The training yard behind the fire station smelled of hot metal and wet concrete. Bela stood at the foot of the practice tower with her helmet under her arm. She had waited six months for this morning.
消防站后面的训练场上，弥漫着热金属和湿水泥的气味。贝拉站在训练塔脚下，头盔夹在胳膊底下。她为这个早晨等了整整六个月。
The youth cadet course had twelve places. Only one pair would win the badge for the best final drill. Everyone knew it would be Bela or Lior.
少年学员课程一共有十二个名额。只有一对搭档能凭最后一次演练的最佳成绩赢得徽章。大家都知道，不是贝拉就是利奥尔。
Lior stood at the other end of the line. He was tall, quick and annoyingly calm. Last week he had finished the ladder drill four seconds faster than she had. Bela had not stopped thinking about it since.
利奥尔站在队伍的另一头。他个子高，动作快，平静得让人恼火。上个星期，他完成梯子演练比她快了四秒。贝拉从那以后就一直在想这件事。
"Cadets, gather round," said the instructor. She held up a worn canvas bag, and it rattled. "Today's drill is different. Nobody runs alone."
“学员们，都围过来，”教官说。她举起一只磨旧了的帆布袋，里面哗啦作响。“今天的演练不一样。没有人单独跑。”
A groan went down the line. The instructor ignored it and tipped the bag onto a table. Nine dice rolled out. None of them matched. One was as big as an apple, one was tiny, and one had ten sides. A blue one carried letters instead of numbers.
队伍里响起一阵哀叹。教官没理会，把袋子倒在桌上。九颗骰子滚了出来。没有哪两颗是一样的。一颗有苹果那么大，一颗小得不得了，一颗有十个面。一颗蓝色的上面刻的是字母，不是数字。
"These came from the old station game box," she said. "Each die gives your pair one job. Roll them all, read them together, and finish every job before the buzzer."
“这些是从老消防站的游戏盒里找出来的，”她说，“每颗骰子给你们这一对分配一项任务。把它们全部掷出来，一起读结果，在蜂鸣器响之前完成每一项任务。”
She read out the names from her clipboard. Bela heard her own name, and then she heard "and Lior." Her stomach dropped.
她照着记事板念出名字。贝拉听到了自己的名字，然后听到了“和利奥尔”。她的心沉了下去。
Lior only shrugged. "Fine," he said. "Just stay out of my way."
利奥尔只是耸耸肩。“行，”他说，“别挡我的路就行。”
"I was going to say the same thing," Bela answered.
“我正想这么说。”贝拉回答。
They walked to the table side by side, but they did not look at each other. Bela grabbed the dice first. She wanted to prove that she could manage without any help.
他们并肩走向桌子，却谁也不看谁。贝拉抢先抓起了骰子。她想证明自己不需要任何人帮忙也行。
The big die said four. The tiny one said six. The blue one landed on the letter H, which meant hose. The ten-sided die said seven. Nobody could remember what seven meant until Lior found the rule card under the bag.
大骰子是四。小骰子是六。蓝色骰子落在字母 H 上，代表水带。十面骰子是七。谁也想不起七是什么意思，直到利奥尔在袋子底下找到了规则卡。
"Seven means we carry the training dummy down from the platform," he read. "Ten metres. Two people."
“七表示我们要把训练假人从平台上抬下来，”他念道，“十米。两个人。”
"I can do it alone," said Bela.
“我自己能行。”贝拉说。
"You can't," said Lior. "It weighs as much as you do."
“你不行，”利奥尔说，“它和你一样重。”
She did not answer. She pulled the tower hose toward the first marker, and Lior went straight for the ladder. When the buzzer sounded, they were working at opposite ends of the yard.
她没有回答。她拖着训练塔的水带走向第一个标记，而利奥尔径直去了梯子那边。蜂鸣器响起时，他们正在训练场的两头各干各的。
The first run was a disaster. Bela laid the hose in a long loop that kinked twice. Lior climbed the ladder before the foot of it was secure, and it wobbled. Then they both reached the dummy at the same moment and pulled in different directions. The dummy slid off the platform and landed on its back with a heavy thump.
