War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 672 Martyrs

In the middle of the night on December 1991, 12, everyone, including Wei Ran, was moved from the transport truck into the abandoned building.

In the radio station with the locked door, Apolly continued to fiddle with the radio station that did not respond at all.

In the room where the vodka was stored, Wei Ran also lit the stove. While listening to the news broadcast on the speaker, he was absent-mindedly preparing meals for everyone, but in fact, he put most of his attention on the dim outside the door. in the corridor.

At this time, Murat and Dr. Pavel were standing at the door of the room where Wei Ran was located, silently listening to the conversation coming from the opposite room.

In this room where Wei Ran once found the key disk left by the on-duty staff, a tin bucket used as a stove had been burned red by charcoal fire, and the heat it released made the room, which is not too big, extremely hot. the warmth.

Around the solid wood table with wine bottles and glasses, four young people headed by Talas and Agwan were holding a few poker cards, chatting about their thoughts while playing.

"Actually, it's better to go back as soon as possible." Taras threw out a few cards and said in a moderate voice, "We have to leave here."

"What about the Tinder project? What about it?"

Gennady asked, "I have been following this project since I was in the first grade. If it is stopped like this, what will happen to me all these years?"

"Stop complaining"

Agwan said irritably, "The Soviet Union is gone. Maybe after we go back, I will be sent back to Latvia, and you will be sent back to Estonia."

"So you also want to go back immediately?" Taras asked.

"I do not want"

Agwan threw all the cards in his hand on the table annoyed, "My dream is to send Tinder to Mars, and watch those charming little lives begin to multiply on Mars. But now that the Soviet Union is gone, the Tinder project will never It might work."

"So do you want to stay or go?" Shalip asked puzzled.

"Let's go back"

Agwan stroked his big bald head vigorously, "After returning to Estonia, I may not be engaged in scientific research and microbiology-related work anymore, and I plan to become a writer."

"You? Become a writer?"

Taras couldn't help laughing, "I wrote your love letters to Vera and An Ruina for you. You told me that you wanted to be a writer? I would rather believe that Gorbachev said that tomorrow the Soviet Union will take over America."

"Isn't it because of the love letter you wrote for me that they are not with me?"

Agwan picked up the cup and touched everyone, and said with a very serious look and tone, "You see, the Soviet Union is no longer here, and the Tinder project may also be extinguished, but I still want to see those who were selected by us. Psyrophilic anaerobic bacteria thrive on Mars.

So I'm going to write a science fiction novel, and I'm going to write about those fires that reproduce civilization on Mars.

If I could write them, I would have the USSR send them to Mars, definitely not Russia, Ukraine, or Latvia and Estonia, let alone the CIS.

However, I guarantee that there will be Russians, Ukrainians, White Russians and Latvians and Estonians who will send the fire to Mars. "

"There are also Hasas," Shalip reminded, "Apoli is a Hasa, and he is also one of us."

"Yes, there are Hasa people!" Agwan happily corrected his omission.

"If you need me to write for you at that time, you can contact me at any time."

Taras teased Agwan, and then said seriously, "I will continue to study. Even if the Soviet Union is gone, isn't there still the Commonwealth of Independent States? Even if they are not interested, there is Russia, Belarus, and Russia. Wu Kelan and the other 12 former alliance countries, they definitely need to study these things, I will not let our fire go out!"

"Your ideas are really enviable"

Sharip couldn't help but said, "My dad allowed me to study this subject at the time, just because he was the director of the vodka brewery, and the stubborn old guy insisted that what I learned would help their factory brew better vodka. Vodka. So if I go back, I might be a brewer who can drink vodka anytime.”

"My dad was a ranger"

Gennady said self-deprecatingly, "He doesn't know much about microbes, but he insists that I can live a good life on bacteria."

"It is knowledge that can make you live a good life, not germs." Gwan raised his wine glass while speaking, "Come on, comrades, for the fire."

"For the tinder!" The other three also raised their cups.

Outside the concealed door, Pavel and Murat, who was also eavesdropping, lightly touched the wine bottle in Bang's hand, and whispered, "For the kindling."

"For the tinder," Murat responded, raised the bottle and took a sip, then walked into the room that temporarily belonged to him.

Dr. Pavel, on the other hand, seemed to have a lot to say, walked into the room where Wei Ran was, sat on the edge of the table, and asked while watching Wei Ran busy, "Victor, you must know about our research. project?"

"I know almost everything." Wei Ran, who had been eavesdropping just now, was sitting opposite Dr. Pavel.

