War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1758 24

“I need a driver”

Joseph led Wei Ran and the other two to the next door while repeating, "If one person dies, another person needs to be pushed out of the cab immediately. The driver who continues to drive the car forward is related to whether the injured in the cargo box can survive."

Having said that, Wei Ran and the other two also saw the car they needed to drive.

This is a Spa 33 truck produced by Fiat. The windshield of the cab is gone, and thick door panels are tied to the door frames on both sides.

In addition to the door panels on both sides of the cargo box, there seems to be a layer of wet cotton cloth inside. On the outermost door panel, there is a conspicuous red cross painted on it, and a striking red slogan written in Spanish - there are only wounded here.

“This is the car”

Joseph said, "You need to drive this car out of the battlefield as quickly as possible. By the way, can you drive?"

"Yes," Wei Ran and the other two responded at the same time.

"Give me the child and go," Joseph said. "I hope you all survive."

"Where are we going?" Wei Ran asked in Russian.

“I will show you the way.”

Maria, who came along, said, "I'm also the driver of this car."

Before they could say anything, Maria had already walked to the front of the car and started it with great skill.

The roar of the truck's engine was like a signal. Immediately, all the seriously injured people in the corridor were carried out and sent into the cargo bed under Joseph's command.

Out of some tacit understanding, the elderly and wounded soldiers all sat at the outermost edge, using their already injured bodies as bulletproof shields.

The younger ones, on their insistence, sat in the middle. The little ones like Manu and Paz sat in the relatively safest middle position, lying on their sides, and were protected by the wounded around them.

"lets go"

Joseph returned the backpack that originally contained the baby to Wei Ran, stood at the rear of the car and saluted, "For your freedom and our freedom."

Raising their hands in return, Wei Ran and the other two ran to the passenger seat and opened the door.

"Let me go first." Yu Yanlin was the first to go in before he finished speaking.

"If you die, I will push you out," Aaron said, and followed him in.

"Brother Wei, please hold this for me."

While Maria was driving the car, Yu Yanlin took out a pendant from his neck and handed it to Wei Ran.

After taking the pendant that carried the other person's body temperature and taking a look at it, Wei Ran recognized it as the carp-shaped mutton-fat jade pendant he had seen in later life.

"What is this?" Wei Ran asked deliberately while holding the pendant.

"Chun Cai used the jade plaque my mother gave her as the material and asked a master to carve it."

Yu Yanlin said casually, "It's a token of our love. Brother Wei, if I die, please send this pendant back to me. I have the letter in my arms."

"it is good"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already taken out the British army's water bottle under the cover of his backpack. After unscrewing the lid, he stuffed the carp pendant into it.

He had just put away the kettle when Maria started speeding up the truck.

At the same time, gunshots were heard from the buildings on both sides, and Maria, who was driving, stepped on the accelerator to the bottom.

Amid the sound of gunfire, the roar of the engine, and the screams and cries from the cargo bed, the truck was moving forward in the dark, almost recklessly, on the messy streets.

"Let's sing a song!" Maria suggested, shouting.

“Rise up, you hungry and cold slaves——!” Yu Yanlin began to sing loudly in his native language.

"Rise up, you suffering people of the world--!" Just as Wei Ran took out the harmonica and began to play accompaniment, Aaron also began to sing in American English.

"My blood is boiling to fight for the truth!" Maria also sang the third sentence in her native Spanish.

Amid the sound of gunfire, the roar of engines, and the accompaniment of harmonica, the wounded in the cargo box all sang the same song in their own native languages.

There are French, British English, Italian, German, Russian, Greek and even Arabic, etc., languages ​​that Wei Ran may or may not understand.

"boom!"

Another gunshot was heard from the side, and a cloud of blood exploded from Maria's neck. Her singing in Spanish came to an abrupt halt.

But Wei Ran did not stop playing the harmonica. He watched Yu Yanlin grab the steering wheel as quickly as possible, watched Aaron use all his strength to pull Maria, who was supposed to be thrown out, to make room for the former, and watched Aaron and Maria, who were covered in blood, exchange positions.

