Rory and Ashlyn crept out of the basement flat in New York City for the last time, into a quiet world filled with strange shadows and even stranger lights. Loading what they could carry into the trunk of Rowan's secondhand sedan, they hung their hope on the half tank of gas left in the car and headed for the road. The moment itself was so uncertain that neither of them was thinking into the uncertain future, but they knew one thing: they needed to get the hell out of the city.