Death Has a Thousand Doors

The story focuses on a group of students, members of a university's caving club, who travel to West Virginia to explore a cave that their leader, "Stick," discovered via an old map and queries of a local resident. Hal, the main character and narrator, is a happy-go-lucky, non-traditional student in his early thirties. The other characters in the group are: Maria, Hal's spirited lover; Paul and Annie, who are killed off early in the story; Damon, an athletic, pensive guy, and a surprising resilient nerd; Andy, a practical joker who has a dark side to his outward, jovial self; Jerry a driven, pushy athlete and wannabe hero; and Sharon, Jerry's beautiful but naive and dependent girlfriend.After finding and entering the cave, they discover a still inside. Before they can leave, they are confronted at gunpoint by the three men who run the operation. The students plead for freedom, bit to no avail. The men kill Paul and rape and kill Annie, but the others escape into the bowels of the cave. With the crudely drawn map in hand they decide to work their way to the exit at the other end.The cave is deadly. Stick dies in an underground mudslide. With Jerry as their leader, the survivors traverse many false passageways, steep formations, and a deep pit. As the hours pass with the batteries draining in their flashlights, they know that they are running out of time. Mutual dislike between Andy and Jerry grows into hatred that reaches an ominous level. After an encounter between them on a high cliff, Jerry falls to his death. Sharon accuses Andy of murder. Hal is suspicious but uncertain. Was it an accident, or did Andy intend to injure Jerry in retaliation for previous abuse? The need to survive buries the issue, and since Damon had injured his knee, Hal reluctantly becomes the default leader of the group. But he lacks confidence and becomes increasingly panicked with the looming darkness. To reserve batteries Maria accompanies Hal to the next segment of the hoped-for exit. Then Maria slips and falls into a pit, and is badly injured. Hal panics, and with Maria's assent, he returns to the others. They all continue the search but Hal can't remember where to find Maria.They move on assuming they will find the exit and get help Maria. They do find the exit and get help from a nearby town. Eventually Maria's body is found. The authorities recover Jerry's body and eventually those of Paul and Annie. The killers are never caught. Some years later, Hal reflects on the tragedy and its effect on the survivors. Damon went on to law school. Sharon and Andy dropped out of college and faded away, Sharon to Florida and Andy to alcohol. Hal lives a nightmarish existence, tortured by memories of Maria.