Chapter 7: When Darkness Falls, Firepower Coverage Provides Security
Without enough strength to approach Jennifer, you wouldn't even know how you died. A person targeted by a demon was like a thorny rose—very easy to get pricked.
It was only natural for Danny to choose exploring with Sarah and her team, but he still needed to make preparations before setting off.
Firearms, ammunition, and lighting were essential, especially practicing American-style quick-draw techniques.
After all, there was more than one crawler in that cave system.
In his opinion, as long as a monster had a physical form—except for beings like Michael Myers who were seemingly immortal—everything else could be dealt with by overwhelming firepower.
Just like the Hillickers: although they lacked pain sensation and possessed immense strength, they still had to die when faced with rifle fire.
The next day, school dismissed early.
Sarah took Danny to meet the other expedition members, all of whom were women.
Juno, the leader of this caving adventure and an experienced extreme sports enthusiast.
Beth, the school's English teacher, and the one who'd invited Sarah to join the team.
Holly, a punk-style thrill-seeker who loved BASE jumping, with a reckless personality who liked charging in first—which translated to someone who enjoyed courting death.
Rebecca, a Swedish athlete and professional spelunker. The only person she knew well in the group was Juno, as both enjoyed exploring various cave systems and extreme sports.
Sam, Sarah's sister who'd come along for moral support.
This cave expedition was originally organized to help Sarah overcome the trauma of losing her husband and daughter in a car accident a year ago.
Initially, Juno, as team leader, refused Danny—a man who'd never participated in a serious expedition before.
But then again, who could refuse someone with money who could upgrade all their equipment?
Juno couldn't find a reason to say no.
After successfully joining the team,
Danny also contacted Pete, a former military supplier in town, and purchased a set of tactical operations equipment.
The most important items were the ear protection—gunshots in a cave would be deafening.
Though Pete was a bit greedy, he really delivered when paid.
A few days later,
Pete's associate, an ex-Army guy named Joe, delivered the equipment to Danny.
Black camouflage BDU with moisture-wicking underlayer, classic components of military-standard tactical gear, a triple magazine pouch carrying two M67 fragmentation grenades.
Plus one high-explosive grenade.
A folding entrenching tool for engineering work and emergency situations, while a combat knife in a quick-release sheath provided a weapon for close combat. An L-shaped tactical flashlight and a large-frame hiking pack enhanced night operations and carrying capacity.
Two Glock 19 pistols with very manageable recoil were holstered at his waist.
Danny had paid a premium price for this complete setup.
Once he put it on, he was fully kitted out. If he added a face covering and helmet, he'd truly resemble a special forces operator.
Of course, one crucial item was still missing: an AR-15 rifle.
However, that was too conspicuous to carry openly.
Danny already attracted strange looks walking down the street in full gear; if he carried an AR-15, people would think he'd just returned from overseas combat.
Danny had arranged for the rifle to be delivered to their destination in advance.
When Danny, dressed in full tactical gear, arrived at the designated meeting point outside town,
Juno and her group were stunned. Looking at Danny's equipment, they said in surprise,
"Hey Danny, we're not going to war—we're just exploring caves. You dressed like this will seriously hinder the expedition's progress."
"Wearing too much for spelunking can actually put you in danger."
"Danny, there's still time. We can re-equip you with proper caving gear instead of you looking like you're about to storm Fallujah."
Facing their well-intentioned advice, Danny was simply stubborn.
"Don't worry, I won't slow you down. I also have a set of caving gear in my vehicle, and besides, didn't my physical fitness already pass your tests?"
No way was he taking this off.
Only sufficient firepower and enough contained entities could give him peace of mind.
With insufficient containment options, he naturally needed more firepower.
If he wasn't worried about cave collapse, Danny would've wanted to bring a rocket launcher.
Hearing this, Juno consulted Rebecca, the professional spelunking expert.
In the end, she agreed, but added conditions.
"Okay, we'll allow it, but once we're underground, you must follow all our commands. Otherwise you could put the entire team in danger. Understood?"
"No problem." Danny agreed to everything—verbally.
While Juno and the others organized their equipment, Sarah quietly reassured Danny.
"Danny, actually Juno and the others are just concerned for your safety. Cave exploration is very dangerous, especially an unmapped system like this one."
"Sarah, I know. Don't worry."
The seven of them took two SUVs.
When Juno found an AR-15 rifle in the back of the vehicle, she was speechless.
"Danny, how paranoid are you? Do you really think there'll be people in the caves you need to shoot?"
Rebecca chuckled, "Perhaps our transfer student doesn't feel safe in unfamiliar territory."
Danny shrugged, "Better safe than sorry."
The two leaders hadn't said anything more, but Holly was already mocking him. "Cowardly much?"
Danny just scoffed and said nothing. No point arguing with someone who'd be dead soon.
Sarah helped Danny explain, "No, Danny's just exploring for the first time, so he over-prepared. We should be understanding of newcomers."
With that said, the other team members dropped the subject.
Their initial destination was supposed to be Boreham Caverns in the Appalachian Mountains, but Juno, the team leader, felt it wasn't exciting enough. What was the point of exploring caves that had already been mapped?
So she secretly changed the destination to an unknown cave system.
She hoped that after a successful exploration, the cave would be named after Sarah—helping her best friend emerge from the darkness of grief.
It was a good intention, but such an action was recklessly dangerous.
Juno hid it well, and no one noticed, including Danny.
Danny had watched The Descent years ago, but didn't remember the specific location or certain details.
So he initially assumed the place they were exploring was indeed Boreham Caverns.
Only when they arrived and saw the endless mountain range in the distance did he realize something was off.
Before entering, there was a dirt access road covered with dead leaves and fallen branches.
Danny surveyed the trees around a dilapidated cabin and the silent forest. Everything was so primitive and quiet.
There wasn't even the sound of birds. Was this normal?
Was this even a national park?
They hadn't even started the hike yet.
Just as Danny wondered if they'd taken the wrong route, Sarah walked over and said, "Danny, don't worry. We'll rest in the cabin tonight and head into the mountains tomorrow morning. It's too late today, and there's still quite a distance to cover."
Danny looked up at the darkening clouds and said,
"I just feel like it's too quiet around here."
Sarah found the quietness perfectly normal and explained,
"Few people come here, so it's normal for it to be quiet. Don't overthink it. You need to rest well to have energy for tomorrow's exploration."
Danny hummed in response, but what he was thinking was that he'd come to exactly the right place.
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