In the night, Wei Ran and Kirill held their heads in their hands and walked carefully through the dim, dry and cold valley under the faint starlight. At the same time, the two of them were chatting quietly.
“Something seems wrong”
Wei Ran whispered, "It's been so long since we crashed. Why hasn't a helicopter come to rescue us?"
"I have no idea"
Kirill whispered, "And we have been walking for so long and haven't met anyone else. Victor, how about we find a way to deal with the person behind?"
"How do you plan to solve it?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.
"He has to rest. I have a scalpel in my cuff."
Kirill said, "We just need to find a way to get him to come to us, and then..."
What happened next, Kirill could no longer say, because right in front of them, where the valley turned, was a cave with a faint firelight.
Even without the firelight, Wei Ran immediately recognized that this was the cave that Abdul had taken him to before his death. He even knew that there was a female teacher named Malalai inside who had been injured by a butterfly mine.
"Looks like we have no chance."
Wei Ran stopped for a moment. He had already seen Abdul's granddaughter Qiao Ya running out of the cave.
"Joya"
Hakim was far away and shouted a reminder in the language Wei Ran learned in the previous scene, "Stay away from those two Soviets."
"Where is my grandfather?" Qiao Ya stopped and asked in panic. At the same time, she couldn't help but stand on tiptoes to look at the people lying on the two donkeys.
"He..." Hakeem paused, "He will not come back."
Hearing this, Qiao Ya immediately covered her mouth and tried hard not to cry.
"Is Maralai okay?" Hakim used his gun to urge Wei Ran and Wei Ran to take a few steps, and at the same time he hurriedly changed the subject.
"She has a fever, it's very serious."
Qiao Ya said helplessly, and at the same time couldn't help but continue to stand on tiptoes and look behind Hakim.
"I brought the doctor, nothing will happen to Malale." Hakim said, already jumping off the donkey.
"They...they..."
Qiao Ya covered her mouth tightly, trying not to let her voice sound like a child crying. But even so, tears still slipped from her eyes and she couldn't stop them.
"Only me and Habibullah survived"
Hakim said apologetically, "They... none of them survived."
When these words were spoken, Qiao Ya finally squatted down, buried her head in her knees and began to cry uncontrollably.
In this day, this little girl, who was only about ten years old, had lost almost all the relatives she could lose.
But soon, Qiao Ya got up again, ran to Hakim's side, and reached out to grab the weapons hanging on the donkey's body.
"what are you up to?"
Hakim quickly stopped the little girl.
"I want to kill these Soviets!" Joya shouted angrily.
"They are doctors"
Hakim held Joya in his arms, "Malalai still needs their help in the operation, otherwise he will die."
"My parents, mom, and grandfather are all dead. They killed them." Qiao Ya said extremely calmly, as if she had grown up in a certain moment.
"I know"
Hakim also suppressed the pain, but at the same time he was always wary of Wei Ran and Kirill who were standing in front of the cave entrance, "But in order to keep Teacher Malalai alive, we cannot kill them."
"I will also participate in the next battle." Qiao Ya said seriously.
"Okay, I will let you participate next time if necessary." Hakim, who was equally helpless in his heart, agreed.
After struggling to comfort the poor little girl, Hakim first helped Habibullah, who had woken up halfway, off the donkey. Then the two of them worked together to lift Ruslan, whose hands and feet were tied, from the other end.
The donkey was pulled off slightly roughly.
"One of our teachers was injured by your butterfly mine"
Hakim walked up to Weiran and Kirill with the submachine pistol that belonged to Ruslan and said in Persian, "She is in the cave. You go and help her complete the treatment. In exchange, I allow you to treat her."
Your companions."
"I can help you save anyone."
Seeing that Wei Ran was silent, Kirill simply said, "But I need to make a few requests."
"What request?" Hakim asked.
"Please return your personal belongings except weapons to us."
"Including our medical kits, that's the only request we have," Kirill said.
"Treat her wounds first."
Hakim said ambiguously, "I will seriously consider your request."
"Until you agree to the above conditions, I refuse to provide medical help." Kirill said firmly.
"We just need a doctor," Hakim said, already raising his gun.
"If any of my companions are killed by you, then you'd better kill me immediately." Wei Ran reminded him in Persian at the right time.
"We just want our personal belongings back," Kirill reminded. "It's just personal belongings, not weapons."
