羊毛战记 Part 5 The Stranded 68
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  68
  • Silo 18 •
  “Hello? Solo? Please say something.”
  There was no mistaking that voice, even through the small speakers in the dismantled1 headset. Itechoed bodiless in the control room, the same control room that had housed that very voice for somany years. The location was what nailed it for Shirly; she stared at the tiny speakers spliced2 into themagical radio, knowing it couldn’t be anyone else.
  Neither she nor Walker dared breathe. They waited what felt like forever before she finally brokethe silence.
  “That was Juliette,” she whispered. “How can we … ? Is her voice trapped down here? In the air?
  How long ago would that have been?”
  Shirly didn’t understand how any of the science worked; it was all beyond her pay grade. Walkercontinued to stare at the headset, unmoving, not saying a word, tears shining in his beard.
  “Are these … these ripples3 we’re grabbing with the antenna5, are they just bouncing around downhere?”
  She wondered if the same was true of all the voices they’d heard. Maybe they were simplypicking up conversations from the past. Was that possible? Like some kind of electrical echo?
  Somehow, this seemed far less shocking than the alternative.
  Walker turned to her, a strange expression on his face. His mouth hung partway open, but therewas a curl at the edges of his lips, a curl that began to rise.
  “It doesn’t work like that,” he said. The curl transformed into a smile. “This is now. This ishappening.” He grabbed Shirly’s arm. “You heard it too, didn’t you? I’m not crazy. That really washer, wasn’t it? She’s alive. She made it.”
  “No …” Shirly shook her head. “Walk, what’re you saying? That Juliette’s alive? Made itwhere?”
  “You heard.” He pointed6 at the radio. “Before. The conversations. The cleaning. There’s more ofthem out there. More of us. She’s with them, Shirly. This is happeningrightnow.”
  “Alive.”
  Shirly stared at the radio, processing this. Her friend was still somewhere. Still breathing. It hadbeen so solid in her head, this vision of Juliette’s body just over the hills, lying in silent repose7, thewind flecking away at her. And now she was picturing her moving, breathing, talking into a radiosomewhere.
  “Can we talk to her?” she asked.
  She knew it was a dumb question. But Walker seemed to startle, his old limbs jumping.
  “Oh, God. God, yes.” He set the mishmash of components8 down on the floor, his hands trembling,but with what Shirly now read as excitement. The fear in both of them was gone, drained from theroom, the rest of the world beyond that small space fading to meaninglessness.
  Walker dug into the parts bin4. He dumped some tools out and pawed into the bottom of thecontainer.
  “No,” he said. He turned and scanned the parts on the ground. “No, no, no.”
  “What is it?” Shirly slid away from the string of components so he could better see. “What’re wemissing? There’s a microphone right there.” She pointed to the partially9 disassembled headphones.
  “The transmitter. It’s a little board. I think it’s on my workbench.”
  “I swiped everything into the bin.” Her voice was high and tense. She moved toward the plasticbucket.
  “My other workbench. It wasn’t needed. All Jenks wanted was to listen in.” He waved at theradio. “I did what he wanted. How could I have known I’d need to transmit—?”
  “You couldn’t,” Shirly said. She rested her hand on his arm. She could tell he was heading towarda bad place. She had seen him go there often enough, knew he had shortcuts10 he could take to getthere in no time. “Is there anything in here we can use? Think, Walk. Concentrate.”
  He shook his head, wagged his finger at the headphones. “This mic is dumb. It just passes thesound through. Little membranes11 vibrating …” He turned and looked at her. “Wait — there issomething.”
  “Down here? Where?”
  “The mining storehouse would have them. Transmitters.” He pretended to hold a box and twist aswitch. “For the blasting caps. I repaired one just a month ago. It would work.”
  Shirly rose to her feet. “I’ll go get it,” she said. “You stay here.”
  “But the stairwell—”
  “I’ll be safe. I’m going down, not up.”
  He bobbed his head.
  “Don’t change anything with that.” She pointed to the radio. “No looking for more voices. Justhers. Leave it there.”
  “Of course.”
  Shirly bent12 down and squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
  Outside, she found dozens of faces turning her way, frightened and questioning looks in their wideeyes, their slack mouths. She felt like shouting over the hum of the generator13 that Juliette was alive,that they weren’t alone, that other people lived and breathed in the forbidden outside. She wanted to,but she didn’t have the time. She hurried to the rail and found Courtnee.
