War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1531 Killing Ed

Beirut, early in the morning of September 9, before the sun had time to rise above the horizon, the locked garage door was slammed again.

Before this, Wei Ran and others had actually woken up, and even Sewing Machine and Wei Ran had gotten up early to turn up the pressure on the kerosene lamp.

They had been awakened by a dull explosion about 10 minutes ago, and were keenly aware that wounded people would probably be sent over soon.

This time, before Sewing Machine could even open the garage door, everyone heard Nurse Ayub knocking on the door and shouting anxiously, "Mr. Sewing Machine, an unexploded bomb just collapsed a four-story building, and many people are buried inside. We need your ambulance to rush over for support, there are many injured people there."

As the iron door of the garage was pushed open by the sewing machine and Wei Ran, nurse Ayub outside the door immediately switched to Arabic to communicate with Rama.

"I have already told Rama the address."

Ayub said hurriedly, "We have to go treat the wounded. Can I leave the scene to you?"

"No problem," the sewing machine responded simply.

At the same time, Edelweiss had already run to the cab of the ambulance and loudly called out to Rama to get in.

"Let me drive," Wei Ran said as the other party opened the car door.

"You took me back to the tent?" Edelweiss asked as she made way.

"You seem to be sleeping soundly." Wei Ran had already entered the cab while speaking, "Get in the car first."

Hearing this, Edelweiss immediately asked Rama to sit in the passenger seat with her, and let the little translator sit on her lap. Almost at the same time, the sewing machine and the cradle also got into the back compartment with Dalal. After Ed and Hanward pushed the door curtain to both sides, they immediately carried the large oil stove that had been packed in the box into the compartment.

"How's your driving skills?" Edelweiss asked.

"Fasten your seat belts!" Wei Ran shouted while pressing the start button.

Amid the roar of the engine, the ambulance rushed out of the garage almost at the same time as the dazzling headlights came on.

Behind them, after helping them close the iron door of the garage, Nurse Ayub immediately ran hurriedly towards the operating room.

"How do we go?"

Wei Ran asked loudly. He had to shout. Although the performance of this car was fine, the sound insulation was almost non-existent.

"Turn left at the next intersection!" Rama, who was sitting on Edelweiss's lap, shouted in response.

"Edelweiss! For you!"

At this moment, a glass jar of skin care products was handed over from the other side of the canvas net full of holes by the cradle in the rear carriage.

Taking the bottle of "skin care products", Edelweiss scooped out a lump of black paste from it, first applied it on the face and neck of Rama who was sitting in her arms, and then applied it on her own face and neck.

"Turn right at the next intersection and keep going." Rama put on a mask while giving directions to Wei Ran who had just turned left, and then put on the slightly large helmet.

In fact, when the car arrived here, Wei Ran had already noticed the people running to the hospital on stretchers, bicycles, and even carrying, hugging, and backing patients.

When these people saw this distinctive ambulance coming, they subconsciously gathered around it, trying to stop the ambulance and ask the people in the car to save the injured they had rescued.

"pat"

Edelweiss reached out and flipped a switch that was obviously installed on the panel. Then she picked up the red microphone hanging next to her and moved closer to Rama. "Tell them that we are going to the scene to rescue the more seriously injured. Tell them not to stop us and continue to send the injured to the hospital. The hospital is ready to receive the injured."

After saying that, Edelweiss pressed the microphone, and Rama immediately began shouting in Arabic.

Suddenly, the little girl's slightly childish voice came out through the tweeter on the roof. As she shouted again and again, those who originally wanted to stop the car immediately gave way. Wei Ran also drove the car to the accident scene as quickly as possible with the invisible guidance of those who were transporting the injured.

At this time, the sky was just beginning to turn pale. On the wreckage of the building that had turned into ruins, a large group of men, women, old and young were holding homemade torches, flashlights, crowbars and other tools, desperately digging through the wreckage, trying to rescue their compatriots who were trapped underneath.

"Rama, the four of you will listen to my instructions from now on."

Almost at the same time when Wei Ran parked the car on a vacant lot on the side of the road and turned off the engine, Sewing Machine immediately said, "The four of us need your help, so don't run around."