After a while, Hakim finally suppressed the impulse and put down the gun, "Go rescue people. After you complete the operation, I will return your things to you."
"We need medical kits," Kirill said simply.
Hakim looked at Kirill and Wei Ran warily, took the medical bag from the donkey's back and handed it to them.
"Would you rather come?" Kirill said, having already taken out the flashlight and turned it on, taking a look at the situation in the cave.
"No problem" Wei Ran nodded and started to make preparations.
“Conditions here are too poor”
Kirill frowned and said, there are not only wounded people in this cave, but also a group of sheep, and the air is filled with the smell of sheep manure.
Objectively speaking, this cave is simply a slightly cleaner sheepfold.
"Then use more antibiotics"
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already applied anesthesia near Malale's wound and started injecting it.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Compared to Ruslan who is still in a coma and Habibullah who has woken up but is languid, Malale's condition is more serious at this time
.
She was injured by the bomb at noon yesterday. Although she was bandaged to stop the bleeding, such a long time has inevitably caused symptoms of necrosis around the wound.
"Her injury has been delayed for too long," Kirill said. "I'm afraid the entire sole of her foot cannot be saved."
Hearing this, Habibullah couldn't help but panic. His father Mahbub was also injured. Could it be that he...
"Make sure she survives"
After Hakim finished speaking, he glanced at Habibullah, then changed into the language Wei Ran learned in the previous scene and said, "Habibullah, are you feeling better?"
"Much better," replied Habibullah, whose head was wrapped in gauze.
"In that case, just keep an eye on them." Before he finished speaking, Hakim had already stuffed the submachine pistol into the opponent's hand, but he turned around and walked towards the outside of the cave.
"What are you going to do?" Habibullah asked as he took the gun.
"I'll go back and see if I can find the anti-aircraft machine gun. If it's still there, I'll find a way to bring it back."
After Hakim finished explaining, the man had already walked to the side of the donkey.
"I want to go with you," Qiao Ya said seriously, tightening her grip on the reins.
"You have to help Habibullah now"
Hakim said, having already handed the Bobosha submachine gun to the other party, "Habibullah's head is injured. He may fall asleep. If the three Soviets plan to get close, you are responsible for shooting in the leg."
The injured one, if they continue to come closer, kill another one."
"Leave it to me!"
Qiao Ya held the gun and made a serious promise, "I will protect Habibullah."
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Hakim said, already riding on the donkey, and walked into the night again.
At the same time, inside the cave, Wei Ran had already begun the operation in this simple environment under the lighting provided by Kirill's flashlight.
For Wei Ran, amputation surgery is almost his best, so it didn't take long from the beginning of the operation to the completion of the suturing.
At least, Hakeem has not returned yet, and Habibullah and Joya, who were guarding the entrance of the cave, were still looking at them with their guns raised.
"We have completed this woman's surgery"
Kirill said, "Now we are going to check the wounds of our companions. In addition, can you return our things to us?"
"I will consider it when you return the occupied land to Afhan." Habibullah added, "You can go and check the injuries of your companions."
"Thanks"
Kirill thanked him, and with the support of Wei Ran, he staggered towards Ruslan, which was not far away.
After an inspection, Ruslan was in pretty good condition. His only problems were a concussion that was worse than Kirill's and a wound on his thigh that was not conducive to movement.
"Why are you so obsessed with getting our personal belongings back?"
Wei Ran asked in a low voice as he sat down against the rock wall next to Ruslan, who was still unconscious.
"I want my camera back"
Kirill also sat next to Ruslan and leaned against the wall on the other side of his body and said, "That was a gift from my adoptive father. He wanted me to take more photos for him on the battlefield."
"Adoptive father?"
"Adoptive Father"
Kirill explained in a calm tone, "He is a colleague of my father, and that camera was a gift he gave me when we met."
After a pause, Kirill added, "It was also a gift from my biological father to my adoptive father before he died... I asked him to take care of me. At that time, I hung out with those thieves almost every day, and my father's
The relationship is not very good."
"Your biological father..."
"I don't know where he is or if he's still alive."
Kirill shook his head, "He was one of the first military doctors to come to Afhan. Eight years ago, he disappeared after the helicopter they were traveling on crashed in Kandahar, just like what we are experiencing today."
"So your adoptive father has never been to Italy?" Wei Ran asked.
"He is a native of Moscow, and the farthest place he has ever been is Leningrad."
