War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1071 Incomplete Body, Incomplete Family
"Here's your bayan"

On the pier, Wei Ran, who stopped playing, took the bayan from his body and handed it to the worried Ke Na.

"Um"

When Ke Na took the bayanqin absent-mindedly, Wei Ran frowned, and immediately grabbed Ke Na's right hand, and squeezed her thumb and index finger.

His action made Ke Na shiver subconsciously, and immediately after, unstoppable tears welled up in her eyes.

Unbelievably pinching the glove on Ke Na's right hand again, Wei Ran tremblingly asked, "Your hand."

"frozen"

After hesitating for a moment, Ke Na took off the black lambskin gloves tremblingly, revealing her mutilated right hand.

On this not-so-big hand, the thumb and index finger are gone, and even the palm is about a quarter missing.

Without waiting for Wei Ran to ask, Ke Na raised the blond hair that covered half of her face, revealing the cheek missing the left ear.

"After you were transferred back."

Cora let down her hair again, put on black gloves, and sat on a wooden box by the pier with her bayanqin in her arms. "A convoy lost its way due to a snowstorm. In order to find that convoy, Searched for two full days in a snowstorm."

"And then?"

Wei Ran sat beside the other party, and after groping around himself, he first took out the small TK pistol that Kona had given him, and then took out the pistol that was sent between him and the breeder Matvey. The luxurious cigarette case and the luxurious lighter that Matvey gave to himself.

Open the cigarette case, fortunately, there are still four cigarettes left in it.

Without him asking, Kona, Ekaterina, and Carello each took one, and each took out a lighter and lit it proficiently.

After puffing out a puff of thick smoke, Ekaterina whispered something next to Ke Na's left ear, and then dragged Carello, who seemed to have something to say, to turn around and leave.

Until this time, Ke Na leaned on Wei Ran's shoulder, looked at the sparkling lake in the distance, and explained calmly, "Later, I also lost my way, and soon after, I lost consciousness due to the low temperature. Luckily, the signal light on my body saved my life. Someone was looking for the light and found me.

However, when I woke up again, one of my ears and half of my palm had been frozen, and the small half of my left foot was also frozen.Although the loss was a bit big, fortunately the lost transport team was finally found. "

After taking a deep puff of her cigarette, Ke Na pointed to the office not far away, "Come and sit in my office? I can only be in charge of statistical work now, and I can no longer be a traffic controller like I used to be."

"Go, go."

Wei Ran deliberately didn't help the strong girl, and the girl stood up without any support at all, and even took her bayan piano.

Following her into the small office, Ke Na opened the desk drawer, took out Wei Ran's harmonica and Lydia's bosom stove and handed them over, regretfully saying, "Give it back to you, I don't have any use for these anymore."

"I'll give you back this too"

Wei Ran handed the small TK pistol that belonged to Mrs. Via to the other party, imitating the tone when the other party gave him the pistol, and said, "You take this, at least it can make unreasonable people think about obeying your advice."

When Ke Na took the pistol, she couldn't help showing a bright smile, imitating Wei Ran's original tone and responding, "I will give the other party a good enough suggestion then."

"How about this job?" Wei Ran asked while looking at this not-so-big office.

This small room is not big, and there are only two office seats in total.However, in the middle of the two desks, by the window, there was still Ke Na's airdrop box.

Naturally, there was no charcoal burning in the fixed stove, but there were two extremely clean kerosene signal lamps on it.

"It's okay, it's just there."

Before Ke Na could finish her sentence, a shrill air defense siren rang out from the pier outside the office!

"Bang!"

The bayanqin that was picked up by Ke Na just now fell straight on the floor, and this girl ran out of the office in a panic like wind and madness!Following closely behind, Wei Ran also ran out.

In such a short period of time, the pier, which was still orderly just now, immediately changed its appearance, and a series of buzzing black spots appeared on the edge of the distant sky!

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran looked in the direction where the barge disappeared.But at this time, there was no shadow of the boat on the rippling lake.

Looking at Ke Na again, she obviously realized at this time that she could not help the ship at all, so she picked up a tin horn and loudly directed the porters to hide in the air-raid shelter.

In less than a minute before and after, the roar of the plane became more and more clear, and the anti-aircraft guns in the air defense positions in the distance also fired dense shells.