  “Hey—”
  “Everything okay in there?” Courtnee asked.
  “Yeah, fine. Do me a favor, will you? Keep an eye on Walker for me.”
  Courtnee nodded. “Where are you … ?”
  But Shirly was already gone, running to the main door. She squeezed through a group huddled14 inthe entranceway. Jenkins was outside with Harper. They stopped talking as she hurried past.
  “Hey!” Jenkins seized her arm. “Where the hell’re you going?”
  “Mine storeroom.” She twisted her arm out of his grasp. “I won’t be long—”
  “You won’t be going. We’re about to blow that stairwell. These idiots are falling right into ourhands.”
  “You’re what?”
  “The stairwell,” Harper repeated. “It’s rigged to blow. Once they get down there and start workingtheir way through …” He put his hands together in a ball, then expanded the sphere in a mockexplosion.
  “You don’t understand.” She faced Jenkins. “It’s for the radio.”
  He frowned. “Walk had his chance.”
  “We’re picking up a lot of chatter,” she told him. “He needs this one piece. I’ll be right back,swear.”
  Jenkins looked at Harper. “How long before we do this?”
  “Five minutes, sir.” His chin moved back and forth15, almost imperceptibly.
  “You’ve got four,” he said to Shirly. “But make sure—”
  She didn’t hear the rest. Her boots were already pounding the steel, carrying her toward thestairwell. She flew past the oil rig with its sad and lowered head, past the row of confused andtwitching men, their guns all pointing the way.
  She hit the top of the steps and slid around the corner. Someone half a flight up yelled in alarm.
  Shirly caught a glimpse of two miners with sticks of TNT before she skipped down the flight ofstairs.
  At the next level, she turned and headed for the mine shaft16. The hallways were silent, just herpanting and the clop, clop, clop of her boots.
  Juliette. Alive.
  A person sent to cleaning, alive.
  She turned down the next hallway and ran past the apartments for the deep workers, the minersand the oilmen, men who now bore guns instead of boring holes in the earth, who wielded17 weaponsrather than tools.
  And this new knowledge, this impossible bit of news, this secret, it made the fighting seemsurreal. Petty. How could anyone fight if there were places to go beyond these walls? If her friendwas still out there? Shouldn’t they be going as well?
  She made it to the storeroom. Probably been two minutes. Her heart was racing18. Surely Jenkinswouldn’t do anything to that stairway until she got back. She moved down the shelves, peering in thebins and drawers. She knew what the thing looked like. There should have been several of themfloating about. Where were they?
  She checked the lockers19, threw the dingy20 overalls21 hanging inside them to the ground, tossed workhelmets out of the way. She didn’t see anything. How much time did she have?
  She tried the small foreman’s office next, throwing the door open and storming to the desk.
  Nothing in the drawers. Nothing on the shelves mounted on the wall. One of the big drawers on thebottom was stuck. Locked.
  Shirly stepped back and kicked the front of the metal drawer with her boot. She slammed the steeltoe into it once, twice. The lip curled down, away from the drawer above. She reached in, yanked theflimsy lock off its lip, and the warped22 drawer opened with a groan23.
  Explosives. Sticks of dynamite24. There were a few small relays that she knew went into the sticksto ignite them. Beneath these, she found three of the transmitters Walker was looking for.
  Shirly grabbed two of them, a few relays, and put them all in her pocket. She took two sticks ofthe dynamite too—just because they were there and might be useful—and ran out of the office,through the storeroom, back toward the stairs.
  She had used up too much time. Her chest felt cool and empty, raspy, as she labored25 to breathe.
  She ran as fast as she could, concentrating on throwing her boots forward, lunging for more floor,gobbling it up.
  Turning at the end of the hall, she again thought about how ridiculous this fighting was. It washard to remember why it had begun. Knox was gone, so was McLain. Would their people be fightingif these great leaders were still around? Would they have done something different long ago?
  Something more sane26?
  She cursed the folly27 of it all as she reached the stairs. Surely it had been five minutes. She waitedfor a blast to ring out above her, to deafen28 her with its concussive ferocity. Leaping up two treads at atime, she made the turn at the top and saw that the miners were gone. Anxious eyes peered at her overhomemade barrels.
  “Go!” someone yelled, waving their arms to the side, hurrying her along.
  Shirly focused on Jenkins, who crouched29 down with his own rifle, Harper by his side. She nearlytripped over the wires leading away from the stairwell as she ran toward the two men.
