Cassie was discharged from the military after being seriously injured when the Humvee in which she was riding was destroyed by an improvised explosive device (IED). Although she was able to walk on her new leg, multiple surgeries left Cassie using an electric wheelchair for mobility while her other leg healed. She was at the airport waiting for her friend and she and her service dog, Petra, sat in one of the airport restaurants watching the people go by. A fellow traveler, Andy Rittenhouse, sat down with her, and the two began chatting.

Like Cassie, he had also been in the military as a military policeman. Andy had only been out of the military for a few days when he and Cassie met. After he was discharged, with no family and nowhere in particular to go, he picked a spot on the map. By the time he met Cassie, he had already been at the airport for a day. The airline sent his luggage across the country, and he was waiting for it to be returned to him.

He and Cassie struck up a conversation and they immediately found they had a lot in common. As they were getting ready to leave the airport–Andy to begin his adventure and Cassie to head home–the power went off suddenly as an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) was unleashed on the United States. Cassie's electric wheelchair caught fire, cell phones died, and car engines would not start. When an airplane struck the other end of the terminal, Cassie and Andy decided to travel together to get to Cassie's ranch. They improvised using an airport porter's cart to carry their belongings, and began the long trek home.