Jake squinted at the flashing lights, almost having regretted his recent decision to take a week in the city. Having been spending the past several years off the grid, he had become accustomed to being more of a hunter-gatherer instead of someone who worked a normal full-time job. As such, he was near broke. He was thankful for the little money he had kept on him. It might’ve not been much money, but it was enough to afford whatever he was going to eat while he was here.

He trudged down the city streets, unsure of where he was supposed to go. Somewhere to eat, probably, but where? Maybe, he thought, he should’ve just gone to visit his family or something. Then he wouldn’t have to spend the small amount of money he had on him. His mother would’ve definitely loved the idea of him seeing them. His father? That he wasn’t so sure. Maybe he’d think that Jake was just crawling back to his family’s money, or maybe he’d see it as it really was: a visit. No. He could never forgive his father. Especially after being told off for not only wanting to live in the woods, but also for being gay. That thought alone made him thankful he wasn’t staying with his parents. And then the idea of another fight possibly happening between him and his father came into his head, sealing away thoughts of visiting them for good, at least for now.

He could practically feel the stares of the people who he passed by. Perhaps he looked like a lunatic, a druggie, or even just a homeless person. He was wearing old, worn clothes more suitable for hiking than anything else, and his hair was definitely messier than it should be. Traveling through the woods stalking prey was something that oftentimes had the result of leaves and twigs getting stuck in there. And then there was the fact that his hair had been self-cut for the longest time. He had gotten better at it, but he knew it was a sub-par job. He just did his best to ignore any staring that might’ve been going on.

Jake’s stomach growled, reminding him that he still had yet to find a place to eat. He had no phone, laptop, or any electronic device for that matter, so searching one up would be impossible. Yet, he felt too proud to ask some passersby about one either. He was convinced he could do it himself.

A bright sign attracted Jake’s attention: KINDRED’S. It was in bright white lettering, pointing to a rather small establishment not too far away from him. It sounded cheap to Jake, so he walked over to check it out. It seemed like it had plenty of people, but it wasn’t incredibly busy from what he could see. He pulled his backpack right against his back as he continued to check out the place through the window. It seemed like he found where he was going to eat.

Jake was quite relieved to see that the place didn’t blare loud music or anything like that, and the atmosphere wasn’t the noisiest either. Booths lined the walls and a bar sat towards the back. Noticing the bar itself was empty, Jake decided to sit there. Several signs hung on the walls of the restaurant, one of which looked like an older sign which said: KINDRED’S RESTAURANT AND BAR on it. Looking back at the sign outside, he noticed the same subtext. Of course it had to be a bar, Jake thought, but at least they sold meals as well. As he waited for the bartender to finish making drinks, he took a look at the art that was hanging on the walls. They looked like they had been made by the same person, if the identical signatures on the bottom-left corner of the paintings were anything to go by.

“Hello, friend! Welcome to Kindred’s!” A gruff voice caught his attention, and he looked back to the bar. An older man stood there, his coarse dark hair pulled into a man-bun and his beard well-trimmed. He also appeared to have a scar over his left eye. “I’m Jeff, the senior bartender. My trainee’s making some drinks at the moment, but here’s a menu. Would you like anything to drink?” He passed Jake a menu. It was small, but looked like things he’d like.

“Well, I’d rather not get drunk on my first night here,” Jake murmured, “so I think I’ll have some water for now.” Jeff seemed perfectly happy with the request and walked off over to the kid who had been making drinks. They spoke for a moment, and then Jeff headed off to get the water. The trainee couldn’t have been older than Jake. He looked incredibly nervous, as if he was constantly afraid of messing up.

Jeff got back with the water, and Jake ordered their “Country Meal” from the menu. Normally he hated the idea of something with such a corny name, but the food listed sounded so delicious that he couldn’t resist. He watched Jeff’s trainee put the order into the system, and Jeff came back to talk to him.

“Dwight’s been doing a good job here, I gotta say.” The bartender said. “I knew he’d be a good pick.” Jake nodded.

“He looks scared.” He commented. “Like, does he have anxiety or something?” Jeff nodded, looking back at Dwight.
“He’s….” Jeff lowered his voice. “A little jittery from past experiences. But thankfully he’s okay.” He decided to draw the train of thought away from Dwight. “So, have you ever been here before? Like in the city?” He asked.

Jake shook his head. “Nah, I’m taking a little break from my usual way of life and seeing what I’ve been missing since I went off the grid. Jeff’s eyes widened, and he took a quick glance at his watch.

“Wow, off the grid, huh? How long?” He asked.

“About seven years now, I figured it was about time to take a visit to the city again.” Jake replied. He couldn’t help but notice that even Jeff was starting to get a little antsy. He was checking his watch constantly, and looking at the door. “Uh, are you waiting for your shift to end?” Jake asked.

“Nah, just a regular comes in around this time. I enjoy talking with him. He hasn’t met Dwight yet either, so I’m a little excited to introduce them to each other.” The bartender replied. “You’ll know when you see him, trust me.”

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the bells on the front door chimed, signalling someone’s entrance. The atmosphere quieted down significantly, prompting Jake to look behind him to see who it was.

A very tall man had walked in. He was wearing a suit and tie, his blonde hair, which was about shoulder-length, had been pushed behind his shoulders, and he had a scar over his left eye. It was very similar to Jeff’s. He walked straight to the bar and sat down next to Jake, reaching over to give Jeff a quick handshake.

“Mr. Varsid! How nice to see you again!” Jeff said. “How has your week been?”

Mr. Varsid grunted a little before saying, “Very busy. Meetings galore. Thank God I’m out of them for the next month or so.” He spoke with a very thick Swedish accent, which threw Jake off for a second.

Jeff laughed, turning around to collect Dwight from where he was standing further away. “Oh, yes. This is my trainee, Dwight. Dwight, this is Mr. Varsid. He comes by every Friday and orders the same thing. He doesn’t bite, don’t worry.” He assured him. Dwight gave an anxious smile, extending a shaky hand, which Mr. Varsid quickly accepted.

“He’s right. I don’t bite.” Mr. Varsid chuckled. “At least, I shouldn’t.” Dwight quickly retreated back to where he had been standing before. The man turned towards Jake. “And I see I’m not alone at the bar tonight? Thank goodness I don’t go to those bars that get crowded on nights like these. So, who are you?” He asked Jake.

“Uhh, Jake Park. It’s nice to meet you, Sir.” He said.

“Oh, you can just call me Hedells, you know. I feel like your last name is familiar.” Hedells replied, “I worked with a Mr. Park once. I didn’t really like him that much.”

“Maybe it was my father. I ran off to do my own thing. I didn’