第一次演练是一场灾难。贝拉把水带铺成一个长圈，却打了两处结。利奥尔在梯脚还没固定好时就爬了上去，梯子晃了起来。接着，两人同时到了假人旁边，往不同的方向拉。假人从平台上滑下去，仰面摔在地上，发出沉重的一声闷响。
The buzzer rang again. The instructor looked at her watch and wrote something down.
蜂鸣器又响了。教官看了看手表，写下了什么。
"Eleven minutes and forty seconds," she said. "The other pairs finished in eight. Do you want to try again?"
“十一分四十秒，”她说，“其他几对都在八分钟内完成了。你们想再试一次吗？”
"Yes," said Bela.
“想。”贝拉说。
"Yes," said Lior, at exactly the same time.
“想。”利奥尔说，两人的声音完全同时。
They glared at each other, but the instructor only smiled. "You have a ten-minute break," she said. "Use it."
他们互相瞪着，教官却只是笑了笑。“你们有十分钟休息，”她说，“好好利用。”
Bela sat down on an upturned bucket and stared at the dice. She felt hot and tired, and her pride hurt more than her hands. Lior sat down on the other side of the yard and studied the rule card with a frown.
贝拉坐在一只倒扣的水桶上，盯着骰子看。她又热又累，自尊心比手还疼。利奥尔在训练场的另一边坐下，皱着眉研究那张规则卡。
After a while, he walked over. He stood there for a moment before he spoke.
过了一会儿，他走了过来。他站了片刻才开口。
"Your hose was faster than mine would have been," he said slowly. "Before it kinked, I mean. You walk the line first. I never do that."
“你铺的水带比我铺的要快，”他慢慢地说，“我是说打结之前。你会先把线路走一遍。我从来不这样做。”
Bela looked up in surprise. "Your ladder was solid once you stopped rushing," she said. "I watched you. You know the knots better than anyone."
贝拉惊讶地抬起头。“你的梯子一旦不再赶时间就很稳，”她说，“我看见了。你比谁都懂绳结。”
"So that's one job each," said Lior.
“这样一人一项任务了。”利奥尔说。
"If we split the work, we might finish faster," Bela said. "But we have to decide the order before we roll."
“要是我们分工，也许能完成得更快，”贝拉说，“但我们得在掷骰子之前把顺序定好。”
Lior sat on the ground beside her. He picked up the rule card and turned it over. On the back, in small letters, someone had written a note about the dice. Each die matched a skill. The big die needed strength, the tiny one needed patience, and the blue one needed a clear head.
利奥尔在她身旁的地上坐下。他拿起规则卡，翻了过来。背面用小字写着一段关于骰子的说明。每颗骰子对应一种技能。大骰子需要力量，小骰子需要耐心，蓝骰子需要清醒的头脑。
"Listen to this," he said. "It says a pair should always roll together. One person reads, one person plans."
“听这个，”他说，“上面说，一对搭档应该永远一起掷。一个人读，一个人计划。”
"So that's why the dice are all different," said Bela. "They want different people."
“难怪骰子都不一样，”贝拉说，“它们需要不同的人。”
They spent the rest of the break making a plan. Bela would read the dice and lay the hose. Lior would set the ladder and check every knot. Both of them would carry the dummy. They would count aloud so that they moved together.
他们用剩下的休息时间制订了计划。贝拉负责读骰子和铺水带。利奥尔负责架梯子和检查每个绳结。两个人一起抬假人。他们会出声数数，这样动作才能一致。
"One, two, lift," said Lior, trying it out in the dust.
“一、二、起，”利奥尔在尘土里试着喊。
"One, two, lift," Bela repeated, and for the first time that morning she laughed.
“一、二、起，”贝拉跟着说，这个早晨她第一次笑了。
The second run started when the buzzer sounded. Bela rolled the dice and called the jobs in a steady voice. The big die said two, the tiny die said five, and the blue die said L for ladder. Lior was already running.
蜂鸣器一响，第二次演练开始了。贝拉掷出骰子，用平稳的声音报出任务。大骰子是二，小骰子是五，蓝骰子是字母 L，代表梯子。利奥尔已经跑出去了。
He set the foot of the ladder against the tower and tested it twice. Bela walked her hose line from end to end before she opened the water. It lay flat and straight. She did not rush, even though the seconds were passing.
