War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 413 A Gift for Ivan and Sergey

When Wei Ran woke up again, what he saw when he opened his eyes was the tent roof that had been wet by the rain and the kerosene lamp that had been extinguished long ago.Even, the rain outside the tent didn't stop, just the sound of hitting the tent became quieter.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Wei Ran turned over and got up from the rough bed.First, he opened the bandage on his leg and saw that the wound was not infected. Then he took the Soviet cloak hanging on the side and draped it over his body, opened the tent door and walked out.

In the misty water vapor, the guerrilla camp, which was still immersed in sadness yesterday, was once again filled with children's singing and reading aloud as usual.But the person in charge of teaching has become the female pilot Alisa.

The others, however, had already gotten up early and started packing up the belongings that had just moved in not long ago, and carefully packed them all into the horse-drawn sledge.

"Didn't we move out after the rain stopped?" The limping Wei Ran asked Slava who was busy directing the crowd.

"can not wait anymore"

Slava shook his head, "We need to move out as soon as possible. We got news last night that the Germans had already started gathering troops in Liuban. I'm afraid the campsite is no longer safe."

"Do you need my help?" Wei Ran asked.

Slava thought for a while, pointed to the half-track motorcycle parked not far away, and said, "If there is no problem with the wound on your leg, you can take charge of driving that motorcycle. We will leave in half an hour."

"My wound is fine." Wei Ran quickly agreed.

Before he finished speaking, the bearded Aufjay, whom he had just met yesterday, also drove over from the forest with a horse-drawn sledge convoy.

With the help of these people, the speed of clearing up the camp was further accelerated. It didn't take half an hour at all, including the tent where Wei Ran lived before, as well as the wounded and children all sat on the sledge.

"Let's go!"

Following Slava's order, the horse-drawn sledge convoy set off immediately, and led by Ofjay into the forest.

This time the distance was far beyond Wei Ran's expectations. From morning to noon, they only stopped and rested for less than half an hour. They didn't arrive until the rain stopped completely around two o'clock in the afternoon. Offjay's camp.

What surprised Wei Ran was that this camp was like a small town in the forest. Along the way, he saw not only small houses built under the trees, but also the reclaimed land in the forest. , and even found a narrow-gauge railway in the dense forest.

There was even a long line of mine cars parked on the railway.And Ivan and Sergey, who came with them yesterday, were sitting in the mine cart and greeted them.

"You are finally here"

Ivan jumped off the mine cart, trotted to the side of the half-track motorcycle and asked, "Uncle Slava, where is brother Shula? And where is Teacher Jaina?"

Slava, who was sitting on the back of the half-track motorcycle, showed the same kind smile as usual, "You have to ask our comrade journalists about this."

Seeing that Ivan and Sergey who followed later were all looking at him, Wei Ran secretly sighed, and said with a normal expression, "I'm afraid you won't be able to see them for a while."

"Why?" Ivan and Sergey's faces suddenly turned pale, "Are they injured?"

"no"

Wei Ran hurriedly said, "Yesterday they fought bravely. After I interviewed them, I decided to take them to Moscow for a more formal interview. So last night, Alisa's brother flew them away first. gone."

"Really? You didn't lie to me?" Ivan frowned and looked at Wei Ran suspiciously.

"Don't you want something to happen to Teacher Jaina?"

Alisa, the female pilot who was also sitting in the back row, asked with a smile, "Yesterday, my brother braved such a heavy rain to fly twice before sending them away. Although flying in this kind of weather is dangerous, at least it will not Discovered by the Germans. By the way, and this!"

Speaking of this, Alisa took out a damp boat cap from her pocket and handed it to Ivan, "Please ask me to give this to you before Teacher Jaina left last night. She said that you are already a qualified Guerrilla fighter, she hopes that before she comes back, you can protect your younger brothers and sisters and supervise them to study hard, this is your first job as a guerrilla."

"real?!"

Ivan grabbed the boat cap and put it on his head, but then he said with a bitter face, "Can you give Sergey the job of supervising my younger siblings? I want to fight the Germans!"

"You are a role model for your siblings"

Slava smiled and said, "Besides, someone has to take care of them. It used to be Teacher Jaina, and now she and Shura have gone to Moscow to enjoy it. Of course, this work must be handed over to you. Do you want me to be responsible? Or Let Dr. Sasha be responsible? Or Alisa? Or, our future Hero of the Soviet Union can't even do this little thing well?"

"This..." Ivan gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed, "Okay, I will take good care of my brothers and sisters until Teacher Jaina comes back."