"Brother Victor! Come and help!" At this moment, Kaileluo anxiously shouted at Wei Ran.

Following the sound, he found that the young man was holding a rein in one hand, but the two mules were stamping their hooves anxiously amidst the air defense sirens, the sound of artillery and the roar of planes.

Glancing at Ke Na again, Wei Ran didn't care too much, ran over at the fastest speed, took a rein from the opponent's hand, dragged the stubborn mule to the forest on the edge of the pier, tied it to the On a birch tree as thick as a thigh, and then found a sack from the sledge to serve as a cushion and put it on the mule's head.

Before the big man calmed down, the roar of the cannon firing and the terrifying whistle of the bomb falling freely came from the sky!But in such a blink of an eye, Ke Na and the familiar female soldier Yekaterina went somewhere!
"boom!"

Not long after the powerful aerial cannon shot a series of puffs of smoke on the pier, the first aerial bomb also hit the water surface, causing huge waves to rise, and at the same time, those barges that were urgently evacuated were thrown into the water. Unstoppable shaking under the push.

As a counterattack, the German planes were shot into fireballs comparable to aerial bombs by the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns scattered all over the pier before they were pulled up!

Seeing that he couldn't help, Wei Ran almost subconsciously took out the camera, pointed the lens at the pier, and pressed the shutter again and again.

It was also with the help of the viewfinder that he finally saw the two Soviet female soldiers he knew on the position of a dual-mounted DShka anti-aircraft machine gun busy fighting back with the machine guns!

Under the flames of the twin machine guns, a German fighter jet was shot in the nose and wings one after another, and then plunged headlong into the clear water of the lake.

This wave of raids came and went quickly, and the air defense forces on the ground did not give the German planes a second chance to dive.

But even so, the loss on the pier at this time is huge.In the viewfinder window of the camera that Wei Ran raised again, a few minutes ago the pier that was extremely busy a few minutes ago has already billowed with black smoke, and several fire trucks and ambulances pulling water tanks are also shuttled on the pier .

On the berth, there were still two barges that hadn't had time to run away, and were slowly sinking underwater in the thick smoke.

those kids
Wei Ran raised his eyes and looked around, but still couldn't see the shadow of the barge, and the workers and soldiers on the docks were also busy rescuing the wounded and supplies that could be seen.

At this time, he finally found Ke Na.

Under the setting sun, the girl ran to the pier like crazy. After looking around, she tore off the boat cap and kicked off her shoes, and jumped into the cold lake without any hesitation. !She raised her arms again and again, trying in vain to swim to the side of the barge with her own physical strength.

Hey!
Wei Ran's heart froze, he ran over quickly, stretched out his hands on the pier, and took out the seldom-used row boat from the metal book.

"Whoa!"

Before the boat fell into the lake and splashed into the water again, he flipped into the cabin, shook the oar vigorously, and chased after the boat in the direction it was leaving.

"Kona! Kona!"

Wei Ran shouted at the top of his voice, and when the two got closer, he immediately picked up the pole on the boat and stretched it out to the girl who ignored his shout and was still paddling.

It wasn't until the bamboo pole rested on Ke Na's shoulders that she shivered and turned her head back.

"Come up!"

Wei Ran yelled and urged, and when the other party grabbed the pole almost in a daze, he immediately pulled her closer and grabbed her onto the boat again.

Taking off his coat and putting it on the panic-stricken girl, Wei Ran grabbed the paddle again and began to shake it rapidly.

But how fast can this row of boats go?So the only thing Ke Na who was kneeling on the bow of the boat could do was to silently watch with tears streaming down her eyes.

Gradually, the pier behind him became farther and farther away, and some miscellaneous floating objects gradually appeared on the wavy lake.

Continue to row the row boat forward, a big red Budyonny hat is softly attached to a half-meter-long slat, under the watchful eyes of Wei Ran and Ke Na, it is pushed by the waves, slowly Slowly drifting towards the direction of the pier.

Having been together day and night for such a long time, no matter Wei Ran or Kona, they have long been able to distinguish their respective little masters by the color of Budyonny's hat.

