[ WP ] A maintenance worker heads for the elevator after finishing up a shift in the lowest basement of an office building . As the elevator starts to move , he realizes two things : he forgot to hit a button , and the elevator is moving down ...

A bead of sweat rolled lightly down his forehead. Jon, a large man by normal standards, pulled the wrench downwards, tightening the bolt near the boiler. The fearsome steel machine needed regular maintenance or else the large heating system for the building would clog from smudge and debris. 
 
 As he applied pressure to the wrench, a pipe rattled loose. Steam and smoke began to pour from the opening into his face. He covered his mouth quickly with the sleeve of his coveralls. As the unhealthy smog filled the room, Jon began to cough. The smoke clouded all of his senses. A loud, high pitched scream emitted from the boiler as the gas continued to escape. 
 
 I am going to die in here, screamed Jon's panicked thoughts. He scrambled to his left, blindly in the direction of the door. As he ran, Jon stumbled over a mop bucket which was unfortunately in his path. A lurching scream came from his lungs as his left knee crashed into the concrete. Falls were not enjoyable for a man nearing his late sixties. His mouth, now open, was vulnerable to the suffocating mass of smoke and steam. His lungs burned as he heaved it from his system. A dim light shone through the mist. It had to the be the window of the door. 
 
 Jon limped across the remaining distance, shoving the swinging door into the wall. Smoke poured through the door behind him. White concrete brick walls lined the hallway for about fifty meters. The low fluorescent lights flickered above him. All he had to do was reach the elevator shaft at the other end of the hallway. 
 
 The smog advanced steadily behind him as he managed to make the distance down the dismal hallway. He jammed his fist into the button on the left panel of the elevator. The two, large metal doors creaked slowly open. Jon slid through the opening into the damp elevator. He jammed his index finger into the button with the inward arrows that closed the doors faster. He fell backwards on his haunches. 
 
 How had this day ended so wrong? He was just about to go home to this waiting wife when this had to happen. The entire New York fire department would be down here in a matter of minutes. The only to blame was him, Jon Miller. 
 
 The elevator began to lurch as it began its motion. The ride to the actual ground level took a while since the boiler was held three stories below the lobby. He could imagine the fire department trucks driving almost recklessly as the fire alarms were set off by the smog. 
 
 “ Long ride ahead? ” 
 
 Jon practically jumped out of the elevator as the voice spoke behind him. Another man in a similar janitor's uniform stood behind him. 
 
 “ Who in the world are you? ” asked Jon incredulously. His eyes were open wide as he kept his distance within the cramped space. 
 
 “ The name's Bill, and your name is Jon. ” He smiled as he spoke to him. 
 
 Jon looked towards the dial above the elevator doors. Surely, it should have reached the ground floor by now. The dial hand, however, bounced uselessly to the left. The elevator was definitely not going up, but where else could it go? 
 
 “ Where are we going! ” yelled Jon. 
 
 “ Down. That is really all I know too. I am just the captain of this ship. ” 
 
 Jon stared at him, not understanding what he was talking about. “ We are in an elevator! The boiler is flooding the building and I need to get to the ground floor to explain to the fire department. What are you even talking about or doing here? ” 
 
 Bill sighed, “ Jon, you're dead. ” 
 
 “ Dead? ” Jon pricked his arm. “ I do n't feel dead! I have no idea who you are or how you know my name. ” 
 
 “ The smog, it got to your lungs, ” explained Bill. “ Your soul is just imagining you escaped. You made a mistake. It happens to the best repairmen. I would n't take it too personal. ” 
 
 “ Let's assume I am dead. Where are we going then? ” 
 
 “ They call it the Grey Room. It is more of an in-between. We all have to pay for our maintenance mistakes. ” 
 
 “ So, I am headed to Purgatory. ” stated Jon, still disbelieving. 
 
 “ Not quite, it is more specialized. Like our profession. ” 
 
 The bell rang and the door to the elevator opened. A line of men in blue or grey coveralls were lined up before a desk. A short and plump receptionist was examining papers behind the short wall rising from the desk. There were two directions to go from there. The door to the right had the words “ COOL ” written across it. The door to the left had “ HEAT ” inscribed on its surface. 
 
 “ Here is just a tip. ” whispered Bill into Jon's ear. “ Try to avoid the left door.