Uncle Slava nodded in satisfaction, took out a TT33 pistol with a leather case from his bag and handed it to Ivan who looked surprised, "This is Shura's pistol, he said that only you promised to take care of your younger siblings I'll give it to you when it's time. Of course, I won't give you the bullet until he comes back."

"This pistol is mine now?!" Ivan was so excited that his voice trembled.

"Unless I or Offjay have permission, this gun is not allowed to be loaded," Slava finally reminded. "Otherwise, I will take back the cap and pistol immediately."

"I! I promise!" Excited Ivan shouted at the top of his voice.

"In that case, take your younger brothers and sisters to the classrooms prepared for you!"

The bearded Aufjay leaned over and said, "I told you the location last night."

"I remember where!"

Ivan straightened the boat cap on his head, and waved the pistol he just got at the little guys who just got off the sledge, "You guys! Come with me! I'll take you to the classroom!"

"Sergei stays"

Dr. Sasha also came over, shouted to Sergey who looked envious, and then took out a pen from his pocket and stuffed it into the other party's hand, "This is what Teacher Jaina left for you, she asked me to tell you You, don't forget your dreams."

Reaching out to take the pen, Sergey turned his head to look at Ivan and the children who were running away, but tears fell from the corners of his eyes, and he asked in a crying voice, "Ms. Jaina has died, right?"

Everyone present was stunned, and before they could figure out how to answer this question, Sergey wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, forced a smile and said, "When my father sacrificed, my mother used similar It's an excuse. Don't worry, don't worry! Teacher Jaina is going to Moscow, and I won't let it slip."

"good boy"

Slava embraced Sergey in his arms, and tried his best to look up at the fragmented clear sky cut by the tree canopy, but couldn't stop the turbid tears from sliding down from his eyes and hitting Sergey's face.

"Doctor Sasha, let me take you to see the place that is going to be used as a hospital for you." After finishing speaking, Ofjay was the first to turn around and walk away.

Dr. Sasha looked at Slava and Sergey in his arms, shook his head and said, "Victor, Alisa, come and see."

Wei Ran and Alisa looked at each other, and the two crippled people each showed a bitter smile, supported each other, and followed Dr. Sasha and Aufjay in front to the edge of the camp. Location.

"It's here"

Offjay stopped under a tall pine tree, pointed to a wooden house under construction and said, "Soon, we will help you rebuild the hospital soon, we have brought enough medicines, There are enough trees here that they won't be seen by the planes in the sky.

You can treat the wounded here with peace of mind, without worrying about any problems.Sasha, we will have a new hospital soon, I promise. "

Sasha nodded silently, but didn't say anything else. He just sat under the pine tree with his knees crossed, silently watching the wooden house under construction not far away.

"Let's take a group photo." Wei Ran abruptly suggested.

Seeing Offjay and Alisa both looking at him, Wei Ran pointed to the surroundings, "Since everyone is gathered together, let's take a group photo."

"I'm going to call them over"

Alisa, who could no longer bear the oppressive atmosphere, limped and ran towards the crowd in the distance before she could finish her sentence.

After a while, all the guerrillas who were busy rushed over, and some wounded who were only slightly injured also rushed over supporting each other.

After yesterday's battle, the three combined guerrillas had only a hundred or so left. Some of them were wounded, some had gray hair, and many of them looked like Ivan Same big kids.

Although they didn't know why they suddenly wanted to organize a group photo shoot, the bustling scene just happened to dilute the hidden sadness, and as Wei Ran, who was in charge of the command, adjusted their positions a little bit, every day A smile gradually appeared on his face.

Finally, the more than one hundred people stood noisily and formed a semi-circular human wall that could easily fill the camera frame.

On the first floor of this semi-circular arc are those children who represent hope and the future. Although they are sitting on the wet grass, they are the happiest among the people who took the photo.

On the second floor of this semi-circular arc are the guerrillas who were injured in the previous combat. Although they were wrapped in gauze, the smiles on their faces were full of joy for the rest of their lives.

On the third floor of this semi-circular arc are those uninjured guerrillas, including Slava and others.They are also the ones with the most determined expressions among the people in the viewfinder.

"Everyone is looking at me"

Holding the camera, Wei Ran shouted loudly, "When I count to three, everyone must keep their eyes open. At the same time, when I count to three, everyone shouts Ula!"

After a short pause, Wei Ran started counting down.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"Ulla! Ulla! Ulla!"

"Crack!"

Accompanied by the sound of a shutter that was drowned out by cheers, Wei Ran's field of vision was also filled with intense white light.

At that moment, he knew that his own battle was finally coming to an end, but the guerrillas who had been frozen on the film at this time, they may still have a long battle journey to continue.

(End of this chapter)