5 : Hell Is Other People -

He realized then that the doors weren't locked. They didn't have to be.

Elias looked back at the room. The sandwich man was opening a second bag. The toddler was reaching for his other leg. The TikTok loop started again.

The toddler began to scream, a sound like a hawk being fed into a woodchipper. "C-one-one-four!" the speaker barked. 5 : Hell Is Other People

Elias checked his watch. He had been here for three hours. He began to calculate the collective misery in the room. If human irritation could be converted into electricity, this room could power a small city—or at least a very large microwave to cook everyone in it.

He looked at the exit. He could leave. He could walk out into the fresh air, forget the registration, and live as an outlaw. But as he stood up, the egg-sandwich man sneezed, a fine mist settling over the back of Elias’s neck. He realized then that the doors weren't locked

The clerk behind the glass looked at him with eyes that had seen the death of stars. She didn't speak. She just pointed to a small sign taped to the glass:

"Excuse me," Elias whispered to the mother. She didn't look up from her phone. She just shifted her weight, hitting Elias’s knee with her massive, overflowing diaper bag. The sandwich man was opening a second bag

"Next! B-zero-zero-three!" a voice crackled over a blown-out speaker.