On the air you catch a whiff a perfume of mildew, fryer oil, and recycled breath. Everything smells like it was deep-fried six hours ago, including the people.
The lighting is harsh fluorescant and it’s way too humid. You take off your jacket but still sweat.
You can’t stop moving. There’s someone on your heels. You constantly catch glimpses of familiar faces but it’s always just a stranger.
The signs are all lies, or maybe even outright jokes. The “You Are Here” sticker on the map covers two pathways that don’t connect. The only thing you can find is another anonymous food court.
You hear snatches of music but never a full song. Just the chorus of “Hey There Delilah” from one corridor mixing in with the Muzak from another. Every kiosk sells phone cases for phones that no longer exist.
The escalators work, but they only go down.
You spot an exit sign. You follow it for seven minutes. It leads you to a Sunglass Hut that hasn’t been open since the financial crisis.
Hell is an Underground Shopping Concourse.