As the evening drew to a close, Jeremy stood with Mayor Gherkin on the porch while Lexie and Doris stood off to the side.
“I sure do hope this evening met with your approval,” Mayor Gherkin said, “and that you were able to see for yourself what a wonderful opportunity you have when it comes to this story.”
“I did, thank you. But you didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” Jeremy protested.
“Nonsense,” Gherkin replied. “Why, it’s the least we can do. And besides, I wanted you to see what this town is capable of when it sets its mind to something. You can only imagine what we’d do for those television folks. Of course, you’ll get a little bit more of the town’s flavor this weekend, too. The small-town atmosphere, the feeling of traveling back in time as you walk through the homes. It’s like nothing you can imagine.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Jeremy said.
Gherkin smiled. “Well, listen, I have a few things to take care of inside. A mayor’s duty never ends, you know.”
“I understand,” he said. “And thanks for this, by the way,” Jeremy said, raising the key to the city.
“Oh, you’re very welcome. You deserve it.” He reached for Jeremy’s hand. “But don’t get any funny ideas. It’s not like you can open the bank vault1 with it. It’s more of a symbolic2 gesture.”
Jeremy smiled as Gherkin pumped his hand. After Gherkin vanished inside, Doris and Lexie approached Jeremy, smirks3 on their faces. Despite that, Jeremy couldn’t help but notice that Doris looked exhausted4.
“L-I-B,” Doris said.
“What?” Jeremy asked.
“You and your city slicker ways.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s just that you should have heard the way some of these folks were talking about you,” Doris teased. “I just feel lucky that I can say I knew you way back when.”
Jeremy smiled, looking sheepish. “It was a little crazy, wasn’t it?”
“I’ll say,” Doris said. “My Bible study group talked all night about how handsome you are. A couple of them wanted to bring you home, but fortunately, I was able to talk them out of it. And besides, I don’t think their husbands would have been too thrilled.”
“I appreciate that.”
“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”
“You sure? Your night’s really just beginning, isn’t it?”
“I’ll be okay,” he assured her. In the silence, he looked around, noting that the fog had become even thicker. “But on that note, I suppose I should probably be going. I’d hate to miss my big chance at getting a whiff of the supernatural.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t miss the lights,” Doris said. “They don’t come out until later, so you’ve still got a couple of hours.” Surprising Jeremy, she leaned in and gave him a tired hug. “I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to meet everyone. It’s not every stranger who’s as good at listening as you are.”
“No problem. I enjoyed it.”
After Doris had released him, Jeremy turned his attention to Lexie, thinking that growing up with Doris must have been a lot like growing up with his own mother.
“You ready to go?”
Lexie nodded, but still hadn’t said a word to him. Instead, she kissed Doris on the cheek, said she’d see her tomorrow, and a moment later, Jeremy and Lexie were walking to the car, the gravel6 crunching7 softly beneath their feet. She seemed to be staring into the distance but seeing nothing at all. After a few steps in silence, Jeremy gently nudged her shoulder with his.
“You okay? You’re sort of quiet.”
She shook her head, coming back to him. “I’m just thinking about Doris. Tonight really tired her out, and even though I probably shouldn’t, I worry about her.”
“She seemed fine.”
“Yeah, she puts up a good front. But she’s got to learn to take it easier. She had a heart attack a couple of years ago, but she likes to pretend it never happened. And after this, she has a big weekend, too.”
Jeremy wasn’t quite sure what to say; the thought that Doris was anything but healthy had never entered his mind.
Lexie noticed his discomfort8 and smiled. “But she did enjoy herself, that’s for sure. We both had the chance to talk to a lot of people that we haven’t seen in a while.”
“I thought everyone here saw everyone else all the time.”
“We do. But people are busy, and it’s not often that you have more than a few minutes to chat between errands. Tonight was nice, though.” She glanced toward him. “And Doris was right. People loved you.”
She sounded almost shocked by the admission, and Jeremy pushed his hands into his pockets.
“Well, you shouldn’t have been surprised. I am very lovable, you know.”
She rolled her eyes, looking more playful than annoyed. Behind them, the house was receding9 into the distance as they rounded the hedge.
“Hey, I know it’s none of my business, but how did it go with Rodney?”
She hesitated before finally shrugging. “You’re right. It is none of your business.”
He looked for a smile but saw none. “Well, the only reason I asked was because I was wondering whether you think it might be a good idea if I sneak11 out of town under the cover of darkness so he doesn’t have the chance to crush my head with his bare hands.”
