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Dead Man in the Cave

The Dead Man in the Cave is an unidentified middle-aged smoker whose shredded remains are found in a crevice cave near the freeway outside Dahlonega, Georgia; only his face, some gray cloth and a lighter marked "HF" are recovered.
Type NPC (deceased, unidentified)
Aliases Exploded Man; HF
Status Dead
Location The Death Cave
First appearance Appalachia 02 (cold open, if the same man); Appalachia 03 (remains)

Description

The man was middle-aged, with salt and pepper in his beard, and his face looked older than his mid-30s hair color implied. Andre describes a smoker's pallor. The team found shreds of gray fabric and a cigarette pack among the remains, but no wallet. Huell studies the recovered face and does not recognize him (Appalachia 03).

History

The cold open

The cold open of Appalachia 02 follows an unnamed man in a gray jumpsuit and safety glasses who steps out of the Spud Hut distribution plant for a cigarette. He is drawn into the woods by a sobbing noise like a baby's, squeezes into a narrow fissure with the words "Hold your horses. It's okay. I'm coming," finds an ancient pickaxe by the light of his lighter, and is attacked by a humanlike figure with glinting eyes (Appalachia 02). The episode never says so, but the gray clothing, the cigarettes, the lighter, the pickaxe and the cave match what the team later finds.

The discovery

In Appalachia 03, Andrew wakes in the woods with no memory of how he got there, holding a bloody steel cigarette lighter he has never seen. Following a blood trail the next morning, the team finds a crevice in the rock within earshot of the freeway. The Biz is told to stand guard while Andrew, Kurt and Huell squeeze through into a sandy chamber (Appalachia 03).

The chamber is splattered with blood and holds an old bloody pickaxe, skin, bones, hair and a man's folded face stuck to the wall. Andrew bags the face and tosses it to Huell. Kurt finds no powder marks and no chemical smell. In his judgment the man was shredded and smashed against the walls "like gators have been at a body", with bones split open, tooth marks on them, and the muscle, organs and fat missing (Appalachia 03).

The lighter is stainless steel, a little more upscale than a gas-station lighter, with "HF" written on the bottom in Sharpie, and a glob of dark hair and fat stuck to it (Appalachia 03).

Evidence and aftermath

Huell stores the face in the hotel mini fridge. In Appalachia 04, he hands it to Dr. McManley, who says "Kinky" and, when Andrew protests, "It's an expression, son." (Appalachia 03, Appalachia 04)

The Biz later brags to Big Bill about the "face in a bag" to soften news for an old friend (Appalachia 04). In Appalachia 07, Andrew includes "one exploded man" in his tally of the dead for Big Bill, noting that the team has only his face (Appalachia 07).

Identity

When Andrew phones the Spud Hut distribution center in Appalachia 03, the missing worker turns out to be Aaron Richters. Dante and Ezra immediately note that his initials do not match "HF", and Andrew concludes it may be "another missing man". The episodes never say who the dead man was, whether he was Aaron, or whose lighter it was. His death is not addressed in Walkers 01.

Not the truck driver

In Appalachia 08, people repeatedly say that a man "exploded" in the crashed Spud Hut truck. That is a separate victim, the truck driver. In Appalachia 07, Andrew distinguishes the "exploded man" from another dead man who was shot.

Appearances