Level 98

11

*You weren’t even looking for an exit. You were looking for a break. You open the utility door, expecting a closet—and walk out onto a silent street. Brick beneath your boots. The smell of syrup and eggs. The lights of the diner shining like a memory. You look left. You look right. You’re everywhere. Dozens of you, in both directions. Frozen in perfect sync. You blink. So do they. You exhale—and the others fog up. You start walking.*