War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 129 Collapse
On the morning of April 4, the sound of rumbling artillery fire was getting closer and closer. From time to time, a shell even hit the buildings on both sides of the alley, scattering large pieces of broken bricks and tiles.

But since the morning fog dissipated, no wounded had been brought over. Instead, the tent that served as the operating room had two holes the size of pot lids smashed by bricks.Even the seriously wounded who remained around the tents, as well as the medicines and supplies that hadn't had time to move into the basement, were buried in the newly formed ruins.

Under the intense busyness of the crowd, the dilapidated tent was urgently moved to a shell crater formed a long time ago, and the wounded were also left behind. The four young soldiers who were left behind were all sent to a distant movie theater for refuge.

"Marco, take Mario and Mora to the cinema too." Father Hans sat on a chair with only three legs left, while letting Dr. Said while the wound opened by the brick.

"I want to stay." Marko pointed to the major's uniform on his body. "My mission is to protect this clinic and all of you. Let Victor go. He happens to be able to take care of the wounded."

"I"

"You all save it!"

Dr. Lodge cut the suture, and took up the topic before Wei Ran finished speaking, "The movie theater is not much safer than here, and here is not much more dangerous than the movie theater. It is better for us not to separate at this time. In addition, Marco, let Your brother and Mora should go to the basement first. If it's really too dangerous, we'll hide in. And, Nurse Leni, you go down first too!"

"That's fine." After hesitating for a moment, Father Hans finally agreed with Dr. Rocky's decision.

Taking advantage of the time to bandage the wound of Father Hans, Marco and the little nurse Leni took Mario and Mora into the bathroom in the ruins, lifted the bathtub, and sent the two little guys in.

"Mario, stay inside quietly." Marco finally ordered while lying at the entrance of the cave.

"Brother, I."

"Mario, protect Mora." With just one sentence from Marco, Mario's little face immediately showed a strong color, "I will protect her!"

However, as the only entrance above the head was tightly covered by the heavy bathtub, the strength and bravery on Mario's face were immediately replaced by fear.On the contrary, Mora looked at the other children sitting on the folding bed with surprise, one of them was her classmate!
And Mario is not really as stupid as Hans father said, he immediately guessed the general truth, and asked in disbelief, "Mola, they are all of them"

Mora embraced a little girl of the same age with eczema on her face, and nodded happily to Mario, "Are you scared? Or, do you want to give us all to your round head?"

"I am not afraid!"

Mario backed up step by step while speaking, and then accidentally tripped over a wooden box covering the ground, but before the wound on his butt touched the ground, he was held by a woman with eczema on his small arm.

"be careful"

The woman gently pointed to Mario's youth league knife hanging on his overalls, "This knife is so beautiful, can you lend me a bit?"

"Cocoa..." Mario suppressed his crying, pulled out the dagger tremblingly and handed it to the woman who supported him.

The woman accepted the dagger with a smile, and then bent down to find a carrot with dirt from the box under the folding bed. After carefully peeling it off with a knife, she divided it into two halves and gave it to Mario and Mora. , "Eat it, it's very sweet. Every kid who comes here can get a piece of fruit. It's a pity that you came at a bad time. Now there are only carrots left."

"Can you return the knife to me?" Mario asked timidly.

"certainly"

The woman wiped the knife carefully and put it back into the scabbard, and helped Mario hang it on the overalls. At the same time, she said with a smile, "Major Marco said you can keep us safe?"

"I"

Mario took half of the carrot and thought about it, then looked back at Mo La who was chatting with his good friend, finally nodded affirmatively, and said firmly, "My brother is right! I will protect you !"

Gently touching Mario's little head, the woman smiled softly, "Then please, our little soldier."

Mario, who didn't realize that the concept had been secretly changed, suddenly drifted away because of the phrase "little soldier", and even suppressed the tears that were about to fall.

The other women in the basement smiled at each other and continued quietly busying themselves with their own affairs.On the surface filled with gunpowder smoke, Wei Ran and others also hid in the shell crater, anxiously waiting for the wounded who might be sent over at any time, or the war that might end at any time.

Perhaps because there were not a large number of wounded sent here as usual, the day seemed to pass extremely slowly.

"Why haven't the wounded come here yet?" Marko couldn't sit still, "Could it be that the Soviets were beaten away?"

"Have you been infected by your brother's stupidity?"

