[lumberjim]

"Hey!" he cried. "Hello!"

The echo was immediate and came from both sides and behind at once, giving him the impression that this room was empty. There came no reply, but a slight draft ran a cold finger down his back. Up.

He reached up as far as his fingers could stretch, tried jumping. He succeeded only in banging his knee against the door painfully. Frustrated, he flung his hands against the door causing a low booming sound. Had that been a glimmer of light? Had the door recoiled from his assault? Yes, he could still see the afterimage when he closed his eyes. Hitting the door again, he saw the faint light again.... The door was opening slightly inward in response to his blows, and then closing again.

One more shot with his left hand, with his right hand awaiting the door edge, and he had it open. It was still too dark to see, but there was light off to the left down what appeared to be a damp hallway about 6 feet wide.