Before leaving the Gulfstream GIV, Lucifer quietly stored the Savory Pork Liver Pie, handgun, medicine, food, and the rest of his useful supplies inside System Space.
He then slung an almost empty backpack over one shoulder and stepped onto the tarmac, looking far less prepared than he actually was.
A helicopter was already waiting nearby.
Lucifer boarded with Bruce, and the aircraft soon lifted away from Asheville Regional Airport and headed toward the Appalachian Mountains.
During the flight, Bruce opened a folder and gave him the latest briefing.
“The rescue team is ready.
Local law enforcement is involved, along with three professional cave-rescue specialists.”
Lucifer nodded without much reaction.
He already knew there would be one more important person waiting for them—Sarah Carter, the only known survivor of Juno Kaplan’s six-woman expedition.
Sarah had barely escaped the underground nightmare after encountering the Crawlers.
Now she was traumatized, suffering from memory loss, and about to be taken straight back into the same cave system she had nearly died trying to escape.
Lucifer couldn’t help chuckling.
Bruce looked over in confusion.
“Something funny?”
“Not really.”
Lucifer offered no further explanation.
A short while later, the helicopter descended into a forest clearing where a police vehicle was already waiting.
A heavyset sheriff hurried toward them while holding his hat against the rotor wash.
“Mr.
Bruce, good to see you.
Flight go alright?”
Bruce stepped away from the helicopter and nodded.
“Fine, Sheriff Vaines.
We should get moving.
Every hour matters if Miss Kaplan is still alive.”
“Of course.
We can talk on the way.”
Sheriff Vaines led them toward the vehicle, and Lucifer immediately noticed the woman sitting in the back seat.
Sarah Carter leaned against the window with a distant expression, while cuts and bruises on her face had yet to completely heal.
Bruce followed Lucifer’s gaze.
“That’s her?”
Vaines nodded.
“Sarah Carter.
She’s the only member of Juno Kaplan’s group who made it out.”
“Has she told you anything useful?”
“Unfortunately, not much.” Vaines sighed as they climbed into the vehicle.
“She’s suffering from severe shock and temporary memory loss.
We’re hoping going back near the search area might help her remember where they entered.”
Lucifer glanced at Sarah again.
Taking a traumatized survivor back underground sounded insane to anyone who didn’t know what had happened, but he already knew this was how the next part of the nightmare began.
Once everyone was inside, Vaines gestured toward the woman sitting in the front passenger seat.
“This is Deputy Elen Rios.
She’s joining the underground search.”
Rios gave them a short nod.
Bruce then introduced Lucifer.
“This is Lucifer.
Senator Kaplan has placed him in command of the operation.”
Vaines turned around and stared at him.
“Him?
He’s pretty young to be running a cave rescue.”
“He isn’t responsible for the technical cave work,” Bruce replied evenly.
“Senator Kaplan believes there may be dangers underground that ordinary rescue personnel aren’t prepared to deal with.
His instructions were clear.
Lucifer has final authority once the operation begins.”
Vaines clearly didn’t like the arrangement, but after a moment he reluctantly nodded.
“Fine.”
Lucifer didn’t care whether the sheriff trusted him.
His main objective was bringing Juno Kaplan back alive and collecting the million-dollar commission.
If everyone else followed instructions and didn’t create unnecessary trouble, he had no problem helping them survive as well.
The vehicle continued along the forest road until they reached an abandoned mine site.
Near the old shaft, three people in professional cave gear were already checking ropes, helmets, lamps, and other equipment.
Vaines got out and called toward the leader.
“Dan.”
Dan looked over, then frowned when he saw Bruce and Lucifer approaching.
“Don’t tell me you’re adding more people to the descent.”
“We’re carrying out a search and rescue,” he continued irritably.
“Not taking tourists underground.”
Bruce tried to calm him.
“Only Lucifer is being added.
He’s responsible for handling unexpected situations.”
Dan gave Lucifer a skeptical look.
“Unexpected situations?
What exactly are you expecting down there, wild animals?”
Lucifer smiled faintly.
“Something like that.
If anything strange happens, listen to me and you’ll have a much better chance of getting out.”
“Taking extra people underground already lowers our chances.”
Dan shook his head and walked toward the mine building, where Greg and Cath were clearing debris and preparing the old elevator.
Lucifer watched him go without arguing.
Dan was cautious, which was better than being reckless.
Unfortunately, he was worried about the wrong danger.
Bruce opened one of the equipment cases and handed Lucifer the DV camera he had requested on the plane.
“Miss Kaplan’s safety is in your hands.”
Lucifer accepted it and slipped it into his backpack.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll bring her back if she’s still alive.”
After a brief discussion, the descent team was finalized: Lucifer, Sarah Carter, Sheriff Vaines, Deputy Rios, Dan, Greg, and Cath.