After saying that, Sewing Machine, Wei Ran and others pushed open the car doors.

"Rama, let Ed start the generator! Call two more people to help set up the tent." Cradle assigned the tasks in an orderly manner.

At the same time, Edelweiss dug out two stacks of triage cards, gave one to Cradle, and the two of them immediately started working.

Soon, the generator on the front of the car was successfully started, and Ed stepped on the front bumper to turn the searchlight on the roof to aim at the wreckage of the building where people were buried.

In less than five minutes, with the help of people around, a medical tent large enough to fit the entire ambulance was set up at the rear of the vehicle.

This tent not only covers the rear of the ambulance, but especially the bright searchlights at the rear of the vehicle - their angles just form a simple shadowless lamp.

In the same short period of time, Edelweiss and Cradle, with the help of the people around them, used several oil lamps to divide the area into different areas to accommodate the seriously injured and lightly wounded.

"I will be responsible for the initial treatment of fractured and seriously injured patients. Sewing machines, you are only responsible for the serious and emergency cases. Let the people around you carry the minor cases to the hospital."

"no problem"

The sewing machine responded straightforwardly. There was already a wounded person lying on the simple operating table in front of him.

Wei Ran said as he looked at Rama, "Rama, use the loudspeaker to call for people around to send some wooden boards over immediately. It would be best if they could be cut into pieces 30 centimeters long and centimeters wide, and wrapped with a layer of cloth. Also prepare some more strips of cloth. I'll need them later, so hurry up."

Also, let those who are assigned green cards find a way to go to the hospital by themselves, those who are assigned yellow cards ask people around them to help take them to the hospital, and those who are assigned red cards should come to us.”

"it is good!"

Rama responded crisply, ran out of the medical tent that had just been set up, got into the driver's cab and started shouting through the tweeter on the roof.

At the same time, Wei Ran had picked up a first aid kit and walked towards a seriously injured soldier with a red card. After quickly carrying out the fastest and most preliminary treatment, he immediately asked the strong man who came to help to send the soldier into the tent.

"How come you have so much experience?" Edelweiss, who was helping him, asked, "You're not much older than me."

“Now is not the time to explain this.”

While talking, Wei Ran stopped beside a little girl who looked about the same age as Dalal, and said faster, "Hold her down and don't let her move. Also, urge Rama to bring the board over quickly."

Before she finished her words, Edelweiss had subconsciously held down the child lying on the ground. Then she widened her eyes and looked at Wei Ran in horror as he grabbed the girl's obviously broken arm.

"What are you going to do! She hasn't been given anesthesia yet!"

Edelweiss shouted amid the little girl's screams and struggles.

"Hold her down!"

Wei Ran didn't explain at all. He quickly repositioned the broken arm. Then he took the first batch of wooden boards and rags that had just been delivered and helped the girl, who had fainted from the pain, to put on the splint.

"The treatment is indeed somewhat painful, but the advantage is that it does not require surgery."

It was not until this time that Wei Ran explained everything to Edelweiss, and gave some instructions to Rama who happened to arrive about the precautions to take in the later stages.

"Why not anesthesia?" Edelweiss asked after him.

'Easily infected'

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he squatted beside the third wounded man. There was a huge wound on his leg that was so deep that the bone was visible.

While Edelweiss was taking effect, Wei Ran opened a bag of saline solution, rinsed the wound briefly, and then covered the wound with the gauze bag. He then took out a roll of transparent tape and wrapped it tightly around it with a sizzling sound.

“You really are a veterinarian.”

When Edelweiss said this, there was even a hint of fear in her tone.

'He can survive'

As Wei Ran walked towards the next wounded man, he said, "At least he can live another half an hour."

As he spoke, he had already squatted beside a wounded man with a broken thigh, and called for Rama to call a few strong men to come and hold down the adult male. Then he said, "Edelweiss, go to the tent and get another operating table. I can handle this here by myself."

Knowing that she couldn't seem to keep up with Wei Ran's pace, Edelweiss gritted her teeth, turned around and ran into the tent.

At the same time, Rama, who was helping to hold a pile of wooden boards, immediately called several adult men to come and hold down the injured. A moment later, shrill and chilling screams were heard again from the side of the accident scene.