Aaron carefully took off the necklace around Maria's neck, then pulled off the three-pointed star on her collar and handed it to Wei Ran.

The latter was stunned for a moment, raised his hand to take the blood-stained relics and put them in his pocket, but still did not stop playing the harmonica - that was the only way he could help.

Amid the increasingly intense gunfire, the chorus behind him was mixed with a series of screams. Urged by the screams, Yu Yanlin tried to increase the speed of the car.

Finally, he drove his car through a burning barricade and finally left the area where the gunfire was taking place. He turned a corner and drove to the field hospital near the command post while being chased by bullets.

"We survived," Yu Yanlin said, suppressing his excitement.

"Cough cough." Aaron opened his mouth to say something but let out a series of coughs.

"Are you hurt?" Wei Ran was the first to realize that something was wrong.

Aaron shook his head with difficulty and held his camera with his hand. "Victor"

"You talk, I'm listening."

Wei Ran quickly leaned over and said, "Yanlin, drive faster! Aaron is injured!"

"it is good!"

Yu Yanlin, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, increased the speed again.

"I haven't seen the flag yet."

Aaron whispered in Wei Ran's ear, "In my bag, there are four triangular stars, and there are some of mine pinned on the flag you mentioned. Use my camera to take a picture of the flag and send it to mom.

My partner Neil Mangione, his ring, sent to his wife"

"I promise you"

While searching for the wound, Wei Ran said loudly, "I promise you, you have to hold on. We will be there soon. Aaron? Aaron?"

"What's wrong with him?!" Yu Yanlin asked loudly.

“He also sacrificed himself.”

Wei Ran also found the wound at this time. A bullet passed through the shoulder bag in front of Aaron and the photo album in the bag, and finally hit near his liver. He could not survive.

"Bang!" Yu Yanlin slammed the steering wheel hard.

"Let's go to Uncle Clement's house later."

Wei Ran suggested, "See if he can help bury Aaron and Maria."

"Okay," Yu Yanlin responded and drove all the way to the field hospital.

The car stopped hastily, and without even being called, many nurses, doctors, civilians, and soldiers gathered around, carrying down the wounded who were still alive and the bodies of the old soldiers who had helped their companions block bullets on the way. "Victor! Louis! Why are you here?!"

Almost at the same time when the wounded and bodies in the truck were carried away, a motorcycle stopped next to them. Immediately afterwards, Wei Ran and the others heard Clement's surprised voice.

"Clemont?!" Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin immediately recognized each other's voices.

"That's right! It's me!"

Clemont said in surprise, but then he also noticed the blood on the two people's bodies, "You."

"Why are you here?" Yu Yanlin exclaimed.

"I'm working for the command post next door"

Clemont said, "Someone was injured just now, and I sent him to the operating room. You..."

“We came from the front line”

Yu Yanlin said, "Clemont, is that flag still there? The tricolor flag."

"exist!"

Clemont was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out the canvas bag containing the flag from his arms and took out the flag from it.

After not seeing it for so many days, there are a few more triangular stars on this flag, and the words "Fight for your freedom and ours" written in several languages.

"One of our American friends did not survive"

As Wei Ran spoke, he opened the satchel that originally belonged to Aaron, took out the triangular stars and repeated his last wish.

“I don’t have any opinion”

Clemont said without thinking, and he had already helped to fix the three-pointed stars that were originally pinned on the inside of the bag and the three-pointed stars that were originally pinned on Aaron's collar to the flag one by one.

“I have a few friends here.”

As he said this, he took out from his bag the three-pointed star left by Sergey, the three-pointed star left by Rios' father, and even the three-pointed star of the female translator named Robin, as well as their more or less relics. "

“I have some here too.”

As Yu Yanlin spoke, he took out small cloth rolls wrapped in red scarves from his bag and opened them one by one.