That brought a smile. “You’ll be fine. And besides, you’d break the mayor’s heart if you left. Not every visitor gets a party like this or a key to the city.”
“It’s the first one I’ve ever received. Usually, I just get hate mail.”
She laughed, the sound melodic12. In the moonlight, her features were unreadable, and he thought back to how animated13 she had been among the townspeople.
Reaching the car, he opened the door for her. As she climbed in, she brushed against him slightly, and he wondered if she did so in response to the way he’d nudged her, or if she even noticed. After rounding the car, he slid behind the wheel, slipping the keys into the ignition but hesitating before starting the engine.
“What?” she asked.
“I was just thinking . . . ,” he said, trailing off.
“Funny. I was trying to say, I know it’s getting late, but would you like to come with me to the cemetery15?”
“In case you get scared?”
“Something like that.”
She shouldn’t go. She really shouldn’t. She’d already opened the door by coming with him tonight, and to spend the next couple of hours alone with him would open the door even further. She knew that nothing good could come of that, and there wasn’t a single reason to say yes. But before she could stop herself, the words were already coming.
“I’d have to swing by the house first to change into something more comfortable.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’m all for you changing into something more comfortable.”
“I’ll bet you are,” she said knowingly.
“Now, don’t start getting fresh,” he said, feigning18 offense19. “I don’t think we know each other well enough for that.”
“That’s my line,” she said.
“I thought I’d heard it somewhere.”
“Well, get your own material next time. And just so you know, I don’t want you getting any funny ideas about tonight, either.”
“You know what I meant.”
“No,” he said, trying to look innocent. “What did you mean?”
“Just drive, will you? Or I’ll change my mind.”
“Thank you. I’ve been told it’s one of my better qualities.”
“By whom?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The Taurus rolled along the foggy streets, the yellow streetlamps only making the night seem murkier22. As soon as they pulled into her drive, she opened her door.
“Do you need my key to the city to open your door? I’d be happy to lend it to you.”
“Are we back to ‘Mr. Marsh’ again? And here I thought we were getting along just fine.”
“And I’m beginning to think this evening has gone to your head.”
She stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her in an attempt to have the last word. Jeremy laughed, thinking she was a lot like he was. Unable to resist, he pressed the button on his door to lower her window. He leaned across the seat.
“Hey, Lexie?”
She turned. “Yes?”
He grinned. “Only if you’re okay with that.”
Her eyes narrowed, but like before, she looked more playful than offended. “Not only do I not keep any wine in the house, Mr. Marsh, but I’d say no, anyway.”
“You don’t drink?”
“Not too much,” she said. “Now, wait there,” she warned, pointing toward the drive. “I’m going to throw on a pair of jeans.”
“Good idea. I’d definitely have to tell Rodney if you did something that stupid.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Jeremy watched her move up the walkway, certain that he’d never met anyone quite like her.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled to a stop in front of Cedar30 Creek31 Cemetery. He’d angled the car so the headlights shone into the cemetery, and his first thought was that even the fog looked different here. It was dense32 and impenetrable in places while thin in others, and the slight breeze made discrete33 tendrils curve and twist, almost as if alive. The low-hanging branches of the magnolia tree were nothing but darkened shadows, and the crumbling34 tombs added to the eerie35 effect. It was so dark that Jeremy was unable to discern even the faintest sliver36 of the moon in the sky.
Leaving the car idling, he popped the trunk. As she peered in, Lexie’s eyes widened.
“It looks like you’ve got the makings to build a bomb in there.”
“Nah,” he said. “Just a bunch of cool things. Guys love their toys, you know.”
“I thought you’d just have a video camera or something like that.”
“I do. I have four of them.”
“Why do you need four?”
“To film every angle, of course. For instance, what if the ghosts are walking in the wrong direction? I might not get their faces.”
She ignored the comment. “And what’s this thing?” she asked, pointing to an electronic box.
“A microwave radiation detector37. And this over here,” he said, gesturing at another item, “sort of goes with it. It detects electromagnetic activity.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No,” he said. “It’s in the official ghostbuster’s handbook. You’ll often find increased spiritual activity in areas where there are high concentrations of energy, and this will help detect an abnormal energy field.”
“Have you ever recorded an abnormal energy field?”
“As a matter of fact, I have. In a supposedly haunted house, no less. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with ghosts. The owner’s microwave oven wasn’t working properly.”
“Ah,” she said.
He looked at her. “Now you’re stealing my lines.”
“It’s all I could come up with. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll share.”