"You feel"

Pavel shook his head in the middle of speaking, stood up and said softly as he walked out, "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything, Victor, thank you for providing us with so much food these days."

"nothing"

Wei Ran stood up, and when he was about to say something more, the other party had already walked to the room he belonged to, and then locked the door behind him.

However, less than ten minutes before and after, a crisp gunshot came from Pavel's room, and then he heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground!
"broken!"

Wei Ran's heart sank, and when he rushed out of the room, the doors of the other three rooms also opened, and everyone looked over in unison.

"It's Pavel's room!"

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, Apoli rushed over with a flashlight.Seeing this, the former also stopped.

Trying to turn the doorknob, Apoli looked left and right, took two playing cards from Agwan's hand, and opened the locked door with ease.

But as the door was pushed open by Apolly, Wei Ran also saw Pavel sitting against the wall under the window facing the door, and the Nagan revolver he was holding in his hand, and the corner of his mouth. Dark red blood spilled out.

Apoli walked over quickly, reached out and touched the remaining bullet hole on the opponent's chin, looked at the window that could not be opened at all, finally sighed, stood up and said, "Dr. Pavel committed suicide."

"This coward! This coward!" Murat punched the door fiercely, and his whole face was extremely gloomy.

On the contrary, Apoli walked to the table very calmly, picked up the open plastic leather notebook, and read it word by word.

"Agwan, you'll be a great writer. Hopefully, in your story, the tinder has spawned a whole new civilization. Honestly, I'm looking forward to your story, where those lovely microbes will become what it looks like.

Even hearing your thoughts at the door, I wanted to chat with you about my advice.But I'm sorry Agwan, I don't have the courage to continue to face tomorrow's news. I leave all the books in my office to you. I hope it can be helpful to your writing.

Gennady, you will live a rich life, the disappearance of the Soviet Union may be a good thing, but sorry, I can't guide you to graduate.I will leave you my apartment at the school. If you want to live in Irkutsk, you can bring your parents to live with you.

Taras, I sincerely wish you a breakthrough in the field of microbiology.If Dr. Murat doesn't mind, some of the materials in the living quarters can be left with you.Hopefully, in the near future, you'll be able to reignite the tinder and send them to Mars.But it doesn't matter if you fail, always stay optimistic, like Sharip.

Shalip, if you can use the microbiological knowledge you have learned to brew better vodka in the future, please remember to send me a bottle and pour it into the Dnieper River.In Irkutsk, I had a car assigned to me by the school, drive it away if you want, I guess no one cares now if it is my personal property or not.

Comrade Apolly, thank you for your support.I have nothing left for you. Sorry, I can't arrange work for your wife. If you don't mind, just use my shotgun and my watch as compensation.

Comrade Victor, thank you for the delicious food and clean living environment, I will leave my berth to you, so that you will have a big enough bed in the living cabin.

Murat, my friend, forgive my cowardice.

The fire has been extinguished forever, I can't see any hope, just leave me here, just put me in the middle of the stage in the auditorium, don't do anything for me.In the next time, I can have a good chat with Comrade Khrushchev above my head.Finally, I leave you with my pen and accordion. "

Gently buttoning the notebook, Apoli handed it to Agwan. At the same time, Dr. Murat also turned around and walked out of the room lonely.

Taras looked at Dr. Pavel's body, then looked at Agwan apologetically, and then anxiously caught up with Dr. Murat, who was ashamed, for fear that his teacher would not be able to think of doing something impulsive for a while. .

"Gennady, isn't it?"

Shalip asked remorsefully, "Did our chat hurt Teacher Pavel?"

"I don't know. I don't know." Gennady stumbled and turned around, and ran downstairs as if frightened.

"Agwan, do you...do you need my help?" Shalip asked guiltily.

Agwan shook his head, put the notebook with the last words in his pocket, then picked up the scattered revolver, picked up Dr. Pavel's body, and walked silently to the auditorium not far away .

Apoli hesitated for a moment, then took the kerosene lamp on the table and followed him from a distance.

Is he a martyr, or is he a martyr?Probably a martyr
Wei Ran looked at the infinitely elongated back under the light, but for a moment he didn't know how to evaluate Dr. Pavel who suddenly committed suicide.

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran returned to the room and picked up the camera, aiming at the corridor illuminated by the kerosene lamp.With a hard heart, Sharip who hugged his knees in the corner and cried bitterly, Apoli who followed with a gun and a lantern, and Agwan who carried Pavel's body to the auditorium, together with their shadows, were included in the viewfinder frame and pressed the shutter.

(End of this chapter)