Chapter 7: The Grip of the Current （激流之握）

　　The shock of the cold water was a physical blow, driving the air from Leon's lungs in a silent scream. For a terrifying second, he was disoriented, tumbling in the murky green gloom, unsure which way was up. Then the current seized him, a powerful, inexorable force that yanked him downstream like a leaf. He fought the instinct to thrash, remembering Iris's words: Let the current take you. He stretched out his arms, making himself as streamlined as possible, and kicked, not against the river, but with it, adding his own feeble strength to its flow.

　　冰冷的河水带来的冲击如同一记重击，让里昂无声地尖叫着，空气从肺中被挤出。有那么可怕的一秒钟，他失去了方向，在浑浊的绿色昏暗中翻滚，分不清上下。接着水流抓住了他，一股强大、不可抗拒的力量，像扯一片叶子一样把他往下游拽。他克制住扑腾的本能，记起艾莉丝的话：让水流带你。 他伸开手臂，尽可能保持流线型，然后蹬腿，不是对抗河流，而是顺着它，将自己微弱的力量加入它的流动。

　　His chest burned, a fierce ache demanding air. He dared a glance upwards, but could see only a diffuse, shimmering darkness—the underside of the river's surface. He had no idea how far he had traveled. The reeds, he thought desperately. I have to find the reeds. Just as spots began to dance before his eyes, his outstretched fingers brushed against something—a thick, slimy tangle of roots and stems. Hope flared. He clawed at them, pulling himself forward, his lungs screaming. He burst through the surface with a ragged, gasping inhale that was half water.

　　他的胸口灼烧般疼痛，强烈地渴求着空气。他冒险向上瞥了一眼，但只看到一片模糊、闪烁的黑暗——那是河水的下表面。他不知道自已漂了多远。芦苇， 他绝望地想。我必须找到芦苇。 就在眼前开始出现黑点时，他伸出的手指擦到了什么东西——一团厚厚的、黏滑的根茎纠缠物。希望燃起。他用手抓挠着，把自己往前拉，肺在尖叫。他猛地冲破水面，发出一声嘶哑、夹杂着半口水的急促吸气声。

　　He was indeed among the reeds, thick enough to provide some cover. The current still tugged at his legs, but he wrapped his arms around a dense clump, clinging on, coughing and sputtering. The foul stench was fainter here, diluted by the river and the distance. The industrial clanging was now a distant, muted throb. He had made it to the eastern bank.

　　他确实身在芦苇丛中，茂密得足以提供一些掩护。水流仍然拉扯着他的腿，但他用手臂抱住一丛密集的芦苇，紧紧抓住，咳嗽着，喷着水。这里的恶臭淡了些，被河水和距离冲淡了。工业的叮当声现在成了遥远、沉闷的搏动。他成功到达了东岸。

　　"Iris?" he choked out, the word a wet whisper. Panic surged anew. Where was she?

　　A soft splash answered him a few yards to his left. A moment later, a pale face emerged from the water, her silver hair plastered to her head, but those luminous eyes wide and alert. She was there, also clinging to the reeds, her chest heaving.

　　“艾莉丝？”他哽咽地喊道，声音带着水汽。恐慌再次涌起。她在哪儿？

　　他左边几码外传来一声轻柔的溅水声作为回答。片刻之后，一张苍白的脸从水中冒出，她的银色头发紧贴着头，但那双明亮的眼睛睁得很大，充满警觉。她在那里，也紧抓着芦苇，胸口起伏着。

　　For a long moment, they just stared at each other across the short distance, united by shared terror and relief. The raft was gone, swept downstream without them. Their packs, with their meager supplies, were gone too. They were soaked to the bone, shivering in the cold air, and had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

　　有好一会儿，他们只是隔着一小段距离对视着，共同的恐惧和宽慰将他们联系在一起。木筏不见了，没有他们，被冲往下游。他们的背包，连同里面微薄的补给，也没了。他们浑身湿透，在冷空气中发抖，除了身上的衣服一无所有。

　　"We need to get out of the water," Iris said, her teeth chattering. "Before the cold takes us."

　　They half-swam, half-dragged themselves through the dense reeds towards the shore. The eastern bank was a welcome sight—a natural, muddy slope leading up to a familiar canopy of trees. It was the edge of the forest again, a different part, but it felt like a sanctuary compared to the blighted western shore.

