After dinner, Adam returned to the cabin and unpacked the rest of his luggage. The sun had started to set outside by the time he was finished. Later that night, he sat at a desk in the bedroom, watching a movie on his laptop.

It was the first movie in a popular series, which had initially been released as a series of novels. He had read the first book in the series out of curiosity more than anything else. Despite his efforts, he had barely been able to finish it. He had expected the movie to be just as awful as the book and was actually surprised to discover that it was even worse. Halfway through the movie, he realized it was finally late enough to sleep. He abruptly stopped the video and closed his laptop.

In the middle of the night, Adam woke to a strange sensation. It felt like the bed was shaking. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling above him, wiggling. He sat up and realized that his bed was convulsing violently. The whole room was shaking.

He sat there for a few seconds, considering the possibility that it was a dream. Something in another room of the cabin fell, causing a distant shattering sound. His laptop was trembling on the desk across the room, inching closer and closer to the edge. He shoved the comforter aside, scrambling up from the bed. A strange thumping noise could be heard from outside. He quickly hobbled across the rumbling floor and lunged to save his laptop from falling off the desk. A digital clock was shaking on the shelf near the window, the glowing red numbers looking fuzzy from the erratic movement. He could just barely make out the time before the clock fell off the shelf and hit the floor. It was 3:21 am.

Gradually, everything stopped shaking. He stayed still, feet planted against the floor between the bed and the desk. When he felt certain the shaking had stopped for good, he made his way to the window, carefully stepping around the random objects that had fallen. He pulled the drapes aside and peered outside.

The world outside was quiet and still, bathed in moonlight. Adam rubbed his eyes and withdrew from the window, kicking something as he moved backwards. He crouched down and picked up the small digital clock that had fallen to the floor. He turned it over to see the time in bright red digits. 3:22 am.

Suddenly he heard a thud and looked up from the clock face.