After that day, everything changed. The family worked hard, trying to keep up with the endless tasks that were necessary to maintain the farm. But as winter approached, they were falling behind. Momma was exhausted and many of the fields were left fallow. The family worried they wouldn’t have enough food to make it through the winter. Arlo couldn’t help but feel that it was entirely his fault. He had been the one to set the critter free. He had been the reason Poppa went into the wilderness that night. If he had just taken care of that critter, Poppa would still be alive and everything would be okay.
Momma carried a huge load of corn to the silo, but she was struggling. Arlo ran up to help her.
“If we don’t get this harvest in before snow hits, we won’t make it,” Momma said desperately.
“I’ll take the corn to the silo, Momma,” said Arlo. He picked up the load of corn and put it on his back. He smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna let us starve.”
“You’re a good son,” Momma said.
Arlo wavered, carrying the weight of the corn on his back. He could feel his legs wobble, but he was determined to make it.
When the silo finally came into view, he gazed at Poppa’s mark and felt a familiar sadness wash over him. But he knew he couldn’t stop to feel sad. He had to keep working.
Arlo walked carefully to the silo and slowly removed a rock to place the corn inside. He set the corn down and began to husk it, peeling each one and tossing it into the silo. Then he heard something rustling inside and went to investigate. He saw a figure chomping the corn and spitting out the empty cobs.
But Arlo couldn’t believe his eyes: It was that pest from the trap! Arlo caught him red-handed.
With fire and rage in his heart, Arlo shouted: “My Poppa would still be alive if it weren’t for you! It’s all your fault.” He lunged toward the critter and tried to bite him.
But the boy was too fast. He jumped on Arlo’s neck and slid down toward his back—where the boy grabbed a stalk of corn and took off. Arlo chased him as he ran toward the river.
When Arlo caught up, he chomped down hard on the other end of the stalk, lifting the boy high in the air. The boy jumped down and scurried out of sight. But Arlo wasn’t giving up. He continued in pursuit of the thief, with the stalk of corn remaining in his mouth.
Out of nowhere, the boy jumped from a tree, growling, “Grrrrrrrrrrr!” He lurched toward the corn, bit down, and began to gnaw on the cob. He growled again—ferociously with a wild, hungry look in his eyes. Arlo swatted and spun around, trying to get the boy off, but he wouldn’t let go. As Arlo twisted and twirled, he became dizzy and fell backwards, plunging into the river!
Arlo gasped for air as the raging water overtook him. “Help—” Arlo screamed. He desperately called out for Momma, but the sound was muffled as his mouth filled with water.
The strength of the current carried him away so quickly—no one could hear his cries. In an instant, he was further from home than he had ever been.
Arlo struggled just to stay afloat, gasping for air as the rapids pulled him under. His body bashed up against sharp rocks at the bottom of the river, scraping into his skin. Suddenly, a giant boulder came into view and Arlo whimpered, struggling to try to avoid it. But the river was much stronger than he was.
BAM.
His head slammed right into the massive rock. His vision became blurry, and Arlo could barely make out Clawtooth Mountain as it disappeared into the distance.
Then everything went black.
那天之后,一切都變了。這一家子沒日沒夜地干活以維持農(nóng)場的正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。但是,隨著冬天慢慢迫近,他們漸漸跟不上節(jié)奏了。龍媽媽累得筋疲力盡,許多田地就此荒廢??铸堃患覔?dān)心沒有足夠的食物過冬。阿樂不禁想,都是自己的錯(cuò)。他是放走小男孩的罪魁禍?zhǔn)?,也是因?yàn)樗?,爸爸那天晚上才?huì)走進(jìn)荒野之地。如果他就那樣殺掉那個(gè)小孩,爸爸現(xiàn)在就依然活著,一切也都會(huì)好好的。
龍媽媽費(fèi)力地背起一大擔(dān)玉米往筒倉走去,阿樂跑過去幫她。
“如果我們不在冬雪來襲之前把這些收成裝進(jìn)筒倉里,我們將熬不過這個(gè)冬天。”龍媽媽絕望地說。
“媽媽,我會(huì)把玉米粒裝進(jìn)筒倉里?!卑氛f。他拿起一擔(dān)玉米放到肩上,笑著看向龍媽媽說:“別擔(dān)心,我不會(huì)讓大家餓肚子的?!?
“好兒子?!饼垕寢屨f。
背著沉重的玉米,阿樂走起路來左右搖晃。他能感覺到雙腿在顫動(dòng),但還是決定做成這件事。
終于筒倉映入了眼簾,他凝視著爸爸的標(biāo)記,一種似曾相識(shí)的悲傷向他涌來。但是他知道這不是感傷的時(shí)候,他必須繼續(xù)干活。
阿樂小心翼翼地走到筒倉,慢慢搬開巖石,想把玉米裝進(jìn)去。他放下玉米,開始一一剝皮,然后扔進(jìn)筒倉里。這時(shí),他聽到里面?zhèn)鱽砩成陈?,就過去一探究竟。結(jié)果,他看見一個(gè)人影在一邊啃玉米一邊往外吐吃完的玉米棒。
然而,阿樂不敢相信自己的眼睛:他就是那個(gè)從陷阱里逃跑的壞蛋!阿樂當(dāng)場抓住了他。
阿樂怒火中燒,大喊道:“如果不是你,我爸爸就不會(huì)死!都是你的錯(cuò)。”他撲向小孩,想咬他。
但是小男孩的速度太快了,他跳上阿樂的脖子,順著他的背滑了下去——男孩在他背上的時(shí)候順勢抓住了一根玉米稈,然后逃走了。男孩向河邊跑去,阿樂緊追不舍。
阿樂追上來的時(shí)候,狠狠地咬斷了玉米稈的另一頭,把小男孩送上了高空。小男孩跳下來,跑不見了。但是阿樂并沒有放棄,他繼續(xù)追趕這個(gè)賊,嘴里還銜著一節(jié)玉米稈。
冷不丁地,小男孩一下子從一棵樹上跳了下來,咆哮著:“咆嗚!”他迅猛地沖向玉米,咬下一根就開始啃,又接著咆哮——非常兇猛,眼中滿是野性、饑餓的神色。阿樂一邊撲打、一邊在原地打轉(zhuǎn),試圖趕走男孩,但是沒有用。阿樂扭來扭去,又不停旋轉(zhuǎn),直到自己頭暈?zāi)垦?,他往后一跌,一頭栽進(jìn)河水里!
湍急的河水就要吞沒了阿樂,他喘著氣喊道:“救命……”雖然他拼了命地喊媽媽,但因?yàn)樽炖锕酀M了水,喊聲被堵住了。
水流的力道很快就把他沖走了——沒人聽得到他的求救聲。一下子,他就被沖到了離家很遠(yuǎn)的地方,他從未離家這么遠(yuǎn)過。
阿樂掙扎著浮到了水面上,剛喘了口氣,急流就把他拉了下來。他的身體撞在河底尖銳的石頭上,刮破了皮膚。突然,一塊巨石進(jìn)入了阿樂的眼簾,他嗚咽起來,極力想要避開它,但是河水的力量卻比他大得多。
砰!
阿樂的頭正好撞在了那塊巨石上,他的視線變得模糊了。隨著爪牙山消失在遠(yuǎn)方,阿樂幾乎認(rèn)不出它的樣子了。
接著,他眼前一黑暈了過去。
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