Chapter 90

Holy shit! Holy shit!’ Jamilla said. The words exploded out of I 1 her mouth. Then she smiled. ‘Jesus. I don’t believe it.’ She stared down at the huge, fierce animal that had tried to kill me, and was now laying at her feet.
I pushed myself up, forced my legs to move. I took tenuous¹ steps back to where she and Kyle were standing². The cat lay twisted across the width of the tunnel. It didn’t move, and it wasn’t going to.  ‘Are they down here in the tunnel? The Lost Boys?’Kyle asked in a whisper.’The Sire?’
‘I haven’t seen anybody. Just footprints, and the cat. Let’s go,’ I finally said.
The tunnel was much longer than I would have thought. I wasn’t even sure which direction we were headed. Toward the road? The foothills? The Pacific Ocean?
‘I sent men toward the perimeters³ of the property, about five or six hundred yards out. It spreads us thin,’ Kyle said. ‘I don’t like it.’ I didn’t answer him. I was still shaky, not quite over my moment of truth with the tiger. My heart was pumping like an engine pushed to its limit. I wondered if I might be going into shock.  ‘Alex?’Jamilla spoke⁴.’You with us? You okay?’
‘Just give me a minute. I’ll be fine. Let’s keep going.’ Soon we could see the faintest glimmer⁵ of light up ahead. That was hopeful. But where were we coming out of the tunnel?  ‘Can’t tell how far it is,’I said.’Or what’s between us and the light.’
My hip⁶ brushed against something. Then my shoulder. I jumped back and my whole body shuddered⁷. But it was only a valve sticking out from the tunnel wall. Nothing. Scared the hell out of me, though.  Then I could see part of the landscape outside - a couple of cypress⁸ pines leaning away from the wind, a streak⁹ of bright blue sky.  It wasn’t far, maybe thirty or forty yards. Usually, the most dangerous part of a raid was breaking in; now it was getting out of this dark tunnel.
I shined the flashlight to my face, put a finger to my lips. I pointed¹⁰ to my chest with the same finger. I would go first.  I knew I was better with a gun than Kyle, and I was physically¹¹ stronger than Jamilla - at least I thought so. Besides, this was the way it had been the past few years: Gary Soneji, Casanova, Geoffrey Shafer, now the Alexander brothers and their Sire. I keep going in first.  How long am I going to keep it up? Why am I doing this?
‘Don’t forget, they’re human,’Jamilla said.’They bleed too.’
I wanted to believe she was right. I moved forward quietly, quickly.  I hesitated at the mouth of the tunnel. Took a breath. One, Mississippi, two ... then out into the big, bad world.
I don’t know why, but I yelled at the top of my voice as I burst out into the light. No words, just a loud scream! Actually, maybe I did know why -1 was afraid of these two killers¹², of their merciless cult¹³, of the Sire. Maybe they bled, but they weren’t human. Not like the rest of us.
I was in a pocket chasm¹⁴ surrounded by low-lying hills. I saw no one out there. No sign that anyone had been here recently. They had to have come this way, though. The tiger must have been in the tunnel with somebody.
Jamilla and Kyle came out of the tunnel behind me. The looks on their faces showed their disappointment, their fatigue¹⁵ and confusion.  I heard it before I saw anything.
A black pickup¹⁶ truck came roaring around the side of one of the hills. It was headed straight for me and I had a choice: dive back into the tunnel, or hold my ground in the face of the blond killers. They were inside the truck. I could see both of them.  I held my ground.

1 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 perimeters   

周边( perimeter的名词复数 )； 周围； 边缘； 周长

参考例句：

• Examples include outdoor perimeters, traffic monitoring, tunnels, and car parks. 例子像户外围墙；交通监视；隧道和停车场。

4 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

6 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

7 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

9 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

10 pointed   

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。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

12 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

13 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

14 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

15 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

16 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。