他把梯脚抵在塔上，试了两遍。贝拉在打开水之前，把水带从头到尾走了一遍。它铺得又平又直。尽管秒针一直在走，她也没有着急。
"Ladder is ready," called Lior.
“梯子好了！”利奥尔喊道。
"Hose is ready," Bela called back. "Roll the last die with me."
“水带好了，”贝拉喊回去，“跟我一起掷最后一颗。”
They rolled the ten-sided die together, each with one hand. It tumbled across the table and stopped on the number seven. The dummy again. Bela smiled. She had hoped for it.
他们一起掷出十面骰子，各用一只手。它滚过桌面，停在数字七上。又是假人。贝拉笑了。她本来就希望是这个。
They climbed the platform one behind the other. The dummy lay heavy and still. Lior took the shoulders, and Bela took the feet.
他们一前一后爬上平台。假人又沉又僵地躺着。利奥尔抬肩膀，贝拉抬脚。
"One, two, lift," they said together.
“一、二、起，”他们齐声说。
They carried the dummy down the steps without a single stumble. At the bottom, they laid it on the mat as carefully as if it were real. Bela did not look at the clock. She only heard the buzzer, and then the silence after it.
他们把假人抬下台阶，一步也没有踉跄。到了下面，他们把它放在垫子上，小心翼翼，就像它是真人一样。贝拉没有看钟。她只听见蜂鸣器响了，然后是随之而来的寂静。
The instructor stepped forward with her clipboard. The other cadets had gathered round, and nobody said a word.
教官拿着记事板走上前来。其他学员已经围拢过来，没有人说话。
"Seven minutes and ten seconds," she announced. "That is the fastest time this course has ever recorded."
“七分十秒，”她宣布，“这是这门课程有史以来最快的成绩。”
A cheer went up from the line. Someone slapped Lior on the back, and someone else shook Bela's hand until it hurt. She hardly noticed. She was looking at Lior, and he was looking at her.
队伍里爆发出一阵欢呼。有人拍了拍利奥尔的背，另一个人握着贝拉的手使劲摇，摇得她生疼。她几乎没有察觉。她在看着利奥尔，而他也在看着她。
"I could not have done that alone," he said quietly.
“我一个人绝对做不到。”他轻声说。
"Neither could I," said Bela. It was the truth, and saying it felt strangely light.
“我也一样。”贝拉说。这是实话，说出口时，感觉出奇地轻松。
The instructor held up two small silver badges. "I planned to give one badge to the winning pair," she said. "But a pair that works like this deserves one each. Well done, both of you."
教官举起两枚小小的银色徽章。“我原本打算把一枚徽章给获胜的搭档，”她说，“但是像这样配合的一对，值得一人一枚。你们俩干得好。”
Lior took his badge and turned it in the sun. Bela took hers and pinned it to her jacket with fingers that still shook a little. Neither of them said anything clever. There was nothing clever left to say.
利奥尔接过徽章，在阳光下转了转。贝拉接过她的，用仍在微微发抖的手指别在夹克上。谁也没有说什么机灵话。已经没有什么机灵话可说了。
When the crowd drifted off toward the engine bay, the dice were still lying on the table. Bela scooped them up one at a time. She took the big die, the tiny die, the blue one and the odd ten-sided one. She dropped them into the canvas bag and pulled the string tight.
人群渐渐散去，走向消防车库时，骰子仍然躺在桌上。贝拉一颗一颗地把它们拢起来。她拿起大骰子、小骰子、蓝骰子和那颗古怪的十面骰子，把它们丢进帆布袋，拉紧了绳子。
Lior picked up the rule card and the hose nozzle in one hand. He held out the other hand for the bag.
利奥尔一只手拿着规则卡和水带喷嘴，另一只手伸出来要拿袋子。
"Together," he said.
“一起。”他说。
Bela passed him one side of the bag and took the other herself. They carried it across the yard.
贝拉把袋子的一边递给他，自己拿住另一边。他们抬着它走过了训练场。
