Dusk [Part 2]

The camp bed creaks as Elli shifts uncomfortably, lying flat on the rock hard mattress. One of his legs snakes around the crumpled blanket. The night is longer than usual, with the bed next to his vacant. Shaan is still in the medical tent and without his soft snores which often serve as Elli's lullaby, his insomnia relapses. He has been tossing, turning, sprawling, curling and trying many different positions for the past two hours and his eyes are still wide open. When he can't sleep, Shaan usually chats with him and feeds him intriguing tales from the past. He is a few years older than Elli and spent a considerably longer time at school. He has told Elli about The Fall of A.I. and The Grave Apocalypse that took over the globe three centuries ago. Elli remembers marvelling at all the spellbinding historical details Shaan was able to recite.