## Scene: The Alborn Apple Cafe The aroma of cinnamon and baked apples hung heavy in the air of the Alborn Apple Cafe, a cozy haven amidst the crisp autumn chill. Marie, nursing a lukewarm café au lait, was lost in the glowing screen of her digital camera. Her fingers, usually so deft at capturing mountain vistas and sun-drenched village squares, now trembled slightly as she scrolled through recent shots. The vibrant colours of the apple orchard, so recently a source of joy, now seemed tinged with an unsettling hue. The bell above the door jingled, announcing a new arrival, and Marie barely registered it until a shadow fell across her table. She looked up, her bright blue eyes widening slightly as she took in the broad-shouldered man standing before her. Detective Hunter. He radiated a quiet intensity, his gaze sharp and focused. **Hunter:** "Excuse me, miss. Detective Hunter. I'm looking into the… incident down by the old mill yesterday. You wouldn't happen to have seen anything unusual, would you?" His voice was a low rumble, tinged with the dryness of the Midwest. Marie’s brow furrowed, a flicker of something akin to panic crossing her face. She clutched her camera a little tighter. The "incident" he was referring to was far from unusual; it was terrifying. She opened her mouth, and a torrent of French, laced with a tremor she couldn't quite suppress, spilled out. **Marie:** "Mais, monsieur! C'était... c'était horrible! J'étais là, pour prendre des photos, et j'ai entendu un cri! Puis, rien. Un silence. Et une... une ombre. Je ne sais pas ce que c'était, mais ça m'a tellement effrayée. Je pensais que... je ne sais pas. C'était le mal incarné. Je suis encore secouée. Je n'aurais jamais dû aller là-bas. Jamais. Mon appareil photo... il a capturé quelque chose, je crois. Mais je n'ose pas regarder de près. Mon dieu..." Hunter stared at her, his expression a mask of polite bewilderment. The rapid-fire French washed over him, a complete enigma. He blinked, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. He caught "horrible," maybe, and "scared," but the rest was a foreign language. **Hunter:** "Whoa, hold on there. I… I don't understand. Are you alright? You look… upset." He tried a more simplified approach, his gaze scanning her face for any recognizable emotion. "Did you *see* something? Someone?" Marie, realizing her words were falling on deaf, utterly confused ears, wrung her hands. She pointed to her camera, then mimed a flash, and a figure disappearing. She then made a gesture of profound fear, her eyes wide. **Marie:** "Je comprends pas. Vous parlez anglais? L'incident… près du moulin?" She pointed vaguely in the direction of the mill, then tapped her camera and made a quick, sharp gesture of something vanishing. "J'ai vu… un bruit. Un cri fort. Puis une chose. Une chose qui n'était pas humaine. Elle a... elle a disparu." Her voice was a whisper, strained. Hunter ran a hand over his jaw, frustration beginning to creep into his steady demeanor. He understood "mill" and "heard," and the pointing helped, but the rest was lost. He fished his phone out of his pocket, hoping for a distraction or a lifeline. It buzzed insistently on the table. **Hunter:** "Look, I'm sorry, I really don't speak French. Not a word. But I need to understand what you saw. Could you… maybe try to draw it?" He gestured to a napkin and a pen on the table. "However you can explain." Just as Marie reached for the napkin, her phone, tucked away in her pocket, vibrated fiercely. Hunter’s gaze snapped to his own phone, the screen displaying an urgent notification. He sighed, a sound of weary resignation. **Hunter:** "Damn it. Unrelated, but I gotta go. Something's come up. Another disappearance. Look, miss, I'll be back. I'll find someone who can translate. You stay put, alright?" He offered a curt nod, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer, a mixture of concern and professional intrigue warring within him. Then, with another jingle of the cafe door, he was gone, leaving Marie alone with her bewildering experience and the lingering scent of apples. --- ## Voice Sheet: **Marie:** "Mais, monsieur! C'était... c'était horrible! J'étais là, pour prendre des photos, et j'ai entendu un cri! Puis, rien. Un silence. Et une... une ombre. Je ne sais pas ce que c'était, mais ça m'a tellement effrayée. Je pensais que... je ne sais pas. C'était le mal incarné. Je suis encore secouée. Je n'aurais jamais dû aller là-bas. Jamais. Mon appareil photo... il a capturé quelque chose, je crois. Mais je n'ose pas regarder de près. Mon dieu..." **Hunter:** "Excuse me, miss. Detective Hunter. I'm looking into the… incident down by the old mill yesterday. You wouldn't happen to have seen anything unusual, would you?" **Marie:** "Je comprends pas. Vous parlez anglais? L'incident… près du moulin? J'ai vu… un bruit. Un cri fort. Puis une chose. Une chose qui n'était pas humaine. Elle a... elle a disparu." **Hunter:** "Whoa, hold on there. I… I don't understand. Are you alright? You look… upset. Did you *see* something? Someone?" **Hunter:** "Look, I'm sorry, I really don't speak French. Not a word. But I need to understand what you saw. Could you… maybe try to draw it? However you can explain." **Hunter:** "Damn it. Unrelated, but I gotta go. Something's come up. Another disappearance. Look, miss, I'll be back. I'll find someone who can translate. You stay put, alright?"