Run: 2026-02-20-01KHY9ZZ2V672Y1067S4TFYGKE

**VOICE SHEET: SCENE – THE CAFÉ CONFRONTATION** **Setting:** A quaint, sunlit café in Alborn, MN. The scent of fresh-brewed coffee and cinnamon rolls lingers in the air. Marie sits at a small table near the window, her camera open beside her, its lens covered in dust. She stares blankly at the photos she’s developed—some blurry, some eerily still. Hunter, in his rumpled jacket, leans against the table across from her, arms crossed. --- ### **DIALOGUE** **HUNTER** *(in English, blunt and direct)* "Marie?" *(She doesn’t react. He clears his throat, tries again.)* **HUNTER** "Marie. You’re the French girl, right? The one with the camera?" *(She flinches. Her fingers tighten around the edge of the table. She speaks in rapid, halting French, her voice trembling.)* **MARIE** *(whispering, distressed)* "Oui… oui, c’est moi. Mais… *quoi* ?" *(Hunter blinks, confused. He doesn’t understand a word. He leans forward, frowning.)* **HUNTER** *(in English, frustrated)* "Marie, I don’t speak French. What’s going on?" *(She exhales sharply, her shoulders slumping. She looks around the café, then back at him, her eyes wide with fear.)* **MARIE** *(urgent, urgent)* "Il y a eu… *une disparition* ! Une autre ! Hier soir, près du lac. Une femme—*elle avait une robe rouge*—elle a juste… *disparue* ! Comme les autres !" *(Hunter’s jaw tightens. He straightens, his Marine instincts kicking in.)* **HUNTER** *(in English, low and serious)* "Who told you this?" **MARIE** *(whispering, terrified)* "Un… un pêcheur. Il m’a vue prendre des photos près du lac. Il a dit… *elle n’est plus là*." *(Hunter’s eyes darken. He pulls out his notebook, flips to a fresh page, and scribbles rapidly.)* **HUNTER** "When did this happen?" **MARIE** *(hesitant, then more determined)* "Vers minuit. Je… je suis restée pour photographier les étoiles. Puis j’ai entendu des cris. Puis… *rien*." *(Hunter’s pen pauses. He looks up, his expression grim.)* **HUNTER** "And the others? The disappearances before this?" **MARIE** *(nodding, voice breaking)* "Oui. Trois femmes. Toutes près de l’eau. Toujours la nuit. Toujours… *silencieuses*." *(Hunter’s mind races. He glances at his watch, then back at her.)* **HUNTER** "Marie, do you know if any of these women were tourists?" **MARIE** *(shaking her head)* "Non. Elles portaient des vêtements… *comme les gens d’ici*. Mais… *pourquoi* ? Pourquoi elles ?" *(Hunter exhales sharply, rubbing his temples. He needs to move—this is a lead, a pattern. But first, he needs to understand.)* **HUNTER** "Marie, can you describe the last one? The red dress. What did she look like?" *(She hesitates, then closes her eyes, as if seeing it again. Her voice is quieter now, almost resigned.)* **MARIE** "Elle était… jeune. Peut-être vingt-cinq ans. Cheveux bruns, un peu emmêlés. Elle avait l’air… *perdue*." *(Hunter scribbles furiously. His phone buzzes in his pocket. He checks it—an unknown number. He answers abruptly.)* **HUNTER** *(into phone, gruff)* "Yeah?" *(Marie watches him, her expression unreadable. He listens for a moment, then nods sharply.)* **HUNTER** *(hanging up, to Marie)* "Got a call. Someone found something near the river. I gotta go." *(He stands abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. He tosses a business card onto the table—his name, his number, his agency’s logo.)* **HUNTER** "Marie. If you think of anything else—*anything*—call me. Even if it’s just a bad feeling." *(She stares at the card, then at him. She doesn’t speak. He nods once, then walks away, his boots echoing on the wooden floor.* **HUNTER** *(over his shoulder, without turning)* "Oh, and Marie?" *(She looks up. He pauses at the door, his hand on the handle.)* **HUNTER** "Try not to take any more photos near the water. Not until I know what’s going on." *(The door swings shut behind him. Marie sits there for a long moment, the card between her fingers. Then she picks up her camera, her hands shaking slightly as she flips through the photos—some of the lake, some of the stars, and one, blurred and grainy, of a woman in a red dress standing at the water’s edge… before she vanished.)* --- **END SCENE.**