Story — Chronology (Day 0–19)
This section tracks the film’s linear time, preserving the procedural pace and tone notes.
Night 0 — Volunteer Naturalist
Ray Hanlon moves through fog at 4,200 ft, digs up a truffle, services a game camera; the forest’s sound drains to pressure. A cougar silhouette crosses; later he finds an unnaturally opened bear. Two shots in the night. In the clearing: only a revolver, a trowel, and an oval depression. Wind returns. Title: OWL.
Day 2 — Broadcast & Hall’s Statement
Local SD news: Sheriff Hall advises avoiding FR‑12 at night. Mason watches in propane glow.
Day 2 — Mason’s Errands
Propane, shells, coffee, fuel. Routine, handheld intimacy; the world continues.
Days 3–4 — The Carcasses
Bear and deer found torn near Cold Creek. Prints misread. Diner talk coalesces around a “cougar.”
Day 5 — Preparations
Hall and Mason load tower‑light rigs. Practical friendship; dusk drive to the ridge.
Night 5 — The Cougar Search
LED beams slice fog; a beam veers off; vacuum; hollow percussion overhead; a scream severed. Morning: two flashlights still on in snow.
Night 6 — The Tower Outage
FAA beacon dies. Mason ascends, finds clawed wiring. Draft presses tarp. Flashlight spins away. Beacon flickers, dies; silence.
Morning 7 — Discovery
Liv’s call; Hall’s eyes up into fog; wind on cables. We never see the body.
Night 9 — Porch Visit
Hall tells Liv, “I think we don’t know what it was.” He leaves into fog.
Night 9 — Hall’s Crash
Static 70 mm tableau. A shadow drops; instinct jerk; impact. Single headlight in steam. Wind resumes.
Day 10 — Transition
Black ribbons; Colson interim sheriff; Liv silent with radio.
Day 11 — Cougar Killed (False Relief)
SD broadcast claims a lion; measurements don’t match. Liv shuts the TV off.
Night 12 — Ruiz Brothers
Telephoto ridge; pickup nosed into ditch; two white sheets laid far from the vehicle; headlight dies.
Day 13 — FR‑12 Closure
Detours; Colson: “We’re just making it worse.” Isolation begins.
Days 14–17 — Isolation / Second Hunt
Order dissolves; radio static constant. Liv studies Mason’s tower manual; understanding sharpens.
Day 18 (Twilight) — Liv’s Plan
She wires a flicker relay, seeds vibration through soil, half‑opens the barn — performing the maintenance pattern the owl hunts.
Night 18 — The Barn & The Clearing
Flicker → pressure drop → ignition → a burning silhouette erupts, rises, falters, crashes. Liv fires three measured rounds. Wind returns. Silence.
Dawn 19 — Restoration
Liv replaces red/green porch bulbs with two white ones. Neutral light. Breath fades. Camera holds; a crow lifts.