”

“Wait, you’re not going to lead us?” I ask, confused. My head is pounding. “Like, all of us together? With a team twice as big, we’re twice as strong. We worked great together last night.”

“你昨晚差点弄死自己。”她说。

“You almost got yourself killed last night,” she says.

我不要再听她的了。“我们携手一起，就没有什么能打败我们。”

I’m not listening anymore. “Together, there isn’t anything we can’t face.”

“不，拉克丝。”她斩钉截铁地说：”我们携手一起，就意味着可能会失去更多。”

“No, Lux,” she says with an air of finality. “Together, there’s so much more to lose.”

就这样，不留余地地，阿狸转身就要离开。

And just like that, dismissed again. Ahri turns to leave.

“星之守护者是一个团队。”我咽了口唾沫说道。我不打算求她，但起码我该讲明白道理。“这是我们的命运。”

“Star Guardians are a team,” I say. I swallow the tightness in my throat. I’m not going to beg, but I can try to make her see reason. “It’s our destiny.”

阿狸站住了。她认真地看着我。帐篷的帘子已经被掀开了，明亮的阳光将她的脸分隔成黑白分明的两半。

Ahri pauses. She looks at me carefully. The tent flap is open; the bright sun divides her face in light and shadow. “Destiny?” she says; a subtle bitterness creeps into her voice. “That’s such an ugly word.”

“命运？”她的话音里掺进了一丝不易察觉的苦涩。“多么恶心的一个词。”

The flap of canvas closes behind her. I can feel my face getting hot in frustration. She’s a Star Guardian leader. Why won’t she lead us? Why is she leaving me alone? I stare up at the top of the tent. The four holes of light dance above me.

布帘在她身后垂了下来。我觉得自己的脸沮丧得发热。她是星之守护者的领袖，可为什么她不愿意带领我们？为什么她要抛下我一个人？我盯着帐篷的天顶。四个发光的小洞在我眼前摇晃着。

Not alone. Jinx and Poppy and Lulu and Janna are out there. They need someone. I can’t just let this go if I’m all they’ve got.

我不是一个人。金克丝还有波比还有璐璐还有迦娜就在外面。她们需要一个队长。我是她们唯一的依赖，我不能放弃。

I lurch to my feet and stumble towards the light outside. I don’t have time to wait for the world to stop spinning.

我艰难地爬起来，跌跌撞撞地走进外面的阳光里。我没有时间等待着天旋地转的世界自己归复平静。

Jinx was right.

金克丝说得对。

Summer’s not going to last forever.

夏天可不会一直都在。