After some preparation, there were now 24 triangular stars on the flag, a number that made Wei Ran feel uneasy - he didn't know who the remaining three would come from, but he hoped it was not Clement and Yu Yanlin, or Joseph, whom he had just met briefly.

“Take a picture of Aaron.”

Wei Ran stood up and said, "Take a photo of him and the flag, and then take a photo of the flag alone."

"you"

"Come on," Wei Ran said, adjusting the parameters of the camera that belonged to Aaron and handing it to Yu Yan, and helping him find the angle.

Under the light provided by the truck and motorcycle headlights, Yu Yanlin took photos of Aaron and the flag, and Wei Ran handed over all the things that needed to be sent in Aaron's bag to Clement.

"I'll leave Aaron's affairs to you."

Wei Ran said, "Also, we sent back two children and I'd like to trouble you to take care of them."

"Don't worry, I'll send it out once the communication is restored. I'll also send the two children to my uncle's house after they're out of danger."

Clemont paused and asked, "What about you guys? Where are you going next?"

"Back to the battlefield"

Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin answered in unison, "There is a friend waiting for us there. We need to bring more medicines as soon as possible."

"Let me buy you a cup of coffee."

Clemont said, "There's still time. We're still preparing the medicine."

Having said that, without waiting for the two to agree or refuse, Clemont took out the coffee extractor from his bag, took out the kettle and filled it with water, then lit the alcohol lamp heater below.

A moment later, as the pressure increased and water vapor evaporated, three small cups of coffee flowed out of the diversion tube.

He picked up two cups and handed them to Wei Ran and the other man, then Clement picked up another cup and clinked cups with them, "I hope we can meet again and have coffee together next time."

"Sit on the chair next to the table," Wei Ran said, holding a silver coffee cup. "It would be best if there was a fireplace and beautiful coffee cups."

"And there's pasta made by your mother," Yu Yanlin added, holding a cup.

“And all three of us are alive.”

Clemont said, "I want to try some Chinese tea, and I will go to China with you to fight against the Fasusi that appeared there."

"For your freedom and our freedom," said Yu Yanlin.

"For your freedom and our freedom!" Clemont also shouted encouragingly.

"For your freedom and ours"

Wei Ran followed up with this, and then the three of them drank the fragrant, mellow and bitter coffee in the cup.

When Wei Ran and the other returned the cup to Clemont, nurses and doctors had already climbed onto the truck they had driven, carrying the medicines, and more boxes of medicines were carried up following.

"We are going back," said Yu Yanlin.

"Let me give you something last."

As Clemont spoke, he directly put the coffee extractor, coffee cans, coffee cups, and even oil bottles into the horsehair bag at Wei Ran's feet, which was once used to hold letters, parcels, relics, and babies.

"This coffee will definitely help you. I'm working as a translator in the command post now. It would be too much if I could still have coffee whenever I want."

Clemont said, already handing the tied backpack to Wei Ran, "So feel free to share it with the comrades around you."

"Thank you"

Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, but still took the slightly cumbersome backpack. These things and coffee drinks were indeed useful. He could at least leave them for Joseph, who would definitely need them.

“Music can also be shared”

Clemont said, pulling out his harmonica from his pocket and stuffing it into Yu Yanlin's pocket, "Let Victor teach you how to play the harmonica."

"Okay." Yu Yanlin happily took the harmonica and put it in his pocket, then picked up the shoulder bag that belonged to Aaron and threw it over his shoulder.

"Let's go"

Wei Ran urged and got into the cab of the Fiat truck before Yu Yanlin.

Not long after, Yu Yanlin also got into the passenger seat.

"Your pendant."

"Help me hold it first."

Yu Yanlin said, and then he moved the harmonica to the left and skillfully played the song "Farewell".

Who are you saying goodbye to?

Wei Ran looked out the car window at Clemont who was raising his hand towards them, then slowly stepped on the accelerator, turned the car around and looked back towards the battlefield - as if he was going to die.