Armin tightened his sweaty grip on his cold rifle as the locusts buzzed overhead. They swarmed the surrounding fields, ravaging the crops and ruining the fruit trees.
"We need to get inside," Armin whispered, tugging at the village chief's arm. But the man remained as immovable as a statue carved out of stone.
"My sons are all dead. And this monstrosity is now going to destroy our village. There is no point hiding." The chief fished out a stick of dynamite from inside his overcoat and turned to Armin. "I'm going to kill that freak even if it's the last thing I do."
"Don't be crazy. Those locusts will eat you alive if you get down from this roof. You saw what happened to Nikolai!"
Armin tried his best to beat some sense into the chief, but his words fell on deaf ears. The chief had already made up his mind.
"I'm not afraid anymore. This is where it ends for me."
