Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXPBN0QYVB736YZMCFBZYV3

**Voice Sheet: Café Conversation in Alborn, MN** *(Maria sits at a small wrought-iron table outside the café, her fingers tracing the edges of her camera. The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across the cobblestone street. She glances up as Hunter approaches, his expression serious but not unkind. He pulls out the chair across from her and sits without waiting for an invitation.)* **Hunter:** *(leaning forward slightly, hands clasped on the table)* "Excuse me, miss. I’m Detective Hunter Cole. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about the other night—during the festival." **Maria:** *(startled, gripping her camera tighter; in rapid, anxious Spanish)* "¿El festival? ¡Dios mío, no quiero recordar! Vi algo… algo que no debería haber visto. La gente desaparece, ¿sabe? Como si la tierra se los tragara. Y ahora tengo miedo de que me encuentren a mí también." *(She shakes her head, eyes darting toward the street as if expecting someone.)* "No debí haber tomado esas fotos. Pero no podía parar. Es mi trabajo, ¿no? Capturar la belleza… pero esto no era belleza. Era…" *(She trails off, swallowing hard.)* **Hunter:** *(frowning, leaning back slightly)* "Whoa, whoa—hold on. I don’t… uh, I don’t speak Spanish. At all." *(He rubs his temple, clearly frustrated with himself.)* "Look, can you slow down? Maybe try English? Or…" *(He gestures vaguely, as if miming writing.)* "Write it down?" **Maria:** *(shaking her head, switching to broken but urgent English)* "No, no English. Lo siento. Pero…" *(She flips her camera around, scrolling through photos until she lands on one. She turns the screen toward him—a blurry shot of the festival at dusk, but in the corner, a dark figure dragging someone into the shadows near the old mill.)* "This. This is bad. Very bad. Yo vi… I saw…" *(She shudders, pulling the camera back to her chest.)* **Hunter:** *(eyes narrowing as he studies the photo, then looking back at her)* "You saw *what*? Who was that?" *(He pulls out a small notepad, clicking his pen.)* "And when was this taken?" **Maria:** *(in Spanish, then realizing he doesn’t understand, she points at the timestamp on the photo)* "Anoche. La última noche del festival. Después de la fogata. Todos estaban…" *(She makes a sweeping gesture with her hand, then mimes people dancing.)* "Felices. Pero luego…" *(She mimes someone being grabbed, her face twisting in fear.)* "No sé quién era. Pero llevaban algo. Como…" *(She gestures to her own face, then mimes a mask or hood.)* **Hunter:** *(grunting, scribbling notes)* "Okay, okay. So you saw someone—*something*—taking a person near the mill. You got a photo. That’s… that’s actually really helpful." *(He looks up at her, his tone softening.)* "You’re not in trouble, alright? But I need you to stay somewhere safe. Do you have a place to stay? Somewhere with people who can—" *(His phone rings sharply, cutting him off. He glances at the screen, his jaw tightening.)* **Hunter:** *(answering, standing abruptly)* "Cole." *(A pause. His expression darkens.)* "Yeah. Yeah, I’m on my way." *(He hangs up, looking back at Maria, who’s watching him with wide, frightened eyes.)* "Look, I gotta go. But *do not* go back to that mill. And don’t go anywhere alone, you hear me?" *(He hesitates, then pulls a business card from his wallet, sliding it across the table. He points at it, then at her.)* "If you see anything else—*anything*—you call me. Got it?" **Maria:** *(nodding quickly, taking the card with trembling fingers)* "Sí. Sí, lo haré. Pero…" *(She looks up at him, her voice barely above a whisper.)* "Tenga cuidado, Detective. No es solo una persona. Son… muchos." **Hunter:** *(pausing, clearly not understanding but reading the fear in her eyes)* "Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be careful." *(He gives her a curt nod, then turns and strides away, his coat flaring behind him as he disappears around the corner.)* *(Maria exhales shakily, clutching the business card to her chest. She glances down at her camera, then quickly tucks it into her bag, as if afraid someone might see it.)*