A couple of days later...
The bar remains cloaked in shadows, lit only by a few broken bulbs and the flickering red glow of a neon sign stuttering against the wall. The air is thick—saturated with smoke and the unmistakable sting of cheap alcohol.
Dave leans against the bar, fingers wrapped around a beer bottle, absentmindedly spinning it. Beside him, Heinz hunches slightly over the dark wood, posture relaxed, eyes lowered—but his mind clearly elsewhere.
"What are you staring at?" Dave asks, catching the far-off look on his face.
Heinz lifts his gaze, the pale gleam in his eyes reflecting the bar's dim light.
"Nothing in particular. It's just... been a while since I've done this."
Dave arches an eyebrow.
"Drinking beer with some guy who should be dead in another dimension?"
Heinz lets out a quiet laugh, almost inaudible.
"Going out. Unwinding. Being somewhere no one expects anything from me."
Dave studies him for a moment. Heinz isn't exactly the kind to open up. But here, surrounded by low music, raspy drunken voices, and the haze of alcohol, he seems... more reachable.
Dave takes a long swig from his bottle, savoring the bitter burn down his throat.
"What was your life like before?" he asks bluntly.
Heinz falls silent for a moment, his fingers tracing idle circles on the glass.
"Quiet. Solitary. I've always been someone who prefers introspection over the noise of the world."
Dave snorts.
"Yeah, I figured. You've got that vibe—like the type who reads old novels while the world goes up in flames."
Heinz smiles faintly, the corner of his mouth curling just so.
"You're not entirely wrong."
In the corner of the bar, an old jukebox struggles to play a scratched-up tune. The music is rough, nostalgic—the kind that carries memories from better days, whether you want them or not.
Around them, a couple of drunk guys laugh with sandpaper voices, and a glassy-eyed woman fumbles with a cigarette, her hands trembling. It's a bleak scene. And yet, somehow, it feels strangely familiar.
Dave drums his fingers against the bar.
"You mentioned I'm not the first Dave to show up in another dimension."
Heinz nods slowly, still staring at his bottle.
"There were others. Some came by accident. Others... were brought."
Dave tenses just slightly.
"Brought by who?"
Heinz takes a moment before replying.
"I don't know\... but I suspect Axel."
Dave exhales sharply.
"Of course. That bastard's always in the middle of everything."
He downs the rest of his beer in one gulp and sets the bottle on the bar with a hollow thunk.
"What happened to the others?"
Heinz looks at him, measuring.
"Some died. Some escaped. One chose to stay."
Dave frowns.
"Stay? In this shitty dimension?"
Heinz tilts his head.
"Some people find what they need in the most unexpected places."
Dave lets out a disbelieving laugh.
"And what the hell could a guy like me possibly need in a place like this?"
Heinz meets his eyes with something Dave can't quite read.
"That's something only you can answer."
For a second, Dave feels the air shift.
The distance between them suddenly seems smaller. Or maybe it's just the booze.
But then Heinz looks away, and the moment breaks.
Dave runs a hand through his hair, making it even messier, and gives a sideways grin.
"Well, we'll see. But I'm not planning on sticking around long enough to find out."
Heinz doesn't answer right away. He just keeps turning his bottle between his fingers, as if weighing the weight of every word.
"Maybe... you don't get to choose."
Dave snorts.
"There's always a choice."
Or so he wants to believe.
But deep down, something about Heinz's words unsettles him more than he's willing to admit.