Kirill smiled and said, "It's my biological father. He did go to Italy as a ship's doctor."
"Does this lie have any practical significance?" Wei Ran asked casually.
"I don't want them to know what happened to my father."
Kirill said, patting Ruslan's shoulder lightly next to him, "So we have to find a justifiable excuse, I mean, before we are beaten down."
"Sorry, it seems I shouldn't ask these questions." Wei Ran said apologetically.
"nothing"
Kirill shook his head, "Anyway, I want to get my camera back. He is very important to me."
"You'll get your camera"
Habibullah, who was sitting at the entrance of the cave, suddenly said in Russian, "I will return the camera to you when my companion comes back."
"Do you speak Russian?" Kirill asked unexpectedly.
Habibullah did not answer the obvious question, making it clear that he did not want to communicate with them.
"Can we get some food?" Kirill continued to ask in Russian, rather shamelessly.
After just a moment's hesitation, Habibullah took out half a piece of naan from his arms and threw it to Kirill as if feeding a dog.
"Thanks"
Kirill quickly picked up the piece of naan, patted it randomly and divided it into three parts. He first handed one part to Wei Ran, then stuffed the second part into Ruslan's arms, and then put it into Ruslan's arms.
The third portion was brought to my mouth and I took a big bite.
"I remember you said that you took the initiative to apply to stay?"
Wei Ran started a new topic, and at the same time stuffed the piece of naan given to him into his arms. He was not hungry yet, or in other words, not that hungry.
"That's right"
Kirill nodded, "Although it is more dangerous here, we can accumulate a lot of clinical experience."
"Just for this?"
"I once imagined that I could find him on this battlefield."
Kirill was extraordinarily candid, "But I've been here for two years and I haven't had the chance to go to Kandahar yet. I guess he may have..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Maybe it's the same as our current situation," Wei Ran said with relief, "He may have become friends with the locals."
"We are not friends." Habibullah, who had been eavesdropping, snorted.
"No one would refuse to be friends with a doctor"
Wei Ran reminded with a smile, "Everyone needs a doctor except the dead."
Habibullah opened his mouth, but finally stopped talking and continued to say something.
Just like Wei Ran said, everyone needs a doctor. At this time, his father and his sister both need a doctor's help.
Especially the latter, Wei Ran knows this even better than Habibullah himself.
"We will become friends one day," Kirill also said proactively.
"Unless you leave Afhan completely"
Habibullah muttered, and then asked proactively, "Malalai, I mean, how is she doing?"
“We have done the best we can with the conditions we have.”
Wei Ran said, "The next step is up to her. If she can wake up tomorrow, it won't be serious.
If she still has a fever tomorrow and is unconscious or has other problems, maybe... you should be prepared."
Hearing this, Habibullah couldn't help but clenched his fists and said, "Look at the good things you have done."
"This is war"
Kirill sighed, "War is just a mess made up of one tragedy after another and one corpse after another.
No matter how hard those of us who are wrapped in the mud struggle, war is still war and mud is still mud."
For a while, the cave became quiet, with only the crackling sound of a bonfire burning and the faint sound of Qiao Ya adding firewood from time to time.
About two hours passed, and the braying of a donkey came from outside the cave.
"Go and see," Habibullah said.
Hearing this, Qiao Ya immediately ran out of the cave and shouted loudly soon after, "Uncle Hakim is back!"
Amid Qiao Ya's shouts, Hakim led three donkeys to the entrance of the cave. With the faint light of the fire, Wei Ran discovered that the three donkeys were empty and had nothing on them.
"The Soviets took away the machine guns?" Habibullah didn't seem surprised.
"They didn't have time to take it away"
Hakim's tone was also filled with some joy, "When I rushed over, the wreckage of the helicopter had been burned and only a frame was left. I guess there was an explosion after we left, and our machine guns also
It was blown to pieces."
With that said, Hakim felt from his pocket, took out a ring with a turquoise ring and handed it to Qiao Ya, "This is the one I found from Teacher Abdul, and it's the only one I brought back."
Something. Joya, keep it."
"Thank you"
Qiao Ya took the ring, which was much too big for her, and hugged Hakeem with a cry.
"It's time for us to get out of here"
Hakim said, "Habibullah and Mahbub also need a doctor. We will rush there tonight."
"But..."