With the busy work of this medical team who did not speak the same language, the wounded were gradually diverted. The young translator Rama even used a loudspeaker to direct the adults to form a stretcher team without any instruction.

Finally, when the sun completely jumped out of the horizon and the scene no longer needed the halogen headlights on the roof to provide additional lighting, the situation of "operating table waiting for the wounded" finally appeared.

It was not until this time that Wei Ran, after taking a break from his busy schedule to take a photo of the accident scene, had the mind to think about another thing.

What on earth could cause an unexploded bomb to suddenly explode at four or five in the morning?

Moreover, looking at the destruction of the building, he really couldn't figure out how large the bomb had to be to cause such an effect.

Before he could figure out this question that seemed to harbour a conspiracy, an old man who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, with his hands covered with fine scratches, ran over from the crowd that was still digging and burying the dead, and said something loudly and hurriedly in Arabic.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Rama immediately translated, "He said there's a child stuck under the rubble. He's dying, but there's no way to get him out right now. He hopes we can help think of a solution."

"I'll go," the sewing machine said as it took a step to go out.

"Let me go," Wei Ran stopped him, "I'm better at this kind of thing than you."

"I"

"Someone has to go, so don't argue with me." After Wei Ran said that, he patted his chest towards the old man and then picked up a first aid kit.

Seeing this, the other party immediately stumbled and climbed up the ruins with him and came to a narrow cave entrance.

The hole between the wreckage of the floor was a relatively safe triangle, but it was only big enough for an adult man to crawl through.

Without cranes or excavators, and relying solely on manpower, the only way they could expand the hole was with hammers or even concrete blocks.

"Mr. Veterinarian, please put on your helmet." Rama, who had followed over, said, having taken off the helmet on her head and handed it to him.

"Thank you"

Wei Ran did not refuse the other party's kindness. He took the helmet and put it on his head. Then he tied the first aid kit around his neck and crawled into the narrow triangular cave.

Holding the flashlight, I climbed down about five or six meters. The entrance of the cave became a little wider. It seemed to be the corner of the corridor. Not far away in the other direction was a collapsed load-bearing wall.

Several finger-thick steel bars were exposed in this load-bearing wall, and the broken ends of the steel bars were like a huge animal trap that firmly bit a young man's thighs.

This young man looked about the same age as Ed, but there was blood all over his body and he was no longer conscious.

What's even more terrible is that through the fist-sized gap between his legs, he can hear the faint cry of a baby coming from inside.

He took out a lighter and tried to light it. Seeing that there was enough oxygen here, Wei Ran immediately took off the first aid kit, took out an anesthetic needle from it and stabbed it around the wounds on the two thighs, and then sucked some blood. "Rama, quickly test his blood, and find a short person to give him a blood transfusion!" Wei Ran said as he handed over the syringe with some blood sucked out.

As soon as Rama took the syringe, he immediately took out a pair of wire cutters from the metal notebook, and carefully grasped a blood-stained steel bar by the edge of the young man's leg. Then he slowly applied force with both hands, as if he was defusing a bomb, and cut it into two pieces with difficulty.

Because of the language barrier, the only thing he could do was to speed up and start cutting the second steel bar.

What he didn't expect was that when he cut the fourth steel bar, Edelweiss came in with a blood transfusion device in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

"Why are you here?" Wei Ran asked, looking back.

"His blood type matches mine."

As Edelweiss spoke, she was already sitting in a pool of blood mixed with dust in the duck-like posture that only girls do. She quickly disinfected the blood vessels in her arm and then inserted the needle.

By the time the blood flowed into the child's veins, Wei Ran had already cut the sixth steel bar.

"There's still one leg"

As Wei Ran spoke, he extended the blood-stained wire cutters into the gap at the edge of the other leg. In an extremely awkward posture, he almost used his helmet to support himself against the broken end of the steel bar, and used his chest to press against the handle of the wire cutters to assist in exerting force.

After cutting another steel bar with great difficulty, Wei Ran looked back at Edelweiss who was using a flashlight to illuminate him. He did not dare to waste any time and moved the wire cutters to the next steel bar.

Under his operation, the steel bars were cut one by one, and the child seemed to be in better spirits because of the blood transfusion.

