to shield the blast from the three of them

"Years later, in the chaos of a firefight, Prany watched as a farmer picked up and brought a live grenade to his stomach to shield the blast from the three of them. They had been wandering the mountains in the east and had been running toward an abandoned truck that was blocking the passage.

"As the grenade detonated, as the man's shirt ballooned before he sank to his knees, Prany thought of his father--the smell of him, his poor posture, the permanent tar stains on his fingers. How in the early mornings as Noi slept, Prany would sneak out ahead of him, climb a tree, and wait for his father's motorbike to pass under along the road."

~~ from Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon