**Voice Sheet: Melanie and Hunter at the Café** *Setting: A quiet morning at the Rustic Bean Café in Alborn, MN. Melanie sits at a corner table, quietly reviewing photos on her camera. Hunter enters, spots her, and approaches.* --- **Hunter:** (calm but direct) Excuse me, miss. Mind if I have a word? **Melanie:** (startled, looks up) Ach! Entschuldigung? Ich... ich verstehe nicht. **Hunter:** (frowning slightly) I’m sorry, do you speak English? **Melanie:** (shaken, clutching her camera) Nein... nein, ich... ich spreche nur Deutsch. Was... was wollen Sie? **Hunter:** (pauses, realizing) Right. English. You... were you at the apple festival last weekend? **Melanie:** (visibly uneasy, voice trembling) Der Apfelfest? Ja... ja, ich war da. Aber danach... danach habe ich etwas gesehen. Etwas... Seltsames. **Hunter:** (leaning in, intrigued but frustrated) You... saw something? At the festival? **Melanie:** (gesturing with her hands, trying to explain) Im Wald! Hinter den Ständen. Eine Tür... aus dem Nichts. Und dann... ein Mann. Er... er ging hinein. Und kam nicht wieder heraus. Ich habe Fotos gemacht... aber... *(She flips through her camera quickly, then freezes. Her eyes widen.)* **Melanie:** Nein... nein, das kann nicht sein. Die Bilder... sie sind weg. Alle weg! **Hunter:** (eyes narrowing, voice low) You took pictures? Of what? A man? A door? **Melanie:** (frustrated, near tears) Ich weiß nicht, wie ich es erklären soll! Es war... nicht normal. Und das Licht... wie aus einem anderen Ort. Und niemand sonst hat es gesehen! **Hunter:** (more intense now) A door in the woods... behind the festival grounds? Are you sure? **Melanie:** (nodding rapidly) Ja! Und der Mann... er trug einen alten Mantel. Mit einem Stern darauf. Silbernen Stern... *(Hunter stiffens. Recognition flashes in his eyes.)* **Hunter:** A silver star... like a military insignia? *(Before she can respond, Hunter’s phone rings sharply. He hesitates, then answers.)* **Hunter:** (into phone) Hunter. Talk to me. *(Pause. His expression hardens.)* **Hunter:** Another one? Where?... The old mill trail? Same area as the last... Understood. I’m on my way. *(He ends the call, looks at Melanie with a new urgency.)* **Hunter:** I gotta go. But stay here. Don’t go near the woods. Whatever you saw… it’s important. You understand? **Melanie:** (confused, gripping her camera) Ich... verstehe nicht. Was ist los? **Hunter:** (already turning to leave) Stay. Safe. And if you remember anything else—*anything*—find the police. *(He strides out. Melanie watches him go, then looks down at her camera. The screen flickers faintly. A single grainy image briefly appears: a door in the fog, a man in a coat with a silver star, halfway through stepping inside—then it vanishes.)* *(Silence. The café bell jingles.)* --- *End Scene*