“Why do you have all this stuff?”
“Because,” he said, “when I debunk38 the possibility of ghosts, I have to use everything that paranormal investigators39 use. I don’t want to be accused of missing anything, and these people have their rules. Besides, it seems more impressive when someone reads that you’ve used an electromagnetic detector. They think you know what you’re doing.”
“And do you?”
“Sure. I told you, I have the official handbook.”
She laughed. “So what can I help you with? Do you need me to help carry any of this stuff?”
“We’ll be using all of it. But if you consider this to be manly40 work, I’m sure I can handle it on my own while you do your nails or something.”
“Okay, Mr. Manly, which way?”
“That depends. Where do you think we should set up? Since you’ve seen the lights, maybe you have some ideas.”
She nodded in the direction of the magnolia tree, where she’d been heading when he’d first seen her in the cemetery.
“Over there,” she said. “That’s where you’ll see the lights.”
It was the spot directly in front of Riker’s Hill, though the hill was hidden in the fog.
“Do they always appear in the same spot?”
“I have no idea. But that’s where they were when I saw them.”
Over the next hour, as Lexie filmed him with one of the camcorders, Jeremy set everything up. He arranged the other three video recorders in a large triangular42 pattern, mounting them on tripods, attaching special filtering lenses to two of them, and adjusting the zoom43 until the entire area was overlapped44. He tested the laser remotes, then began setting up the audio equipment. Four microphones were attached to nearby trees, and a fifth was placed near the center, which was where he’d set the electromagnetic and radiation detectors45, as well as the central recorder.
As he was making sure everything worked properly, he heard Lexie calling out to him.
“Hey, how do I look?”
“Very sexy,” he said. “I think you’ve definitely found your style.”
“These things are neat. I can see everything out here.”
“Anything I should be worried about?”
“Well, I’m almost done here. All I still have to do is spread some flour and unwind the thread.”
“Flour? Like baking flour?”
“It’s to make sure no one tampers49 with the equipment. The flour is so I can check for footprints, and the thread will let me know if anyone else approaches.”
“That’s very clever. But you know we’re alone out here, right?”
“You can never be certain,” he said.
“Oh, I’m certain. But you just do your thing, and I’ll keep the camera pointed50 in the right direction. You’re doing great, by the way.”
He laughed as he opened the bag of flour and began pouring, circling the cameras with a thin white layer. He did the same around the microphones and other equipment, then tied the thread to a branch and formed a large square around the whole area as if closing off a crime scene. He ran a second thread about two feet lower and then hung small bells on the thread. When he finally finished, he made his way back to Lexie.
“I didn’t know there was so much to do,” she said.
“I guess you’re developing a whole new level of respect for me, huh?”
“Not really. I was actually just trying to make conversation.”
He smiled before nodding toward the car. “I’m going to go hit the lights on the car. And hopefully, none of this will have been in vain.”
When he shut off the engine, the cemetery turned black and he waited for his eyes to adjust. Unfortunately, they didn’t, the cemetery proving to be darker than a cave. After feeling his way back to the gate like a blind spelunker, he stumbled on an exposed root just inside the entrance and nearly fell.
“Can I have my night-vision goggles?” he shouted.
“No,” he heard her respond. “Like I said, these things are neat. And besides, you’re doing fine.”
“But I can’t see anything.”
“You’re clear for the next few steps. Just walk forward.”
He moved forward slowly with his arms outstretched before stopping.
“Now what?”
“You’re in front of a crypt, so move to your left.” She sounded way too amused by this, Jeremy thought.
“You forgot to say ‘Simon says.’”
“Do you want my help or not?”
“I really want my goggles,” he almost pleaded.
“You’ll have to come and get them.”
“You could always come and get me instead.”
“I could, but I won’t. It’s much more fun to see you wandering around like a zombie. Now move to your left. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
The game proceeded this way until he finally found his way back to her side. As he took a seat, she slipped the goggles off, grinning.
“Here you go,” she said.
“Gee, thanks.”
“No problem. I’m glad I could help.”
For the next half hour or so, Lexie and Jeremy rehashed the events of the party. It was too dark for Jeremy to read Lexie’s face, but he liked how close she felt in the enveloping51 darkness.
Changing the topic of conversation, he said, “Tell me about the time that you saw the lights. I heard everyone else’s story tonight.”
Though her features were nothing but shadows, Jeremy had the impression that she was being drawn52 back in time to something she wasn’t sure she wanted to remember.