  “Now!” Jenkins yelled.
  Someone threw a switch.
  The ground lurched and buckled30 beneath Shirly’s feet, sending her sprawling31. She landed hard onthe steel floor, her chin grazing the diamond plating, the dynamite nearly flying from her hands.
  Her ears were still ringing as she got to her knees. Men were moving behind the railing, gunspopping into the bank of smoke leaking from a new maw of twisted and jagged steel. The screams ofthe distant wounded could be heard on the other side.
  While men fought, Shirly patted her pockets, fished inside for the transmitters.
  Once again, the noise of war seemed to fade, to become insignificant32, as she hurried through thedoor to the generator room, back to Walker, her lip bleeding, her mind on more important things.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dismantled 73a4c4fbed1e8a5ab30949425a267145     
拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 ); 拆卸; 废除; 取消
参考例句:
  • The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
  • The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。
2 spliced 6c063522691b1d3a631f89ce3da34ec0     
adj.(针织品)加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 );捻接(两段绳子);胶接;粘接(胶片、磁带等)
参考例句:
  • He spliced the two lengths of film together. 他把两段胶卷粘接起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Have you heard?John's just got spliced. 听说了吗?约翰刚结了婚。 来自辞典例句
3 ripples 10e54c54305aebf3deca20a1472f4b96     
逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
  • The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。
4 bin yR2yz     
n.箱柜;vt.放入箱内;[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
参考例句:
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
5 antenna QwTzN     
n.触角,触须;天线
参考例句:
  • The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
  • In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里,每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。
6 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
7 repose KVGxQ     
v.(使)休息;n.安息
参考例句:
  • Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
  • Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑,即使在睡眠时也是这样。
8 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分
参考例句:
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。
9 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
10 shortcuts ebf87251d092a6de9c12cc3e85c1707a     
n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 );近路;快捷办法;被切短的东西(尤指烟草)
参考例句:
  • In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说,专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
11 membranes 93ec26b8b1eb155ef0aeaa845da95972     
n.(动物或植物体内的)薄膜( membrane的名词复数 );隔膜;(可起防水、防风等作用的)膜状物
参考例句:
  • The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
  • The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句
12 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
13 generator Kg4xs     
n.发电机,发生器
参考例句:
  • All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
  • This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。
14 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
15 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
16 shaft YEtzp     
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物
参考例句:
  • He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
  • This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。
17 wielded d9bac000554dcceda2561eb3687290fc     
手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的过去式和过去分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响)
参考例句:
  • The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道,好人受气
  • He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者,但实际上是别人掌握实权。
18 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
参考例句:
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
19 lockers ae9a7637cc6cf1061eb77c2c9199ae73     
n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I care about more lockers for the teachers. 我关心教师要有更多的储物柜。 来自辞典例句
  • Passengers are requested to stow their hand-baggage in the lockers above the seats. 旅客须将随身携带的行李放入座位上方的贮藏柜里。 来自辞典例句
20 dingy iu8xq     
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的
参考例句:
  • It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
  • The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。
21 overalls 2mCz6w     
n.(复)工装裤;长罩衣
参考例句:
  • He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
  • He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤,换上了一套西服。
22 warped f1a38e3bf30c41ab80f0dce53b0da015     
adj.反常的;乖戾的;(变)弯曲的;变形的v.弄弯,变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 );使(行为等)不合情理,使乖戾,
参考例句:
  • a warped sense of humour 畸形的幽默感
  • The board has warped. 木板翘了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
23 groan LfXxU     
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音
参考例句:
  • The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
  • The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。
24 dynamite rrPxB     
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)
参考例句:
  • The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
  • The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。
25 labored zpGz8M     
adj.吃力的,谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转
参考例句:
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近,能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
  • They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句
26 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
27 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
28 deafen pOXzV     
vt.震耳欲聋;使听不清楚
参考例句:
  • This noise will deafen us all!这种喧闹声将使我们什么也听不见!
  • The way you complain all day long would deafen the living buddha!就凭你成天抱怨,活佛耳朵都要聋了!
29 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
30 buckled qxfz0h     
a. 有带扣的
参考例句:
  • She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
  • The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。
31 sprawling 3ff3e560ffc2f12f222ef624d5807902     
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
参考例句:
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
32 insignificant k6Mx1     
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的
参考例句:
  • In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季,这种作用是不明显的。
  • This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。
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