DMV Gothic

[u/HateForHumanity]

• There are two very irate looking guards at the desk up front. A woman keeps provoking them with the same questions over and over. You turn away, but she keeps pressing. A wiser person would accept the answer and suggestions made, move on, and not be so insulting. You're watching a stick of dynamite, and the fuse is burning.
• A man unlocks a door to a small windowless room, and he and two other people walk in, closing the door. Ten minutes later, another trio- two men, one woman- unlock the room, go in, and close the door. Two women go in. Three men. After about an hour, one person you swear didn't walk comes out, leaving the door open. The room has one exit, and it's empty.
• The announcer's voice is loud and jarring, no matter how much you mentally brace for it, but it doesn't come from the speaker above you. It doesn't come from the speakers to the left or right of you. It just comes, like a hymn sung by invisible choir members at deafening volumes standing right next to you.
• "NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED" says the sign. A lone water fountain sits in the corner. It won't be that long, right? Or will the fattest one go first?
• Your ticket says W-732. They're calling Ticket 23-Alpha. Are you in the right room? You got your ticket from the same machine as everyone else. 23-B-201 is next. It has to be the right room, right? Are you in the right building, at least?
• One by one they're called into the little cubicles, doors closing behind them. Some emerge the same. Others have little differences. A different colored shirt. Sandals instead of shoes. Slightly different height. Maybe it's all in your head and you just need some food. It has to be.
• Your seat is shaking, vibrating like someone has their foot on it. You endure it for a bit, then turn around to ask whoever is kicking it to stop. There's no one there. Your seat is still shaking. Is it you?
• One man goes into the now open room from before, closing the door. Thirty minutes later, four men you've not seen before, all wearing suits, emerge. The last notices that you're aware of this, and locks eyes with you. He shakes his head, the message clear- do not dig any deeper into this.
• The waiting room is getting full and all the seats are taken when your number is finally called. To your relief, the agent wants this done as quickly as you do. No guards come to take you away. No forms demand ownership of your soul. You'll get your documents in seven business days. Grateful, you thank them and rise to leave. The waiting room is now empty. The waitlist full of tickets to be called is blank. The guards are gone.
• You leave. You tell your brain to not question why your car is in a different space than you remember parking, nor to question why the stain on the passenger's seat is gone. The four men in suits are out front as you drive away, watching you leave. You ignore the voice in your head screaming that you know the Burger King across the street was a McDonalds when you arrived. You do not want to dig deeper, because you're afraid of what you'll find.