Oh, thank god, he hadn't just heard things. Andrew let out a relieved sigh, trying his best to get a glimpse of the woman behind the door. He wasn't completely alone. This was great, the man told himself, willing his hands to stop shaking. No reason to appear pathetic in front of a woman.

”Thank you so much,” the man spoke through the small gap. In between sentences, he did his best to take in deep, calming breaths. ”I thought I'd be stuck here forever. I'll help you from the other side. I'm sure we'll get this son of a bitch open!”

Was this woman with the maintenance crew? Andrew had a faint feeling that everything wasn't quite as it seemed, here. That didn't matter. What mattered was that he had some extra help now. He'd get out, and then he'd get home. And then Andrew would do his best to forget all about this. Maybe this woman – Hero she had called herself – would know what was going on, or could at least point the way out of here. She seemed friendly enough.

The hope of getting out was quickly dashed by a cry of pain from the other side of the door. With a cringe, Andrew stopped his pulling. The woman, however, insisted on continuing on.
”Uh, maybe you shouldn't stress yourself too much,” Andrew spoke up, trying to peek at the woman through the small crack. Hero wouldn't be much help to him if she hurt herself while trying to open a door. ”Couldn't you find something else to open this- hey, can you hear that?”

Andrew quieted down, listening to the fizzling sound. Was Hero using something to get him out? That was good and all, but a warning would have been nice. He kept his eyes at the door, looking on in confusion as it was melted away in front of him. By the time the sound sputtered to an end, there was a hole on the door, large enough to fit Andrew through.

Soon enough he was out, stepping into the dim, badly lit hallway.

”Thanks,” he said to Hero, trying to put on a brave face. He was probably failing miserably at it, too. Sometimes, it was more difficult to fake bravery. This was one of those situations. He glanced at the curious melted hole on the metal door that had kept him trapped inside.

”So, how'd that happen?” Andrew certainly couldn't see any equipment he'd imagined. Hero wasn't exactly dressed like maintenance, either. Suppose it didn't matter. Hero was a pretty thing, and kind enough to help him out. He had a feeling he could have met someone a lot worse in a situation like this. 
”How'd I even get here? No wait, don't answer that. How do I get [i]out[/i] of here?” he asked with an anxious look on his face as he glanced at his surroundings. It didn't bring him much of a relief. How could it, when all he could see were more unfamiliar places? This place really didn't radiate friendliness. Only then he noticed the screen on his wall, flickering and barely alive. His name and birthday, yesterdays date and leading to... 2025? Exhaling shakily, Andrew turned to his savior.

”Th-this, uh... that can't be right,” he said, tone confused and faint. He wasn't certain how many more surprises he could handle in one day.