"Take them with you"
Hakim had obviously thought of everything on the way back, "Malalai rides a donkey, let the Soviet guy with an injured leg ride a donkey, you ride a donkey, and let the goats carry the rest."
"That's fine, it all depends on you." Habibullah had no idea at this time. He desperately wanted to take the captured Soviet doctor back to treat his father.
Under Hakim's command, they first carried the unconscious Malale onto the back of a donkey and tied him up, and then asked Weiran and Kirill to carry Ruslan, who was also unconscious, onto another donkey.
Tied up.
At the same time, he and Qiao Ya also found a rope and put it through the ring and tied it around their necks. Then they drove all the goats out of the cave and tied some things that needed to be taken away on the goats' backs.
Before setting off, Habibullah said, "Hakim, give that camera back to the Soviet."
"What did you say?" Hakim didn't respond for a moment.
"Give him back that camera."
Habibullah said, "That is a relic left to him by his father, and I have promised him."
"When did you become friends?"
Hakim mocked, but he simply took out the miniature camera from his pocket and handed it to Habibullah.
"I didn't become friends with them."
Habibullah said, taking the camera and handing it to Kirill, "Hold your camera. If you do any tricks, I will let you smash it with your own hands."
"Can you give Ruslan's watch back to him?" Kirill seemed to be quite familiar with this kind of thing. "It was a wedding gift from his wife."
"Camera or watch, you can only choose one." Habibullah said with a cold face.
"Okay, I'll choose the camera." Kirill said, putting the camera into his pocket.
"You two go ahead of the flock."
Habibullah said, "If you dare to run, not only may you step on the landmines you planted, but I will kill your companions immediately."
"Let's go"
Wei Ran patted Kiril on the shoulder, asking him to swallow what he was about to say, and led him to the front of the flock.
"Are you trying to make friends with them?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.
"We must become friends with them as soon as possible"
Kirill responded in a low voice, "Then find a way to escape and take Ruslan with him."
"I'm afraid this matter is not that simple," Wei Ran sighed.
"I know." Kirill tightened his grip on the miniature camera in his pocket.
"Wait a minute and you walk behind me."
Wei Ran said that after all, he had walked this road once and knew how to get back. Naturally, he also knew where it was safe and where it was unsafe.
“No difference”
Kirill was still walking side by side with Wei Ran, "I have imagined countless times what happened to me after I was captured, and what my father went through after being captured.
Frankly speaking, except for the moment when the helicopter fell down which was scarier than I thought, the rest of it was much better than I thought."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "You actually care about your father?" Wei Ran said.
"yes"
Kirill took a deep breath, but did not continue the topic.
"Tell me about those crew members."
Wei Ran pointed behind him, "How about starting from Ruslan?"
"What did you say?" Kirill asked.
"Everyone has a story, right?" Wei Ran said, "Including our captors, you must know Ruslan better than I do, right?"
"He is from Minsk"
Kirill said, "Do you know Victory Square in Minsk?"
"Know"
"His home is right next to Victory Square, but he rarely has the opportunity to go back and visit."
Kirill said, "His wife is also a doctor and works in Kiev. I heard from Ruslan that his wife participated in the treatment of those workers who survived Chernobyl two years ago."
"Do they have children?" Wei Ran asked.
"I have a daughter. Ruslan said they found out she was pregnant first and then got married." Kirill said with a smile.
"And you?"
Wei Ran suddenly brought the topic to the other party, "Aren't you married?"
"not yet"
Kirill shook his head, then fell into silence. Obviously, Wei Ran's question reminded him of a certain girl.
The conversation ended abruptly, and in the starry night, the only sounds left were the breathing of passers-by, and the dull sounds of shoes, sheep's hooves, and donkey's hooves hitting the ground.
After walking like this for half the night, just when they rounded a low mountain again, a faint light appeared in the valley in front of them!
"Who's there?!"
Hakim first asked everyone, including Wei Ran and Kirill, to hide, and then he asked.
"Is that Uncle Hakeem?"
In the darkness, a surprised voice came from the other side, "It's me! Multaza!"
"Multaza! Why are you here?"
Habibullah subconsciously tensed up his nerves. If it wasn't an important matter, there was no need for Multaza to rush all night to find him.
"Uncle Habibullah!"
Multaza's voice on the other side was filled with tears, "Ayana is having a difficult delivery, and grandpa asked me to come here to find Teacher Malalai for help."