And then it happens. A terrific crashing sound shatters the eerie winter silence. Alex ducks and covers, afraid of what is about to befall his dark and damp surroundings. He soon finds out. A tree has fallen onto the house, crushing the roof, and filling the basement steps with debris. Alex is trapped.

A call to his deputy brings yet more bad news. The storm is out of control. The roads are blocked by snow and other fallen trees. Nobody will be able to get up there to rescue him until the weather dies down, sometime tomorrow. Alex will just have to sit tight and wait for something to happen.

He doesn't have to wait too long. In the corner of the basement, the fallen tree has dislodged the shelves, which have opened as if on hinges.