Eli lay aplomb on the sidewalk, bleeding from the bullet wound in his chest under the yellow glow of the solitary streetlight on Prichard St. beneath him was the vast expanse of the system, miles and miles of twisted iron rebar and moulded concrete, now stained a sanguine crimson, a melancholy heather once again as eli's breathing slowed and riptide eyes rolled back and forth in a phasing consciousness. everything was silent.
"Ayn, i have forgotten why i came here. to this whole big nothing, this hellish mess of entropy"
eli said in a spidery whisper, bearly audible to ayn as she leaned in to listen bringing her ear close to eli's mouth.

"eli, we never asked to be born. no one does. i dont blame you, for anything. death happens as life does. when we never really want what we're given at the bottom of everything any way. be free, life is no way to treat an animal, even a mouse" ayn repiled calm and quiet. her voice suggested a collected elegance, much like words a mother speaks to a freightened or maimed child.

eli's breathing was slow now, faint and timid as his soul slowly began to leave this world. he took one more breath and upon its exhalation, smiling he managed to say " what a gift, what a joke, this has all been. so too this shall pass."