Open Season

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal cruelty and death, bullying, graphic violence, illness, and death.

After the woodpile fire dies down, the night’s darkness envelops Sheridan. She is cold, hungry, and scared. She hears animals moving in the foothills and mistakes them for Wacey, which frightens her more. Sheridan falls asleep, but a single gunshot wakes her. She can’t see Wacey and wishes she had a weapon to defend herself. She sees headlights pull into the driveway, and soon after, Wacey exits the house with a rifle. He calls out to her and tries to entice her home with hot chocolate. Sheridan cries uncontrollably, and Wacey hears her, but he looks through his scope in the wrong direction. Sheridan wonders how long she can hide before daylight reveals her.

Joe returns to Saddlestring at 3:00 the next morning and stops at Barret’s Pharmacy. He tries to calm himself, but he is exhausted and angry. Joe knocks on the pharmacy window, but Hans—working as a part-time janitor—doesn’t hear him. Joe finally gets Hans’s attention, and the man lets Joe in through the back. Joe asks what Hans knows about the endangered animal he mentioned before, and Hans explains he heard a rumor that