Run: 2026-02-08-01KGYX9YZ5VDCQ88NY86K4S3JW

**Scene:** The Apple Core Cafe in Alborn, MN. Afternoon light streams through the window, catching the dust motes in the air. Melanie sits alone at a small wooden table, a half-eaten piece of apple pie next to a cold coffee. She is staring intently at the digital screen on her camera, replaying an image, her brow furrowed. Hunter, in a simple jacket and jeans, enters the cafe, his eyes scanning the room before landing on her. *** **VOICE SHEET** **Hunter:** "Excuse me. Melanie?" **Melanie:** [Looks up, startled. She clutches her camera to her chest.] "Ja?" **Hunter:** "I'm Detective Hunter. Alborn Police Department. Mind if I sit for a minute?" **Melanie:** [She gives a small, hesitant nod, her eyes wary.] "...Ja." **Hunter:** "Good. Thank you." [He sits. He gestures to her camera.] "I see you're a photographer. I was told a young woman with a camera was out near the old cider mill yesterday evening. That was you, wasn't it?" **Melanie:** [Her face pales. She looks down at the camera in her hands, her knuckles white.] "Ich... ich habe nichts getan." (I... I didn't do anything.) **Hunter:** "I'm sorry? What was that? Ma'am, I don't understand you. Are you speaking German?" **Melanie:** [Her voice is shaky, and she speaks faster, her distress growing.] "Es war schrecklich. Ich habe es gesehen. Durch den Sucher... ich habe ihn gesehen." (It was terrible. I saw it. Through the viewfinder... I saw him.) **Hunter:** "Whoa, slow down. I don't speak German. At all. Do you speak any English? Just a little?" **Melanie:** [Tears well in her eyes. She shakes her head frantically.] "Nein! Bitte, Sie müssen verstehen!" (No! Please, you have to understand!) [She holds up the camera.] "Die Fotos! Sie zeigen alles!" (The photos! They show everything!) **Hunter:** [He holds up his hands, trying to calm her. He points at the camera, then at his own eyes.] "The photos? You saw something... in the photos? Something bad?" **Melanie:** [Nodding vigorously, relief washing over her face that he might be understanding.] "Ja! Ja! Ein Mann! Er hat... er hat sie mitgenommen!" (Yes! Yes! A man! He... he took her away!) **Hunter:** "A man? You saw a man?" [He mimes pulling someone away.] "Took someone? Is that what you're saying?" **Melanie:** [She nods again, her expression horrified. She whispers.] "Er war... er war nicht menschlich." (He was... he wasn't human.) **Hunter:** "Not human? What does that...?" [His phone buzzes insistently in his pocket. He grimaces, pulling it out. He looks at the screen and his expression hardens.] "Hold on... Hunter." [He listens for a moment, his eyes closing briefly.] "Damn it. Where? The old grain silo? I'm on my way." [He hangs up and shoves the phone back in his pocket.] **Hunter:** [He looks back at Melanie, frustrated.] "Look, I have to go. This is important." [He pulls a business card from his wallet and slides it across the table to her. He points to it, then to her.] "You stay here. Don't go anywhere." [He points to himself, then to the door, and then back to her, trying to convey 'I'll be back'.] "I'll find someone who can translate. We need to talk about those photos. Okay?" **Melanie:** [She stares at the card, then at him, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. She looks utterly lost.] "Was... was soll ich jetzt tun?" (What... what am I supposed to do now?) **Hunter:** [He gives her a final, determined look, before turning and hurrying out of the cafe, the bell above the door jingling sharply in his wake. Melanie is left alone, staring at the business card and the terrible secrets trapped in her camera.]