Father Hans said angrily, "It's not that the Soviets were beaten away, but the soldiers on the Moltke Bridge probably couldn't withdraw back. That's why no wounded were sent over. And those Soviets were far away from Moltke. The bridge must be very close, so close that even the surrounding residents have fled, only the four of us are still guarding the broken tent like idiots."

"Put up the white flag," Dr. Lodge said abruptly, "Maybe it's more useful than the red cross."

"Wait, now is not the time."

Father Hans lit a cigarette, "At least we have to wait until the Soviets capture the Moltke Bridge, otherwise we will probably be targeted and killed by the idiots of the Supervising Team."

In the damp shell crater, Wei Ran and the others fell silent again.After a long time, panicked shouts came from the ruins blocking the alley, and a young German soldier ran over and shouted, "Doctor Lodge, Doctor Hans, and Doctor Victor, the movie theater has just been bombed !"

Everyone in the shell crater stood up quickly, and Father Hans was the first to ask, "How about the wounded?"

"Several of them were crushed under the stone slab!"

Holding on to his helmet, the young soldier yelled, "There are a few more hits, they're going to die!"

"Let me go!" Wei Ran stood up carrying a heavy metal medicine box and a kerosene lamp, "You guys continue to guard here!"

"I'll go with you!" Father Hans also grabbed the medicine box and kerosene lamp beside him, "Marco, stay and protect Dr. Lodge!"

"Be careful!" Dr. Lodge exhorted worriedly.

"You too." Father Hans had already climbed out of the crater with Wei Ran before he could finish his sentence.

Under the leadership of the young soldier, Wei Ran and Father Hans passed through the ruins, ducked into the collapsed movie theater, and then heard screams and cries.

Most of the movie theater has collapsed, and only one area near the curtain is safe. At this time, all the surviving wounded have gathered here.In the collapsed area, the three young soldiers were working hard to dig out the survivors who had been crushed.

"Fortunately, Marco and the others were not allowed to come over." Father Hans muttered, and after lighting the kerosene lamp, he quickly opened the medicine box and started the treatment work.

But in fact, except for those who were only scratched and could receive effective treatment, the rest of the seriously injured, especially those who were still pressed under the stone slabs, what the two of them could do was to help them get a wound. Ma Fei to relieve the pain, and then watched them stop breathing.

"Dang!"

Wei Ran threw the glass medicine bottle aside, and stabbed the last horsefly on a little girl who was completely crushed from the waist down.

As the glass syringe was pulled out, the blood-stained and dust-stained face of the little girl, who looked like a child, finally showed no pain.But before the medicine wears off, the little girl froze and didn't move any more, letting the doll she was holding in her arms roll down the steps and fall under the curtain where she wanted to escape.

"what--!"

The young soldier who had been trying to save the little girl let out a desperate roar just now, and then under everyone's dull gaze, he took out a P38 pistol from his arms and pressed it against his chin, and simply pulled the trigger!

"Bang!" The clear gunshot echoed for a long time in the half-collapsed movie theater, and warm blood splashed onto Wei Ran's face.That young body, like the doll just now, rolled and rolled down the stairs.

"Fuck!"

Wei Ran reacted, and ruthlessly dropped the syringe that he had not had time to put down on the ground.Then he covered his head in a collapse, and sat down on the steps next to the little girl's body.

He had no sympathy for the Germans, much less for the soldiers with swastikas and eagles on their uniforms.

From the battle of Stalingrad, from the 19th position on the Don River, and from the man-eating winter in Finland, Wei Ran hypnotized himself again and again, trying to convince himself that the cowhide book sent him back, just experiencing an overly real war game.Even if it's not a game, those Soviets, Germans and even Finns who died in the war have nothing to do with me!

But when the warm blood splashed on his face, all the lies and comforts he had lied to himself were shattered in an instant.One after another, fresh lives disappeared before his eyes. The pale and cheap feeling of powerlessness finally made his rationality, which he had worked so hard to maintain for a long time, completely collapse at the moment the soldier committed suicide!
The wailing ruins of the movie theater fell into silence after the gunshots. In the space illuminated by two kerosene lamps, there was only Wei Ran's uncontrollable crying and curses that they couldn't understand.

Father Hans sighed, silently took out a Ma Fei, walked to Wei Ran's side, pulled his arm away, and pushed in a small amount of medicinal liquid.

"Sleep for a while, after waking up, maybe the war will be over." Father Hans hugged Wei Ran's shoulders, and waited until the medicine took effect, then he struggled to stand up, and walked towards another survivor who was waiting for treatment .

(End of this chapter)