5 : Hell Is Other People – Instant Download

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

Elias closed his eyes and tried to find his "inner temple," as his therapist suggested. But the temple was being invaded. A teenager three seats down was watching TikToks at full volume without headphones—a relentless loop of high-pitched laughter and distorted bass. Behind him, two elderly women were having a shouting match about their respective gallbladder surgeries.

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: 5 : Hell Is Other People

To his left, a man was eating an egg salad sandwich with his mouth open, the wet smack-smack sound echoing off the linoleum. To his right, a toddler was methodically wiping a sticky lollipop against Elias’s expensive wool trousers.

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

He looked at his ticket: .The red digital display on the wall read: B-002 .

Elias froze. This was it. Salvation. He stumbled toward the plexiglass window, clutching his paperwork like a holy relic. But the temple was being invaded

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