The moment Juno warned him, Lucifer immediately pulled away from Cath and looked toward the dark water behind them.
“More Crawlers?”
Juno took a breath and nodded.
“Several are coming up from below.
We need to move.”
Lucifer cursed inwardly.
Most of the group had already crossed the flooded passage, but Deputy Rios and Greg were still somewhere behind them.
He pushed Cath toward Juno and lowered his voice.
“Take her ahead.
I’ll stay here until the others make it through.”
Juno clearly didn’t like the idea, but after watching Lucifer handle the Crawlers throughout the cave, she knew arguing would only waste time.
She caught Cath by the arm and started moving toward the next section.
“Be careful.
We’ll wait for you ahead.”
A few moments later, Rios surfaced with considerable effort.
Her heavier build made moving through the narrow waterway difficult, and she immediately stared at the blood spreading across the surface.
“Oh my God.
What happened?”
“Ask later.
Move.”
Lucifer gave her a push toward the passage and immediately took another breath before diving beneath the surface.
He intended to intercept the Crawlers before they could reach Greg, but the instant he submerged, a pale face appeared directly in front of him.
The sudden sight nearly made him lose his breath.
Lucifer forced himself to remain calm as the Crawler sensed his presence and swiped blindly toward him.
Underwater, however, the creature lost much of its usual advantage.
The resistance of the water weakened its claws just as badly as it weakened Lucifer’s swings with the oak club, and the strike scraped uselessly across the protective equipment beneath his dark coat.
The Crawler never got a second chance.
Lucifer summoned the Glock from System Space and pressed the muzzle directly against its head.
Bang.
The muffled underwater shot punched through the creature’s skull.
Blood spread through the murky water as its body drifted away.
At that moment, Greg finally reached the crossing point.
He surfaced into water already stained red and immediately assumed the worst.
“Cath!
Dan!
Where are you?”
Lucifer’s expression darkened.
The instant Greg shouted, faint splashing and scraping noises answered from below.
More Crawlers had heard him.
Lucifer surfaced beside Greg and slapped a hand over his mouth.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to yell?”
Greg’s eyes widened, and he nodded frantically.
A pale head slowly rose from the water nearby.
The Crawler remained almost completely still, turning its face from side to side as it listened for movement.
Lucifer glared at Greg and raised one finger to his lips before quietly releasing him.
Neither man spoke.
Lucifer slowly treaded water toward the creature.
The faint disturbance was enough to make the Crawler turn its head in his direction.
Lucifer quietly returned the Glock to System Space and summoned the oak club instead.
Once he judged the distance, he shifted his weight through the water and swung with both hands.
“Wrong direction.”
CRACK!
The oak club crushed the Crawler’s exposed skull before it could react.
Its body immediately sank beneath the surface.
Lucifer waited several seconds, listening carefully for anything else approaching.
When the water finally became still again, he let out a breath and started swimming toward the others.
Greg followed without another word.
By the time Lucifer reached the final stretch, the glow of several headlamps was visible ahead.
He pushed harder through the water until his head broke the surface.
Lucifer dragged in a deep breath of foul underground air and had never been happier to smell something so terrible.
“Lucifer, over here!”
Several hands reached down and helped pull him onto the rocks.
Greg surfaced shortly afterward and raised a hand, clearly expecting the same assistance.
Nobody noticed.
He looked around at everyone surrounding Lucifer before sighing and awkwardly hauling himself out alone.
Once the entire group had safely crossed the flooded passage, they stopped long enough to rest, eat, and recover some strength.
Sarah believed the exit wasn’t far away now, and that knowledge alone lifted everyone’s mood after the hours they had spent trapped underground.
Juno sat down beside Lucifer while drinking some water.
“So are you actually selling those pies?”
Lucifer immediately looked at her.
“Absolutely.”
Fifty thousand dollars for something that required pork liver, flour, seasoning, and a little time sounded like the easiest money he had ever made.
Juno smiled.
“Good.
I want more.”
Lucifer remembered her strange behavior after eating the first one and raised an eyebrow.
“You feeling normal again?”
“The swim helped.” Juno thought for a moment.
“I think the pie restored too much energy at once.
Maybe I just needed to burn some of it off.”
Lucifer shrugged.
The recipe had never mentioned that effect, and since he hadn’t eaten one himself, he couldn’t confirm anything.
“We’ll worry about it after we’re out.
Once we’re safely back in Los Angeles, I’ll sell you as many as I can make.”
That was enough for Juno.
After the short break, Lucifer called everyone together and they resumed the final part of the journey.
Sarah once again led the way, guiding them through another cold cavern until they reached a narrow underground rift.
A crude natural bridge formed from several wedged slabs of stone stretched across the gap.
Sarah immediately recognized it.
Her exhausted expression brightened.
“I remember this place.
The exit is beyond here.”
Relief swept through the group.
Rios pulled out her phone and looked at a photograph of her daughter.
Tears filled her eyes as she whispered, “I really thought I wasn’t going to see her again.”
Lucifer immediately covered her mouth.
Rios stared at him in confusion.
Lucifer sighed.
“Can everyone please stop celebrating before we’re actually outside?”
She pulled his hand away and gave him an annoyed look.
Lucifer didn’t care.
Horror movies had taught him one lesson better than anything else: believing you were safe before reaching safety was a reliable way to die.
“Stay alert after we cross,” he warned.
“We’re close to the surface, but that doesn’t mean the Crawlers suddenly stop existing.”
The group’s excitement quickly settled.
Lucifer looked around at them and added, “We’ve made it this far.
I’d rather not lose anyone right before sunrise.”
Nobody argued with that.
At his signal, they began crossing the fragile stone formation one at a time.
Sarah went first, followed by Dan, Rios, Greg, Cath, and Juno, while Lucifer deliberately remained at the rear.
Once everyone reached the opposite side, Lucifer stepped onto the bridge.
He glanced back toward the darkness behind them.
If the Crawlers followed, the narrow crossing would give them an easy route.
Lucifer deliberately put more weight into his final steps.
The stone shifted beneath his boots.
Crack.
Several pieces broke loose.
Lucifer jumped onto solid ground just as the makeshift bridge collapsed behind him, sending rocks tumbling into the darkness below.
“That should slow them down.”
Sarah immediately turned toward the passage ahead.
“The exit is close.
Come on.”
This time, Lucifer took the lead.
Everyone followed carefully while keeping their footsteps light.
The farther they went, however, the stronger the smell of blood became.
Lucifer noticed it first.
His pace gradually slowed.
Then he stopped completely at the entrance to a wide cavern.
Cath nearly walked into him.
“What is it?”
Lucifer stared ahead.
“I knew getting out wouldn’t be that easy.”
The others raised their lights.
Several beams swept across the cavern at once.
Animal carcasses covered the ground, many stripped almost completely to bone.
Blood stained the stone, and the air carried the heavy smell of decay.
Then their lights reached the center of the cavern.
Several Crawlers crouched around a human corpse.
They were tearing into it with their hands and teeth.
The creatures slowly stopped feeding.
One by one, their pale heads began turning toward the rescue team.