Chapter 2518 The Popular Comrade

I couldn't speak. The intense pain was crawling all over my body like ants. My consciousness was floating between darkness and light.

I felt that my feet didn't belong to me anymore. I could hardly feel their existence, let alone use my strength. I could only let myself collapse on the gunner's seat like a rag doll, feeling myself being drained away bit by bit, as if something was disappearing from my body.

Will I die here? Like countless martyrs and comrades in the same car with me?

I thought I was not afraid of anything. I had already prepared to sacrifice, just like my brother and my father who gave their lives for this great Patriotic War.

But I was wrong. It was not until I was on the borderline of consciousness that I realized that the fear of death swept over my whole body like a bucket of ice water poured over my head.

Reason told me that I should not tremble, grieve, or fear for sacrifice, but my body and my thoughts were not controlled by reason like a flood. I never thought that I would be so afraid of death by instinct. I thought that my passion for my country and my extreme hatred for the Nazis could overcome and erase all this, but that was not the case.

It once again proved my ignorance and youth, just as I once did not understand why Andrei admired the division commander so much.

Maybe some things are like this for me, and you can only understand them after experiencing them yourself, but I obviously have no chance to admit it anymore.

"I don't want to die, who will save me"

The "death words" I whispered with all my strength were so weak, but who would have thought that it would actually come true.

"There are still people alive! There are still people alive, hurry up! Medical staff, doctors! Come here, come here quickly! Someone come up and help me, hurry up!"

"Be careful! My God, her feet are almost rotten, be careful to lift her out."

"Here, get a stretcher! Set it up under the car, ready to pick up people, hurry up!"

I can feel that many comrades around me are busy running to save my life. I want to say something to tell them that there are other comrades in the car lying in a pool of blood, but before I open my mouth, I only hear the most tragic narration ending.

"Is there anyone alive in the car?"

"No, the commander, loader, and driver are all dead, only the gunner survived. We have to find a way to get the body out of the car, and several people are a little stiff, hurry up."

"Okay, I'll go find a rope and come back soon, wait for me here."

I am the only "lucky one", and this is the ending.

But I didn't even know what to say for a moment. I didn't know how to express my state of mind at the moment. I couldn't see anything anymore. I didn't even know whether I was half-awake or dreaming.

Until the words of the military doctor rang in my ears.

"Your consciousness is gradually recovering, but don't try to open your eyes to see things. Your eyes are injured and need follow-up treatment. First, give you an emergency bandage, and arrange surgery immediately when you arrive at the hospital. Hang on."

I didn't know what happened to my eyes, but I just felt that it hurt.

I could feel layer after layer of bandages covering my head, and my fear was wrapped around my heart like this bandage. I never even thought about how to face it if I lost my sight one day.

"Doctor, my eyes, please save my eyes! I can still fight, I still have my hands, I can still operate the main gun, I can't lose my eyes!"

At that time, I was so emotional that I couldn't say that I was holding the doctor's hand tightly. It might be more accurate to say "strangled".

"Please believe us, believe the medical team of the Leader Division, and hold on yourself! Comrade!"

"Lift it, quickly! Send it to the ambulance, it's not far from here! Hurry!"

Someone was carrying me forward, but I had lost anything to hold on to. There seemed to be only fear in my hands that had nowhere to put. I lost my vision and touch, and I had never felt so lost and helpless until I heard that very familiar name with my only remaining hearing.

"Comrade Division Commander is coming, everyone pay attention!"

"Comrade Division Commander is talking to the doctor, let's keep going, don't stop!"

Maybe I will lose my sight? Maybe I will leave the Leader Division? Maybe I will spend the rest of my life in a bleak state with disabled legs and blind eyes? Will I die alone in the second half of my life surrounded by coldness and loneliness?

At that moment, I felt unprecedented fear. I was afraid of darkness, loneliness, and being separated from everything I knew forever. I have lost all my loved ones, even my mother died in the ruthless bombing of the Germans. I don't want to lose the only thing that makes me feel warm.

I must do something, otherwise I will regret it for the rest of my life, even if there is no result.

"Comrade, I want to see you, comrade, I'm here!"

I gradually regained some consciousness, allowing me to shout with all the strength I can mobilize. I hope that all this will work. I hope that I will have no regrets in the countdown of my possible military career.

Just like when I was selected as the leader of the division, luck has once again favored me, and my wish in loneliness and even despair has been fulfilled again.

"Yes, I'm here, I'm Malashenko."

"Don't be afraid, comrade, I'm here, I'm by your side."

I still couldn't see anything, and there was only endless darkness in my bandaged eyes.

But at that moment, I was no longer afraid. What I held in my hands was the warmth that I had always hoped for but never had. The strong, glove-free hands tightly grasped my raised left hand, and they stayed with me even when the stretcher was still moving without slowing down.

"Comrade, I didn't do well enough. I failed to defeat the enemy, resulting in the loss of precious tanks and failure to save any comrades."