"Olga - Olga - Olga -"

Ke Na, who was kneeling on the bow, called out to the owner of the hat, but what responded to her was more and more pieces of cloth that were still floating on the water, on various floating objects, and of various colors. Jonny hat!And the cold lake water dyed red!
"what--"

"what--"

Ke Na, who was kneeling on the bow of the boat, clutched her wet blond hair and howled and screamed, until she lost her voice completely. The whole skinny person curled up in the narrow cabin with her head in her arms— —like a poor child who cannot wake up from a nightmare.

In the middle of the hull, Wei Ran also let go of the oars, stood up and looked around, but when he looked up, all he could see were various fragments.

these beasts
Wei Ran clenched his fists again and again and loosened them again and again. In the end, he found that the only thing he could do was to hold up the camera hard-heartedly, and compare the helpless person shivering at the bow with the red one. Those desperate Budyonny hats on the lake are incorporated into the frame together.

However, when he pressed the shutter, he clearly noticed a cloud of water splashing in the distance through the viewfinder window!
Subconsciously put away the camera, Wei Ran widened his eyes, and clearly saw a head popping out of the water six to seventy meters away!

"Kona! Kona! There are still people alive!"

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already grabbed the oar and shook it vigorously.And Ke Na, who was shivering at the bow, raised her head in a panic after trembling subconsciously.

"Straight ahead, look to the right!"

Wei Ran yelled to remind the other party, and Ke Na immediately averted her gaze.However, the one that just came out of the water plunged into the water one after another!

"Galina! I see Galina!"

With renewed hope, Ke Na shouted excitedly. At the same time, she put her upper body on the bow of the boat and picked up a wooden board stained with dark red blood to help paddle the water.

As the distance got closer, the little head that submerged in the water popped up again, followed by two more small heads that came out of the water from both sides of her, lying on a life buoy Coughing violently.

Almost when the two of Wei Ran recognized Anastasia, Bogdan and Laishia, Laishia just waved her hand after seeing them, and then unexpectedly made another violent attack. Into the water!

Without any hesitation at all, Ke Na turned over and jumped into the lake and sank underwater. Only Wei Ran carried Anastasia and Bogdan, who shared the same lifebuoy, to the boat, and then laid on a door panel. Galina, the baby on board, was also carried into the boat.

Regardless of the three crying children, Wei Ran also kicked off his shoes and jumped into the blood-stained water. At the same time, he took out the flashlight in the metal book and shot a beam of light.

Soon, he found the barge turned upside down at the bottom of the lake, saw the squeezed and deformed cabin full of bullet holes, saw the bodies of children and sailors trapped inside, and also saw the dead bodies from those bodies. , from the bullet holes and deformed windows, and the red blood spilling from Lycia's hands.

Passing the flashlight to Kona, Wei Ran took out the wire cutters, cut open the deformed door hinge, then grabbed the iron door panel full of glass stubble, and stepped on the deformed door frame to pull the door. down.

All of a sudden, Laishia and Kona dragged out the mutilated corpses from the narrow and deformed doorway.

Gradually, the bottom of the lake full of rocks was also filled with children Wei Ran was very familiar with. There was Alexander with his big teeth bared, his good friend Alyosha, Olga and Sasha, and even his ex. The child Wang Andre, and all the little guys who Wei Ran can name, or can't name!
Finally, the depletion of oxygen in the lungs forced Laishia and Kona to temporarily suspend their rummaging work, returned the flashlight to Wei Ran, and then swam to the surface.

But Wei Ran ventured into the upturned cabin before he could hold his breath, pushed away the eye-popping corpses and broken organs, and finally found a small piece of air in the cabin. Small spaces.

Hitting the flickering flashlight on the bulkhead, Wei Ran pressed his mouth on the cabin to barely expose the ground, panting and yelling in vain, "Is there anyone else? Is there anyone alive?"

However, in this small space with a gap of less than ten centimeters and a length and width of less than two meters, there was no response at all.

Taking a few deep breaths, Wei Ran, holding his breath again, pushed away the corpses and left the upturned cabin. Suppressing his anger and despair, he dragged the corpses out one by one, hoping to find any A child who is still alive.

But gradually, he reached his physical limit again, resisting the urge to breathe, dragged Alyosha with his left hand, and dragged Sasha with his right hand to swim to the surface of the water.

As for Alexander and other children who were still lying on the lake bed, Wei Ran blinked vigorously, but still couldn't hold back the tears that were constantly dissolving in the lake water.

It's not that he doesn't want to save those children, but their thin and malnourished bodies have been torn to pieces by the cannons, and there is no need for them to try to rescue them.

"Whoa!"

After Wei Ran came out of the water, breathing heavily, he pushed Alyosha and Sasha onto the boat, but before he came out of the water, Ke Na and Laishia had already jumped into the boat again. into the water.

Before he had time to call the two girls to come up, Wei Ran flipped into the cabin, put Sasha on his knees and slapped her hard on the back at the same time. Immediately, a jet of water shot from her mouth. squirted out.

In the same way, he helped Alyosha to empty the blockage in his lung cavity. Wei Ran anxiously glanced at the still still water, not daring to waste time on the question of choosing one or the other, and directly knelt on the one closest to him. CPR began beside Sasha.

"Bogdan! Anastasia!"

Wei Ran, who pushed Sasha's chest up and down, stopped the crying of the two five-year-old little guys with a loud cry.

"Pinch Alyosha's nose! Blow into his mouth! Go!"

Before Wei Ran finished his sentence, he pinched Sasha's nose and blew a breath into her mouth, and immediately after that, he started cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

After a short period of panic, Bogdan crawled to Alyosha's side, imitating Wei Ran just now, blocked Alyosha's two nostrils with his fingers, and then mustered all his strength to use his mouth Take a breath.

Even Anastasia, the little guy who likes to eat fingers, followed Wei Ran's example and helped Alyosha push his chest with those two pitiful little hands.

However, after all, they are just two children who may not be as old as Alyosha together. Even if they are added together, how much strength can they have?
Not to mention them, even Sasha, who was treated by Wei Ran himself, couldn't recover to breathe spontaneously at all.

Although he knew there was no hope, neither Wei Ran nor the two little guys who survived by chance stopped their efforts and were still making all attempts in vain.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by the sound of bone cracking, Sasha's chest completely collapsed due to Wei Ran's pressure, but the girl didn't respond at all.

But Wei Ran didn't stop, he just pushed away Anastasia and Bogdan, and started CPR for Alyosha with another target.

At some point, Bogdan and Anastasia, who were soaked all over, embraced the baby Galina, who was also soaked all over, with their immature arms.

At some point, Ke Na also emerged from the water again, dragging Laishia who was unconscious due to exhaustion and hypoxia in her arms.

"Victor, help me." Kona gasped and shouted with her face flushed, she no longer had the strength to push Laishia onto the boat.

Hearing the shout, Wei Ran, who was also out of breath, pulled Laishia up by her collar and belt like a walking corpse that had lost consciousness, and then pulled Ke Na up, and then he But he turned around and continued the cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Alyosha.

"Click"

There was another crisp sound of bone cracking, and Alyosha's thin chest sank limply.A cloud of dark red blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

"pat"

Wei Ran knelt weakly and sat in the water-stained cabin, his face was full of despair.

"mother"

At this heartbreaking juncture, the little baby Galina, who had stopped crying, also clearly called out a title that could give the crew infinite courage and hope.

After a brief silence, tears overflowed from the corners of Cora's eyes again, and at the same time she stretched out her hands, hugging the little baby tightly in her arms, and also hugging Anastasia and Bogdan in her arms. arms.

Reaching out his hand to pick up a wooden toy gun from the blood-stained lake, Wei Ran remembered that this was the "weapon" belonging to the former child Wang Andre in the warm basement, and it was also the only one left to him by his father. one thing.

But now.
Wei Ran looked desperately at the floating objects on the water, gritted his teeth, and gently placed the extremely finely carved wooden toy gun on Alyosha's chest, tremblingly took out the camera, and gave it to the hugging family People, Laishia with a piece of glass on her hand, took another group photo of the only remaining living member of that big family.

In the gradually rising white light, he also heard the siren sound from far behind him, and at the same time, he let a drop of water mixed with too many things slide down his cheek, flow all the way down his chin, and finally land on the On the viewfinder window of the double-lens reflex camera, the incomplete family that was frozen in the most desperate moment was blurred.

It's almost over
Wei Ran, who was physically and mentally exhausted, muttered expectantly, but in the white light that hadn't dissipated, what he heard was the sound of dense shelling that almost formed a line!

(End of this chapter)