Dan gathered everyone near the equipment.
“Before we go down, put on proper cave gear.
Helmets, lights, harnesses, everything.
And the two officers need to leave their firearms topside.”
Vaines frowned.
“Why?”
“Because we’re entering an unstable mine connected to an unknown cave system,” Dan replied.
“Firing a gun in the wrong place can bring loose rock down around us.
We don’t need that risk during a rescue.”
Rios reluctantly removed her holster and returned the weapon to the police vehicle.
Vaines appeared to do the same, but while everyone was changing equipment, he quietly retrieved his handgun and tucked it behind his lower back beneath his clothes.
Lucifer had been watching him the entire time.
“Sheriff Vaines.”
Vaines stiffened and turned around.
Lucifer glanced toward the hidden weapon.
“You should probably listen to the guy who actually knows caves.”
Vaines’s expression hardened.
“This gun has kept me alive for years.
I’m not leaving it up here.”
“Then stay up here with it.”
Lucifer’s tone remained calm, but there was no room for negotiation.
He remembered what happened in the original story.
Vaines panicked when confronted by a Crawler, fired underground, and caused a collapse that separated the group.
Lucifer had no intention of allowing the same mistake to happen while he was standing there.
Vaines glared at him.
“You serious?”
“Completely.”
The sheriff looked toward Bruce, who was watching from a short distance away.
Senator Kaplan’s instructions were clear, and Vaines finally realized he wasn’t going to win the argument.
With an angry snort, he pulled out the handgun and tossed it back into the vehicle.
Lucifer nodded.
“Good choice.”
Of course, his own handgun remained safely hidden inside System Space.
Nobody else needed to know that.
Once everyone had finished changing into cave gear, they gathered around the old mine elevator.
An elderly man in his sixties stood beside the controls, watching the preparations with an uneasy expression.
Lucifer recognized him immediately.
Ed Oswald.
The old mine operator from The Descent Part 2.
Ed looked toward the shaft before speaking.
“My grandfather and two other men once broke through into a huge cave system beneath this mine.
They went inside and never came back.”
Lucifer studied him carefully.
That family story matched what he remembered, but Ed himself was far more suspicious than he appeared.
In the original events, he eventually attacked Deputy Rios after she escaped and dragged her back toward the cave entrance, apparently helping provide victims to the creatures below.
Leaving someone like that safely on the surface was a terrible idea.
Lucifer smiled.
“If your grandfather disappeared down there, this sounds like a good opportunity.”
Ed frowned.
“Opportunity for what?”
“To come with us and look for him.”
The old man’s face changed immediately.
“What?
No.
I’m not going underground.”
Everyone nearby turned toward Lucifer.
Dan’s patience finally snapped.
“Are you serious?
Why the hell would we bring him?”
“He knows the mine.”
“He operates the elevator.”
Lucifer ignored Dan and continued looking at Ed.
“Come on.
Maybe you’ll finally learn what happened to your grandfather.”
Ed backed away.
“I’m not going down there.
I’m just the caretaker.”
His reaction only made Lucifer more certain.
Rios looked like she wanted to object, but Vaines stopped her with a glance.
Dan, on the other hand, had no intention of remaining quiet.
“This is ridiculous.
He’s an old man, not part of the rescue team.”
Lucifer’s expression cooled.
“I’m in charge of the operation.
He comes with us.”
Ed backed away another step.
“No.
Absolutely not.”
Then he turned as if he intended to leave.
Lucifer moved before he could get far.
He caught Ed by the back of his jacket and pulled him toward the elevator.
“Let go of me!”
“Relax.”
“I said I’m not going down!”
Lucifer hauled the struggling old man into the elevator cage and pushed him toward the back.
“And I said you’re coming.”
Dan stared at him in disbelief, while Greg and Cath exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Nobody liked the decision, but with Bruce standing nearby and Senator Kaplan paying for the operation, no one was willing to openly stop Lucifer.
In the end, Bruce and one male police officer remained aboveground to maintain contact and operate the surface support.
Lucifer, Sarah Carter, Sheriff Vaines, Deputy Rios, Dan, Greg, Cath, and a furious Ed Oswald crowded into the old elevator.
Bruce looked toward Lucifer one last time.
“Good luck.”
Lucifer nodded.
“Keep the surface team ready.”
Bruce activated the mechanism.
The elevator gave a bone-deep metallic groan before slowly descending into the shaft.
Light from the mine building became smaller above them as darkness swallowed the cage, while Sarah’s breathing grew slightly heavier beside the others.
Lucifer remained calm.
His gaze shifted toward Ed.
The old man was glaring at him with a mixture of anger and fear.
Lucifer gave him a faint smile.
Let’s see how the things you’ve been protecting treat you once you’re trapped down there with us.