Billy screams and cries, calling desperately for his mother. David leads his son into a quiet part of the supermarket and calms him down until Billy eventually falls asleep. Noticing a problem with the generator, David gets lost in the darkness of the storeroom. He falls and hits his head. He hears strange noises from outside and jumps back into the main store. The store’s assistant manager Ollie Weeks, David, and other men hatch a plan to restore the generator. They use flashlights to find the generator, and Norm, the bag boy, offers to go outside to remove whatever is blocking the exhaust pipe. David is worried about the strange sounds outside, but Norm insists that he will be fine. The other men do not believe David heard anything, dismissing his warnings because he is “a big-shot artist with connections in New York and Hollywood and all” (39). The generator starts, the lights come to life, and the electric door is lifted high enough for Norm to slip out.

The mist outside is “incredibly thick” (40). Before Norm can unplug the exhaust, a large tentacle grabs him and drags him into the mist.