“No more blood transfusions.”

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already helped Edelweiss and the child remove the blood transfusion needles. "Send him out now and let others give him a blood transfusion."

"I"

"If you fall down, we will lose a medical staff." Wei Ran reminded.

Hearing this, Edelweiss, whose face turned a little pale, nodded, pressed the needle hole with the dressing prepared in advance, allowed Wei Ran to help her up, and crawled out alone with difficulty to make room.

“Hold on”

Wei Ran muttered something to himself, carefully dragged the young man's shoulders, and pulled him out of the narrow gap amid his weak screams.

He did not dare to pull out the steel bars that were still stuck in his legs. Wei Ran just used the simplest bandage to stop the bleeding and immediately sent him out.

“There are still people inside”

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he went back in and roughly cleaned up the remaining steel bars with wire cutters.

Wei Ran stuck his head in with difficulty and looked towards the corner. It seemed that there was a single bed with the foot of the bed pressed down by the collapsed floor, so that the head of the bed was tilted up and almost at a 45-degree angle with the floor.

The upturned end of the single bed was firmly pressed against the remaining wall, and the female corpse lying on the bed was almost trapped between the bed board and the collapsed floor.

And the crying sound seemed to come from the other side of the female corpse.

Unfortunately, although Wei Ran could see what was going on inside, the gap was too small for him. He couldn't get in at all, and he couldn't reach the single bed two meters away.

Edelweiss, who had a good figure, might be able to squeeze in, but she was less than 1.7 meters tall, and she might not be able to reach the child hiding on the other side of the corpse even if she stood on tiptoe.

Moreover, she had just completed the blood transfusion and her physical strength might not be able to keep up. After all, no one knew whether the baby was also stuck inside.

"I need someone who is about the same size as Edelweiss, but taller, to help me."

Wei Ran decisively retreated and asked for help from outside, "It's better to be thinner than Edelweiss. There is a baby in here, and someone needs to crawl in and take him out. I can't get in."

Soon, a shirtless young man wearing only a pair of shorts walked in - it was Ed!

Although this young man is already 16 years old, he is indeed about the same size as Edelweiss, and he is tall enough.

However, what Wei Ran didn't expect was that there was actually Rama behind the child! Rama still had a Polaroid camera hanging around his neck!

"I'll translate," Rama said before Wei Ran could speak.

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded and pointed to the narrow hole next to the pool of blood and said, "Aide needs to crawl in from inside. There is an upturned single bed there. The baby is on the bed, but the specific situation cannot be seen."

After Rama translated this to her brother Ed, the latter also lay down without hesitation and struggled to crawl through the narrow gap that was still stained with blood.

Soon, Ed said something in Arabic, and Rama immediately took off the Polaroid camera from his neck and handed it over.

"He said the situation inside was a bit complicated."

Before Rama finished speaking, a flash light came on inside, and soon after, the Polaroid camera that was spitting out photos was sent back.

  Smart siblings!

While Wei Ran was secretly admiring, he reached out and took the photo handed to him by Rama.

After a brief wait, as the photo developed, Wei Ran couldn't help but frown.

The woman was lying on her side on the bed, her hands on the baby, almost completely protecting her in her arms.

He could almost imagine that after the explosion and before the collapse, this great mother chose to use her body to protect her children at the critical moment.

She did protect her child with her life, but after the floor crushed her body, her child's tiny neck was also restrained by her arms.

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran thought of a method - cutting open the young mother's shoulder joint.

  This is the simplest and easiest method to implement, but

Wei Ran couldn't help but secretly glance at Rama who had an anxious look on his face. Once this method was mentioned, would it be too cruel for the young Rama and the equally young Ed inside?

  but

Wei Ran sighed secretly. It seemed that they had no choice at this time.

"here"

Wei Ran pointed at the shoulder joint of the female corpse in the photo and said, "Cut it open from here. This is the only way."

Hearing this, Rama was obviously panicked for a moment, but soon, this strong little girl took the homemade strangulation wire handed to her by Wei Ran, translated the processing method to Ed inside, and then handed the strangulation wire and the marked photos back.

Soon, in the small space, there was a sound like sawing wood when the neck wire was repeatedly pulled.