“I was eight years old,” she said, her voice soft. “For whatever reason, I’d started having nightmares about my parents. Doris kept their wedding picture on the wall, and that was the way they always looked in the dream: Mom in her wedding dress and Dad in his tuxedo53. Only this time, they were trapped in their car after it had fallen in the river. It was like I was looking at them from outside the car, and I could see the panic and fear on both their faces as water slowly filled the car. And my mom would get this real sad expression on her face, like she knew it was the end, and all of a sudden, the car would start sinking faster, and I’d be watching it descend54 from above.”
Her voice was strangely devoid of emotion, and she sighed.
“I’d wake up screaming. I don’t know how many times it happened—it just sort of blurs55 together now in one big memory—but it must have gone on long enough for Doris to realize it wasn’t just a phase. I suppose other parents might have taken me to a therapist, but Doris . . . well, she just woke me up late one night and told me to get dressed and put on a warm jacket, and the next thing I knew she’d brought me here. She told me she was going to show me something wonderful . . .
“I remember it was a night like tonight, so Doris held my hand to keep me from stumbling. We wound our way among the tombstones and then sat for a while until the lights came. They looked almost alive—everything got really bright . . . until the lights just faded away. And then we went home.”
He could almost hear her shrug10. “Even though I was young, I knew then what had happened, and when I got back home, I couldn’t sleep, because I’d just seen the ghosts of my parents. It was like they’d come to visit me. After that, I stopped having the nightmares.”
Jeremy was silent.
She leaned closer. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes,” he said, “actually, I do. Your story would have been the one that I remembered from tonight, even if I didn’t know you.”
“Well, just so you know, I’d rather my experience not end up in your article.”
“Are you sure? You can be famous.”
“I’ll pass. I’m witnessing firsthand how a little fame can ruin a person.”
He laughed. “Since this is off the record, then, can I ask if your memories were part of the reason you agreed to come out here tonight? Or was it because you wanted to enjoy my scintillating57 company?”
“Well, it definitely wasn’t the latter,” she said, but even as she said it, she knew it was. She thought he realized it as well, but in the brief pause that followed her remark, she sensed that her words had stung.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay,” he said, waiving58 it off. “Remember, I had five older brothers. Insults were mandatory59 in a family like ours, so I’m used to it.”
She straightened up. “Okay, to answer your question . . . maybe I did want to see the lights again. To me, they’ve always been a source of comfort.”
“Your grandmother was a smart lady. Doing what she did, I mean.”
“She is a smart lady.”
“I stand corrected,” he said, and just then Lexie shifted beside him, as if straining to see into the distance.
“I think you may want to turn your equipment on,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because they’re coming. Can’t you tell?”
He was about to make a crack about being “ghostproof” when he realized that he could see not only Lexie but the cameras in the distance. And, he noticed, the route to the car. It was getting lighter61 out here, wasn’t it?
“Hello,” she prompted. “You’re missing your big chance here.”
He squinted62, trying to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, then aimed the remote at each of the three cameras. In the distance, the red power lights switched on. Still, it was all he could do to process the fact that something actually seemed to be happening.
He glanced around, looking for passing cars or illuminated63 houses, and when he looked toward the cameras again, he decided64 that he definitely wasn’t seeing things. Not only were the cameras visible, but he could see the electromagnetic detector in the center of his triangle as well. He reached for his night-vision goggles.
“You won’t need those,” she said.
He put them on, anyway, and the world took on a greenish phosphorescent glow. As the light grew in intensity65, the fog began to curve and swirl66, assuming different shapes.
He glanced at his watch: it was 11:44:10 p.m., and he made a note to remember it. He wondered if the moon had suddenly risen—he doubted it, but he would check on the phase when he got back to his room at Greenleaf.
But these were secondary thoughts. The fog, as Lexie had predicted, continued to brighten, and he lowered the goggles for a moment, noting the difference between the images. It was still growing brighter outside, but the change seemed more significant with the goggles. He couldn’t wait to compare the videotaped images side by side. But right now all he could do was stare straight ahead, this time without the goggles.
Holding his breath, he watched as the fog in front of them grew more silver by the moment, before changing to a pale yellow, then an opaque67 white, and finally an almost blinding brightness. For a moment, just a moment, most of the cemetery was visible—like a football field illuminated before the big game— and portions of the foggy light began to churn in a small circle before suddenly spreading outward from the cluster, like an exploding star. For an instant, Jeremy imagined that he saw the shapes of people or things, but just then the light began to recede68, as if being pulled on a string, back toward the center, and even before he realized the lights had vanished, the cemetery had turned black once more.
