Run: 2026-02-19-01KHVP14DRGRM9ATVMKVXZMBKA

**[Scene Start]** *(Cafe patio in Alborn, Minnesota. Selvi sits alone at a small table, her untouched coffee growing cold. She is frantically clicking through the digital display of her DSLR camera, her hands trembling. Detective Hunter approaches, his posture rigid and formal.)* Hunter: "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm Detective Hunter. Mind if I sit down? I'm looking into the recent disappearances around the apple festival grounds, and folks said you were out there taking pictures yesterday." Selvi: *(Jumps slightly, clutching her camera to her chest. She looks up with wide, frightened eyes)* "क्या? आप कौन हैं? मुझे समझ नहीं आ रहा है।" *(What? Who are you? I don't understand.)* Hunter: *(Frowns, pulling out a notepad)* "I just need to ask you a few questions. Did you see anything unusual near the orchards?" Selvi: *(Shaking her head rapidly, her breathing shallow)* "मैं अंग्रेज़ी नहीं बोलती। कृपया, मैंने जो देखा... वह बहुत भयानक था। सेब के बाग के पास... वह आदमी बस धुंध में गायब हो गया!" *(I don't speak English. Please, what I saw... it was so terrible. Near the apple orchard... that man just vanished into the fog!)* Hunter: *(Stares blankly, lowering his pen)* "Okay. So, that's not English. Hindi, maybe? Listen, miss. Do you speak any English? At all? Hello? Yes? No?" Selvi: *(Tears welling up in her eyes, she points frantically at the screen of her camera)* "यहाँ देखिए! तस्वीरें! एक परछाई थी। उसने उस आदमी को खींच लिया!" *(Look here! The pictures! There was a shadow. It dragged that man away!)* Hunter: *(Leans in, trying to make out her frantic pointing)* "You want me to look at the camera? Okay. Let me see." *(He reaches his hand out to take the camera)* Selvi: *(Jerks the camera back tightly, protective)* "नहीं! इसे मत छुओ! यह मेरा है!" *(No! Don't touch it! It's mine!)* Hunter: *(Hands up in a placating, tactical gesture)* "Whoa, easy there. I'm not taking your gear. Look." *(He reaches slowly into his jacket and pulls out his badge, tapping the gold shield)* "Police. Po-lice. I'm trying to find the missing people." Selvi: *(Stares at the badge, her shoulders dropping slightly in relief)* "पुलिस? आप पुलिस हैं? हे भगवान..." *(Police? You are police? Oh God...)* *(She carefully turns the camera around and slides it across the table, pointing at a blurry figure in the background of a landscape shot)* "यह देखिए। यह वह आदमी है जो कल रात गायब हुआ था।" *(Look at this. This is the man who disappeared last night.)* Hunter: *(Squints at the tiny LCD screen, his no-nonsense demeanor sharpening into intense focus)* "Is that... wait. That's Old Man Higgins' jacket. And what the hell is that shape behind him? You took this near the north orchard?" Selvi: *(Recognizing his tone of discovery, she nods enthusiastically, though still terrified)* "हाँ! हाँ! सेब के पेड़ों के पास। क्या आप उसे ढूँढ सकते हैं?" *(Yes! Yes! Near the apple trees. Can you find him?)* Hunter: *(Taps the screen, then points to his own eyes, then to the woods outside the window)* "Did you see this with your own eyes? Did you see where he went?" Selvi: *(Mimics his gesture, then covers her face with her hands, shuddering)* "हाँ। मैंने देखा। कोई आवाज़ नहीं थी... बस सन्नाटा।" *(Yes. I saw. There was no sound... just silence.)* *(Hunter’s cell phone suddenly blares a loud, sharp ringtone. He sighs in frustration and pulls it from his pocket.)* Hunter: "Hold that thought. Don't go anywhere." *(Answers phone)* "Hunter. ... What do you mean 'another one'? ... At the festival grounds? ... Dammit. Secure the perimeter, I'm five minutes out." *(He hangs up and looks at Selvi, pointing firmly at the table)* "I have to leave. Emergency. You stay here. Stay. Understand?" Selvi: *(Noticing his urgency, she pulls her camera back to safety and nods slowly)* "आप जा रहे हैं? संभल कर जाना... वहाँ जंगल में कुछ बुरा है।" *(You are leaving? Be careful... there is something evil in those woods.)* Hunter: "I don't know what you just said, but keep that camera safe. I'll be back for you." **[Scene End]**