After a slightly long wait, the baby's crying seemed to become clearer, and Wei Ran and Rama couldn't help but show anticipation on their faces.

"Boom!"

But at this moment, a muffled sound that made the feet tremble and Ed's scream came from the narrow gap!

After a brief daze, Rama screamed and was about to crawl in, but was then grabbed by the arm by Wei Ran.

"Let me go!" Rama subconsciously screamed in Arabic, and then switched to French which Wei Ran could understand.

"I'll go in and take a look first."

Wei Ran easily pulled the little girl behind him, then he lay down and stuck his head into the cave to look inside.

In the steaming smoke, the beam of light from the flashlight took on a solid shape, but at the point where the beam was focused, he discovered that the single bed and even part of the floor that the bed was on had collapsed - most of Ed's body was pressed under the bed.

At his feet, Wei Ran could see two bed boards that seemed to have just been sawed off. He could also see clearly that the arms of the woman on the bed were not sawed off.

Obviously, Ed chose a more troublesome, more humane, but also more dangerous way - he chose to saw off the bed board under the baby and then take out the baby who was tightly imprisoned.

The 16-year-old boy succeeded, and the baby was held firmly in his hands, but his hips and lower body were crushed by the bed and floor.

Rama

When Ed saw Wei Ran, a bright smile appeared on his face, but as the corners of his mouth turned up, a large amount of blood flowed out.

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran retreated and left the cave entrance to the crying Rama. He also trembled and shouted to the outside that he needed a jack - but it was in vain. Even with a jack, there was no way to rescue Ed.

"What's going on in there?!" Edelweiss shouted outside the cave, and a moment later, she personally brought in a greasy jack.

"Ed was pinned down, he..."

As Wei Ran took the jack, strong light from the flash light flashed in the narrow hole again and again.

"I'm afraid he can't be saved."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he didn’t dare to look at the pale-faced Edelweiss. He turned around and moved back to the cave entrance.

In a moment, Lamar had crawled back with tears streaming down her face - she was still holding the tiny, unharmed baby and the Polaroid camera in her arms.

"Veterinarian, yes."

Rama sniffed, wiped away his tears and asked in tears, "Can you kill my brother immediately?

He knew he couldn't survive, he said he was in so much pain, please, veterinarian, no, Mr. Dongfeng, please find a way to kill my brother Ed quickly, he is in so much pain. "

"Take them out," Wei Ran said, and dropped the jack in his hand with a clang.

The dull thumping sound made Rama shiver, and also made Edelweiss shiver.

Perhaps it was only a few long seconds later that Edelweiss took a deep breath, took the tiny baby, and gently pushed Rama to crawl out of the cave.

"I'm sorry, I hurt you."

Wei Ran murmured softly, and a titanium alloy pistol with a silencer appeared in his hand.

Putting his head and one hand into the narrow hole again, Wei Ran raised the weapon in his hand with trembling hands, aimed at the hero who was lying on the ground with his hands folded on his chest, and seemed to be reciting something in Arabic with difficulty. He gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger.

"Snapped!"

A bullet hole appeared above Ed's head amid the faint sound of gunfire suppressed by the silencer. A red-hot bullet casing jumped out, hit the collapsed wall, and then hit his face, causing his heart to throb violently.

"I killed one of my own again, and I killed a child again."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, a weird smile of madness and collapse appeared on his face. Even the pistol in his hand, which was still filled with smoke, was pressed against his chin.

However, just as he was about to pull the trigger, someone grabbed one of his legs and pulled him out with great difficulty.

"If you collapse, we will have one less medical staff member."

Pale-faced Edelweiss said this while forcing herself to remain calm. She grabbed Wei Ran's pistol, gently pried his hand apart, threw the gun that had just killed someone aside, and pulled him up and held him in her arms. "Besides, not only does the operating room need Mr. Veterinarian, we also need Mr. Dongfeng's protection."

"I killed Ed," Wei Ran said vaguely.

"Rama asked me to tell you"

Edelweiss held Wei Ran tightly in her arms and whispered in his ear very gently, "She said that Ed is a warrior and that's what he should do. He doesn't blame you, and she doesn't blame you either."