He blinked, as if to reassure69 himself that it had really happened, then checked his watch again. The whole event had taken twenty-two seconds from start to finish. Though he knew he should get up to check the equipment, there was a brief instant in which all he could do was stare at the spot where the ghosts of Cedar Creek had made their appearance.
Fraud, honest mistakes, and coincidence were the most common explanations for events regarded as supernatural, and up to this point, every one of Jeremy’s investigations70 into such events had fallen into one of these three categories. The first tended to be the most prevalent explanation in situations where someone stood to profit somehow. William Newell, for instance, who claimed to find the petrified71 remains72 of a giant on his farm in New York in 1869, a statue known as the Cardiff Giant, fell into this category. Timothy Clausen, the spirit guide, was another example.
But fraud also encompassed73 those who simply wanted to see how many people they could fool, not for money, but just to see if it was possible. Doug Bower74 and Dave Chorley, the English farmers who created the phenomenon known as crop circles, were one such example; the surgeon who photographed the Loch Ness Monster in 1933 was another. In both cases, the hoax75 was originally perpetrated as a practical joke, but public interest escalated76 so quickly that confessions77 were rendered difficult.
Honest mistakes, on the other hand, were simply that. A weather ballon is mistaken for a flying saucer, a bear is mistaken for Bigfoot, an archaeological find is discovered to have been moved to its current location hundreds or thousands of years after its original deposition78. In cases like these, the witness has seen something, but the mind extrapolates the vision into something else entirely79.
Coincidence accounted for nearly everything else and was simply a function of mathematical probability. As unlikely as an event might seem, as long as it is theoretically possible, it more than likely would happen sometime, somewhere, to someone. Take, for instance, Robert Morgan’s novel Futility80, published in 1898—fourteen years before the Titanic81 sailed—which told the story of the largest and grandest passenger liner in existence that sailed on its maiden82 voyage from Southampton, only to be ripped apart by an iceberg83, and whose rich and famous passengers were largely doomed84 in the icy North Atlantic because of a lack of lifeboats. The name of the ship, ironically, was Titan.
But what happened here didn’t fall neatly85 into any of those categories. The lights struck Jeremy as neither fraud nor coincidence, and yet it wasn’t an honest mistake, either. There was a ready explanation somewhere, but as he sat in the cemetery in the rush of the moment, he had no idea what it could be.
Through it all, Lexie had remained seated and hadn’t said a word. “Well?” she finally asked. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know yet,” Jeremy admitted. “I saw something, that’s for sure.”
“Have you ever seen anything like it?”
“No,” he said. “Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything that even remotely struck me as mysterious.”
“It is amazing, isn’t it?” she said, her voice soft. “I’d almost forgotten how pretty it could be. I’ve heard about the aurora86 borealis, and I’ve often wondered whether it looked like this.”
Jeremy didn’t respond. In his mind’s eye, he re-created the lights, thinking that the way they’d risen in intensity reminded him of headlights of oncoming cars as they rounded a curve. They simply had to be caused by a moving vehicle of some sort, he thought. He looked toward the road, waiting for passing cars, but not completely surprised at their absence.
Lexie let him sit in silence for a minute and could almost see the wheels turning. Finally, she leaned forward and poked87 him in the arm to get his attention again.
“Well?” she asked. “What do we do next?”
Jeremy shook his head, coming back to her.
“Is there a highway around here? Or another major road?”
“Just the one you came in on that runs through town.”
“Huh,” he said, frowning.
“What? No ‘ah’ this time?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m getting there, though.” Despite the inky darkness, he thought he could see her smirking88. “Why do I get the impression that you already know what’s causing them?”
“I don’t know,” she said, playing coy. “Why do you?”
“It’s just a feeling I get. I’m good at reading people. A guy named Clausen taught me his secrets.”
She laughed. “Well, then, you already know what I think.”
She gave him a moment to figure it out before she leaned forward. Her eyes looked darkly seductive, and though his mind should have been elsewhere, he again flashed on an image of her at the party and how beautiful she had been.
“Don’t you remember my story?” she whispered. “It was my parents. They probably wanted to meet you.”
Perhaps it was the orphaned89 tone she used when she said it— simultaneously90 sad and resilient—but as a tiny lump formed in his throat, it was all he could do not to take her in his arms right then and there, in the hope of holding her close forever.
Half an hour later, after loading up the equipment, they arrived back at her house.