"No, you did a good job, Ekakina. I saw with my own eyes that you operated the main gun to hit the enemy hard. The Nazi died and the Nazi's iron cans died. This is what a tank soldier should do and what I have done and am still doing. You are my comrade, my comrade, and an important person to me. Don't give up hope! You will definitely make it! Come on! Hmm?"

I don't know how I mustered up the courage at that moment, but when I heard "get in the ambulance" and the sound of the door opening, I knew I couldn't hesitate any longer. This might be my last chance to say this face to face in my life. It doesn't matter even if I can't see his face, because I can feel that he is by my side, and that's enough.

"Comrade, you have always been my role model and the force that keeps me going and persevering. Please don't abandon me. I have nothing left. My diary is full of your photos cut from newspapers. You are my only hope and reason to keep fighting."

"I like you. I have fallen in love with you, comrade, division commander. You are irreplaceable in my heart. Please don't abandon me. I can still fight. Please don't kick me out of the leader division."

Malachenko, who sent the person all the way to the ambulance, really didn't know what to say. This situation was unprecedentedly embarrassing and unexpected.

Now it was not him holding the little girl's hand, but the girl holding his hand and not letting go. The whole person was lying on the stretcher that was almost sent into the ambulance compartment, crying and shouting, and it was so exciting that people felt that they were almost helpless.

But even so, Malachenko still tried his best to comfort her. He knew how terrifying the current situation was for a little girl who was only 23 years old. Even if she was the "excellent gunner" that Kulbarov had mentioned by name when he was chatting and reporting to her.

"Don't worry, Ekakina, you will be fine. When you arrive at the field hospital, you will be treated immediately with the best field medical conditions in the Red Army. I will personally ask Karachev to save your eyes. An excellent gunner must never lose his sight."

"I promise you that no matter what happens, you will not be ordered to leave the leader's division. I will definitely go to the hospital to see you. Rest assured to recover from your injuries, heal your eyes, and then rejoin the team to join the battle. I promise there will be a chance! The comrades of the leader's division will always wait for you to come back!"

Although the result was a bit difficult to end and there were more or less some troubles, fortunately Malashenko finally calmed down the emotional girl and sent her to the car smoothly.

And stood there, watching the dusty ambulance with the accelerator pressed to the end, speeding away towards the field hospital for a long time, and he was indeed thinking about something he had never thought about before.

"Tsk tsk, Comrade Charming is causing trouble again. I say, can you get married quickly? You are still unmarried and you will cause trouble to many young girls. Can't you learn from me? My son can help his mother collect clothes."

It is not only Ivushkin who is not careful with his words. There is also Lavrinenko who is even more careless. At this time, saying this directly made Comrade Ma's beard crooked.

Well, he did have a beard after not shaving for more than half a month, but it is not so dense.

"I say, can you speak some human words? Is this the time to say such words? It's a bummer! The atmosphere has been ruined by you, Suka! Besides, can you blame me? Which eye of yours saw me hooking up with someone? Or did you see me sending love letters to someone? Everything should be reasonable, understand?"

Malashenko turned around and walked while talking. Lavrinenko, who ran to Malashenko's side at some point, also followed him and talked while walking.

"Ah, right, right, right, you didn't hook up with the girl, nor did you write her a love letter, but you can't stop her from thinking about you. You are in charge of military affairs, how can you control your mind and thoughts? You are a great hero, but you are not married and have no children, so why don't you let the girls think about you? What if you have a fiancée? What if you have a partner? Some division commanders like you are married and even have lovers on duty."

"I'm not saying this, for someone like you, who else can the girls think of if not you? Who else can they blame if not you? If you don't believe me, go to the field hospital and ask Karachev to see if there is any How many girls regard their teachers as their dream lovers and lovers. When the diary was picked up and shaken, eight out of ten photos fell out of it, all of which were of teachers, and two were of their parents. "

"You!"

"What do you mean by me? I am talking about facts. Since facts are problems, we must face them bravely and actively solve them. We cannot drag them out or leave them alone. Isn't this what the political commissar has always taught us?"

I wanted to refute something, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I felt speechless and didn't know when to say it. I couldn't close my mouth even though it was half open. It was really embarrassing.

At the end, Malashenko, who really couldn't continue the conversation, could only wave his hand casually, and forced the matter to be forgotten and turned the page.

"I don't have time to talk to you about these things. We are at war now, not about love affairs."

"Go and compile the casualty report. I want to see it after dinner. Oh, by the way, speaking of dinner, send someone to ask how the preparations are going. Tell the political commissar that he will not go down to eat. The front-line troops will eat on the spot and send the food up while it is hot. If it is late and the soldiers are hungry, I will hold you responsible."

Seeing that Malashenko's "dog face does not recognize people" energy came up again, Lavrinenko, who knew that he had offended the uncle, could not say anything? Then he could only salute and say "Yes, Comrade Division Commander", and then quickly run away. If he made Comrade Division Command speechless, he might be punished to clean the toilet.

After sending Lavrinenko away, Malashenko began to think about something in his heart. He couldn't help but stop and look back at the direction where the ambulance had just left. After a sigh, he was speechless and continued to lead the team forward.

Get married?

Damn it, it would be great if my marriage was really that easy.