　　“我们得离开水里，”艾莉丝说，牙齿打着颤。“在寒冷击倒我们之前。”

　　他们半游半爬地穿过茂密的芦苇向岸边挪去。东岸是令人欣慰的景象——一个天然的泥泞斜坡，通向熟悉的树冠。又是森林的边缘，是另一片区域，但与被污染的西岸相比，这里感觉像个避难所。

　　They collapsed on the muddy bank, lying on their backs, gasping for air. The sun felt weak and insubstantial on their cold skin. Leon's muscles trembled with exhaustion and cold. He had never felt so utterly stripped of everything—his home, his supplies, his sense of safety. All he had left was the clothes on his back, the knife at his belt, and the sharp-eared girl lying beside him.

　　他们瘫倒在泥泞的岸上，仰面躺着，喘着气。阳光照在他们冰冷的皮肤上，感觉微弱而无实质。里昂的肌肉因疲惫和寒冷而颤抖。他从未感到如此被剥夺了一切——他的家，他的补给，他的安全感。他只剩下身上的衣服，腰带上的刀，和躺在身边的尖耳朵女孩。

　　After a few minutes, Iris sat up, wringing the water from her hair with a practiced efficiency. "We lost everything," she stated, her voice flat, devoid of the fear Leon felt. It was a simple assessment of their situation.

　　Leon pushed himself up onto his elbows. The reality of their predicament sank in. No food. No water skin. No fire starter. "What do we do?" The question came out small and pathetic.

　　几分钟后，艾莉丝坐起来，熟练地拧着头发上的水。“我们失去了一切，”她说道，声音平淡，没有里昂感受到的恐惧。这是对他们处境的简单评估。

　　里昂用手肘撑起自己。他们困境的现实沉重地压下来。没有食物。没有水袋。没有生火工具。“我们怎么办？”这个问题问出来，显得渺小而可怜。

　　Iris looked at him, and for the first time, he saw a flicker of something like uncertainty in her eyes. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a stubborn resolve. "We survive," she said. "We find shelter. We make a fire. We find water and food. The same as before, but with less." She stood up, her wet tunic clinging to her slight frame. She scanned the tree line. "This forest feels... older. We must be cautious. But it is not tainted. The air is clean."

　　艾莉丝看着他，里昂第一次在她眼中看到一丝类似不确定的神情闪烁。但瞬间就消失了，被一种固执的决心所取代。“我们生存，”她说。“我们找栖身处。我们生火。我们找水和食物。和以前一样，但东西更少。”她站起来，湿透的束腰外衣紧贴着她纤细的身躯。她扫视着树林线。“这片森林感觉……更古老。我们必须小心。但它没有被污染。空气是干净的。”

　　Leon looked down at his hands, caked in mud from the bank. He thought of the orc pauldron, the troll raft, the Forsaken outpost. They had been on the river for less than a day, and already the world had shown them teeth far sharper than he had ever imagined. He thought of his warm bed in Goldshire, a lifetime away.

　　里昂低头看着自己沾满岸上泥巴的双手。他想起了兽人的肩甲，巨魔的木筏，被遗忘者的前哨站。他们在河上还不到一天，世界就已经向他们露出了比他想象中锋利得多的獠牙。他想起了他在闪金镇温暖的床，仿佛隔了一辈子。

　　A cold droplet hit his cheek. Then another. He looked up. The sky, which had been a pale grey, was now darkening. A cold, drizzling rain began to fall, pattering softly on the broad leaves of the trees around them. It was the final, miserable touch.

　　一滴冰冷的水珠落在他脸颊上。接着又是一滴。他抬起头。原本淡灰色的天空正在变暗。一场冰冷的毛毛雨开始落下，轻轻拍打着他们周围树木宽大的叶子。这是最后悲惨的一笔。

　　Iris did not seem to notice the rain. She was already moving towards the trees, her eyes searching for an overhang, a dense thicket, anything that could serve as a roof. She was moving forward, because stopping meant dying. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Leon forced his trembling legs to stand and followed her. The adventure was over. The struggle for survival had truly begun.

　　艾莉丝似乎没有注意到雨。她已经向树林走去，眼睛搜寻着悬垂的岩石、茂密的灌木丛，任何能当作屋顶的东西。她在向前走，因为停下就意味着死亡。里昂深深吸了一口颤抖的气，强迫他发抖的双腿站起来，跟上了她。冒险结束了。为生存而挣扎真正开始了。