A novella.

Strange pale creatures, the Palelings, have come to prey on the secluded desert town of Wayfarer's Rest in the dead of night. The town's residents, and a few travelers who were just passing through, find themselves cut off from the wider world when the town loses all power and phone service, and every motor vehicle in town has been rendered inoperable. With empty desert all around, the people of the town are left to wait for the return of the Palelings.