As they started toward the mountain pass, Arlo felt a giant lump growing in his throat. Fear seemed to take over his entire body. Even though he was with Poppa, he had never been so scared.

 

The wind moved noisily through the trees and caused branches to bend and sway. Arlo looked at the sky. Dark storm clouds seemed to be swirling¹ in and he started to feel even worse. "Poppa, what if we get lost?" he asked, glancing around at his strange surroundings.

 

But Poppa wasn't stopping for anything. "We'll follow the river home," he said plainly.

 

BOOM!

 

Thunder rumbled² and popped in the distance as Poppa continued to push Arlo along. "Come on," he said.

 

Soon rain started to fall, and water began to fill the critter's tracks in the mud—making them disappear.

 

"We're losing it!" cried Poppa, picking up speed.

 

Arlo tried to keep up with him.

 

CRACK!

 

Lightning flashed, causing Arlo to whimper. The thunder was louder now and the storm was absolutely terrifying!

 

Trying to keep up, Arlo slipped in the mud and tumbled to the ground. "Poppa!" Arlo called. "Wait!"

 

Poppa turned and saw his son struggling, trembling with fear. Poppa softened³. "It's okay, Arlo. It's okay," he said kindly⁴. "I'm sorry. I'll help you through it."

 

"Wh-wh-what if I just can't—?" Arlo stammered⁵.

 

"I know you can. You got it in you."

 

"How do you know?"

 

"Because you're me, and more," Poppa said, smiling.

 

Crack!

 

BOOM!

 

Lightening quickly flashed again, and the thunder grew even louder. The storm seemed to be right on top of them. Arlo leaned against Poppa, desperate for comfort. Poppa helped Arlo up and out of the mud. "Whaddya say we head home?" he asked.

 

As they started back, the ground trembled and the river swelled⁶. Arlo could hear the ripping, crunching⁷ sound of roots coming out of the ground, and the loud thumping⁸ of trees falling against the wilderness⁹ floor in the distance.

 

Suddenly, Poppa's face showed alarm and he yelled, "Run, Arlo!" He pushed Arlo up the hill with all his might, trying to get him away from the river. Arlo's feet sank into the wet, thick mud as Poppa yelled, "Move!"

 

Horrified¹⁰, Arlo looked up river and saw something huge and black coming toward them. The wind whipped faster, stinging Arlo's eyes and knocking down trees so close that the sound of them hitting the ground was deafening¹¹. The thunder and lightning intensified¹². And Arlo froze, too terrified to move.

 

All at once, the river water seemed to rise to the sky and roared toward them like a monster. Using all his might, Poppa threw Arlo up to the safety of the riverbank. Arlo helplessly watched as Poppa tried to get up the hill and slipped—just as the giant wall of water hit. Arlo cried out as he watched the water swallow Poppa and sweep him away.

 

Arlo stared at the raging river as it became a colorless blur¹³. The trees, the sky, and the earth beneath his feet seemed to melt away as he felt an indescribable hollowness.

 

Poppa was gone.

 

他们开始朝山口走去。阿乐的心都提到嗓子眼了，恐惧似乎占据了他的整个身体。尽管龙爸爸就在身边，他还是感到了前所未有的恐惧。

 

风入林间，呼啸而过，树枝被吹弯了，四下乱舞。阿乐看看天空，黑压压的雷雨云看似滚滚而来，他感觉更糟糕了。他扫了一眼周围陌生的环境问道：“爸爸，如果我们迷路了怎么办？”

 

但是龙爸爸不打算因为任何事而停下，而是平静地说道：“顺着河走我们就能回家。”

 

隆隆！

 

远处雷声隆隆，轰然作响，龙爸爸继续推着阿乐往前。“快点儿。”他说。

 

很快，下起了雨，雨水淹没了泥地里小男孩的足迹——那些足迹消失了。

 

“我们要跟丢了！”龙爸爸一边喊一边加快步伐。

 

阿乐努力跟上他。

 

噼啪！

 

闪电一闪，吓得阿乐发出了呜咽声。此时，雷声越来越响，暴风雨可怕极了！

 

为了努力跟上爸爸，阿乐滑进了泥潭，跌倒在地上。他叫道：“爸爸！等等我！”

 

龙爸爸转过身，看到儿子在泥潭里挣扎，害怕地发抖。他心软了，便和蔼地说：“没事了，阿乐，没事了。是我不好，我会帮你渡过这次难关的。”

 

“如……如果我就是不行……呢？”阿乐结巴着说。

 

“我知道你行的，你有这个潜力。”

 

“你怎么知道？”

 

“因为你是我的儿子，而且你比我强多了。”龙爸爸笑着说。

 

噼啪！

 

隆隆！

 

又一道闪电飞速划过，雷声也越来越响，暴风雨看似就在他们正上方。阿乐靠着龙爸爸，渴望得到安慰。龙爸爸将他从泥潭里拉了起来。“您说我们回家怎么样？”阿乐问道。

 

他们往回走的时候，大地开始颤动，河流开始翻涌。阿乐能听到树被连根拔起时，根部断裂的嘎吱声和远处树被吹倒在地的重击声。

 

突然，龙爸爸的脸上露出了慌张的神色，他大声喊道：“快跑，阿乐！”他用尽全身力气把阿乐推上了小山，努力让阿乐远离河流。龙爸爸大喊：“快跑！”这时，阿乐的双脚却陷进了厚厚的淤泥之中。

 

阿乐感到惊恐万分，抬头看向河流，看到黑色的庞然大物正朝他们涌来。风刮得更急了，刺痛了阿乐的双眼，成片的树林被刮倒，因为阿乐离得近，所以声音震耳欲聋。雷声和闪电愈演愈烈，阿乐僵住了，害怕得迈不开步子。

 

突然，河水飞涨，看似要直达天际，像个怪物一样向他们咆哮。龙爸爸用尽全身力气，把阿乐扔到了河岸上安全的地方。河水像一面巨大的墙砸过来的时候，阿乐只能无助地看着爸爸努力爬上山又滑落下去。看着河水把爸爸一口吞下，又将爸爸冲走，阿乐大声哭了起来。

 

咆哮的河流逐渐平静下来，阿乐盯着这一切，一种无以名状的空洞感让他觉得树木、天空和脚下的大地都消失了。

 

爸爸没了。

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