THE GIRL WHO FELL INTO THE SKY by Kate Wilhelm. The magical wheat-fields of Kansas hide the ruins of an old town with a terrible past. While doing research on an oral history project, Lorna stumbles on the town's secret. This story, a classic in the field, won the Nebula Award for best novelette in 1986.
This book is part of the Short Stories/Novellas series and is book #1 in the series.