Neither of them had said much on the way home, and when they reached her door, Jeremy realized that he’d spent far more time thinking about Lexie as he drove than he had about the lights. He didn’t want the evening to end, not yet.
Hesitating before the door, Lexie brought a hand to her mouth, stifling a yawn before breaking into an embarrassed laugh.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “I’m not normally up this late.”
“It’s okay,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I had a great time tonight.”
“So did I,” she said, meaning it.
He took a small step forward, and when she realized he was thinking of trying to kiss her, she pretended to fiddle with something on her jacket.
“I suppose I should call it a night, then,” she said, hoping he took the hint.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “We could watch the tapes inside, if you’d like. Maybe you could help me figure out what the lights really are.”
She looked away, her expression wistful.
“Please don’t ruin this for me, okay?” she whispered.
“Ruin what?”
“This . . . everything . . .” She closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts. “Both you and I know why you want to come inside, but even if I wanted you to, I wouldn’t let you. So please don’t ask.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I had a great day, a wonderful day. Actually, it’s the best day I’ve had in a long time.”
“Then what is it?”
“You’ve been giving me the full-court press since you got here, and we know what’ll happen if I let you through that door. But you’re leaving. And when you do, I’ll be the one who’s hurt afterward91. So why start something you have no intention of finishing?”
With someone else, with anyone else, he would have said something flippant or changed the subject until he figured out another way to get through her door. But as he looked at her on the porch, he couldn’t form the words. Nor, strangely, did he want to.
“You’re right,” he admitted. He forced a smile. “Let’s call it a night. I should probably go find out where those lights are coming from, anyway.”
For a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly, but when he took a small step backward, she caught his eye.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Good night, Lexie.”
She nodded, and after an awkward pause, she turned toward the door. Jeremy took that as his signal to leave, and he stepped off the porch as Lexie took her keys from her jacket pocket. She was sliding the key into the door when she heard his voice behind her.
“Hey, Lexie?” he called out.
“Yes?”
“I know you may not believe it, but the last thing I want to do is hurt you or do anything that would make you regret that we’ve met.”
Though she smiled briefly at his comment, she turned away without a word. The lack of response spoke92 volumes, and for the first time in his life, Jeremy was not only disappointed in himself but suddenly wished he were someone else entirely.
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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smirks
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| n.傻笑，得意的笑( smirk的名词复数 )v.傻笑( smirk的第三人称单数 ) | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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crunching
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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10
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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11
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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12
melodic
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| adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的 | |
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13
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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14
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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15
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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16
peek
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| vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥 | |
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17
peeked
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| v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出 | |
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18
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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19
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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20
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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21
pushy
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| adj.固执己见的，一意孤行的 | |
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22
murkier
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| adj.阴暗的( murky的比较级 )；昏暗的；（指水）脏的；混浊的 | |
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23
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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24
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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25
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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26
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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27
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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ply
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| v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲 | |
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29
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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30
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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31
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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discrete
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| adj.个别的，分离的，不连续的 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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sliver
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| n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开 | |
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37
detector
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| n.发觉者，探测器 | |
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38
debunk
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| v.揭穿真相，暴露 | |
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39
investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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40
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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41
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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42
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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43
zoom
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| n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升 | |
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44
overlapped
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| _adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠 | |
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45
detectors
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| 探测器( detector的名词复数 ) | |
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46
goggles
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| n.护目镜 | |
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47
bug
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| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
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cougars
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| n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 ) | |
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49
tampers
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| n.捣棒( tamper的名词复数 )；打夯机；夯具；填塞者v.窜改( tamper的第三人称单数 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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50
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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51
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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52
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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53
tuxedo
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| n.礼服，无尾礼服 | |
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54
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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55
blurs
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| n.模糊( blur的名词复数 )；模糊之物；（移动的）模糊形状；模糊的记忆v.（使）变模糊( blur的第三人称单数 )；（使）难以区分 | |
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56
blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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57
scintillating
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| adj．才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的 | |
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waiving
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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59
mandatory
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| adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者 | |
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60
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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61
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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62
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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63
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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64
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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65
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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66
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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68
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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69
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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70
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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71
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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72
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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73
encompassed
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| v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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74
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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75
hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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76
escalated
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| v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大 | |
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77
confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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78
deposition
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| n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物 | |
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79
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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80
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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81
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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82
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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83
iceberg
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| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
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84
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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85
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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86
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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87
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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88
smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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89
orphaned
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| [计][修]孤立 | |
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90
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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91
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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92
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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