Run: 2026-02-16-01KHM5D55W88BVHM6YG0P84NDP

**SCENE START** **SETTING:** A small, cozy café in Alborn, MN. The decor is rustic, with checkered tablecloths and the faint, sweet smell of baked apples lingering in the air. MARIE (30, French, holding a digital camera) sits alone at a corner table, staring intently at the camera’s playback screen. Her expression is pale and troubled. DETECTIVE HUNTER (35, serious, in a practical jacket) approaches her table. **(Sound of café murmurs, clinking cups)** **Hunter:** Excuse me, miss? Mind if I sit? **(Marie looks up, startled. She gives a small, hesitant nod.)** **Hunter:** (Sitting opposite her) I’m Detective Hunter. I’m investigating the… incident last night. Out by the old mill. You were listed as being in the area, taking photographs for the festival promotion. Did you see anything unusual? **(Marie’s eyes widen. She clutches her camera tighter and speaks rapidly, her voice shaking.)** **Marie:** (In French) *Les lumières… il y avait des lumières bleues dans les bois. Et un silence. Un silence absolu, ce n’était pas normal. J’ai essayé de prendre une photo, mais mon appareil… il a tout effacé. Tout a disparu.* (The lights… there were blue lights in the woods. And a silence. An absolute silence, it wasn't normal. I tried to take a picture, but my camera… it erased everything. Everything is gone.) **Hunter:** (Leaning forward, confusion and frustration on his face) I’m sorry, I don’t… I don’t understand. Do you speak English? Did you *see* anything? **(Marie shakes her head, not understanding his question. She holds out her camera, pointing at the blank screen, her distress evident.)** **Marie:** (In French, pleading) *Regardez! Les photos sont parties. Comme les gens. Disparues.* (Look! The pictures are gone. Like the people. Gone.) **Hunter:** (Sighs, running a hand over his face) Pictures? You’re talking about pictures? Look, was there a person? A vehicle? Anything I can actually work with? **(Before Marie can attempt to mime or find another way to communicate, Hunter’s phone rings sharply. He holds up a finger to Marie.)** **Hunter:** Hunter. **(He listens, his expression turning grim.)** **Hunter:** What? Where? Alright. I’m on my way. Five minutes. **(He stands up, shoving the phone back in his pocket. He looks down at Marie, who seems small and frightened.)** **Hunter:** I have to go. Don’t… don’t leave town. We’ll need to talk again. With a translator. **(He turns and strides out of the café, leaving Marie alone. She looks from the empty doorway back to the blank screen of her camera, then slowly picks up a half-eaten apple core from her saucer, staring at it as if it’s a clue she can’t decipher.)** **(Sound of café door bell jingling shut.)** **SCENE END**