It was a cold, clear Sunday evening, seven days before Christmas. The town of Hayden rested under a frosty blanket of snow. By 8:30 p.m. most parents in Hayden were settling down on overstuffed sofas in front of fireplaces, their slippered feet toasty warm, while the children sprawled on the floor, intently watching holiday specials on tv.

Family pets rested near the fire too, careful not to make a fuss and get themselves sent out into the strange, colorless, odorless place the world had become.