4/5/2018

I jumped to my feet, staring with panicked eyes at the arthropod on the ground beside me. It crawled toward me on its eight quick little legs, and I backed up. “Stop!” I demanded. It ignored me and continued approaching. “I...I will kill you!” I assured it with a shaky voice.

Seeing that it had no intention of obeying my orders, I knew that I had to strike. I lifted my staff into the air and slammed the butt end directly on top of the small bug, crushing it where it stood with a sickening crunch. I winced, looking away and smearing the stick across the ground. “I warned you,” I murmured.

I sat back down and breathed a quivering sigh. “I need to get over this.” I looked around, then back at the smear that had been threatening me only moments ago. I forced my eyes to stay on it. Though small and despised, it was still a life that I had taken. The only acceptable reason to kill, I knew, was in an act of war.

Slowly, I stood to my feet once more. “...Spiders! I...I can't take it anymore! I'm…” I took a second to think about what I was about to say. Squeezing my eyes shut, I shouted, “I'M DECLARING WAR ON YOUR SPECIES!”

“Very well, then,” a high-pitched voice said, coming from the bushes behind me. I whipped around faster than a lightning bolt and saw eight massive red eyes peering at me from the foliage. “Allow me to take you to our queen, so you may make your declaration...official.” The branches parted, and out stepped a monster that was larger than me and ready to strike.