Run: 2026-02-25-01KJ94X7QYRPMD2Z6YBPKEJFVF

**[SCENE START]** **Marie:** (Sits at a quaint cafe table in Alborn, a half-empty mug beside her, eyes focused intently on the screen of her camera, reviewing landscape photos. A soft sigh escapes her lips as she admires a particularly misty sunrise shot.) "C'est magnifique..." **Hunter:** (Approaches Marie's table, his posture military straight, a hint of weariness in his eyes. He clears his throat, gaining her attention.) "Excuse me, ma'am? Mind if I ask you a few questions?" **Marie:** (Looks up, startled a little, her camera still clutched in her hand. She blinks, a confused frown creasing her brow.) "Pardon?" **Hunter:** (His gaze falls on her camera, then back to her. He’s direct, no-nonsense.) "I'm Detective Hunter. I saw you around Miller's Creek yesterday afternoon. Were you taking pictures there? Specifically, between three and five o'clock?" **Marie:** (Her eyes widen slightly, a tremor starting in her hands as she remembers. The pleasant memory of the sunrise fades, replaced by something much darker. She clutches her camera tighter, her voice hushed, troubled, and shaken as she spills out her worry in rapid French.) "Oh! Hier... oui, j'étais là. C'était... *terrible*. J'ai seulement vu... une ombre, une lueur. Mon Dieu, j'ai eu tellement peur quand j'ai vu... ce vide. C'était là, et puis... parti." **Hunter:** (Listens, utterly bewildered. He catches her distressed tone, the fear in her eyes, but the words are a jumble. He leans forward slightly, a hint of frustration touching his features.) "Ma'am? I... I don't understand. Do you speak English?" **Marie:** (Shakes her head, her earlier attempts to explain still vivid in her mind. She gestures vaguely towards the west, towards the location of the creek, then makes a desperate, helpless motion with her hands.) "Non... non, pas d'anglais. Je suis désolée. Mais... c'était si étrange, si... *disparu*." **Hunter:** (Sighs, runs a hand through his short hair. This is going to be difficult. He tries another approach, speaking slowly and clearly, hoping keywords will land.) "Okay, okay. Miller's Creek. Yesterday. Did you see anything unusual? Anything out of place? A car? A person? Hear anything?" **Marie:** (Her brow furrows, clearly grasping parts of his inquiry – "Miller's Creek," "yesterday," "unusual" – but struggling to articulate. She points to her camera, then shakes her head vehemently, then makes a 'nothing left' gesture with her hands, a profound sadness in her eyes.) "Rien... le vide. Juste... le silence. Et ce froid... même sous le soleil." **Hunter:** (Leaning in, his voice dropping, his usual patience wearing thin but his detective's resolve kicking in. He knows she saw *something*.) "Look, it's important. Someone went missing. Anything at all you photographed that seemed... wrong?" **Marie:** (Her eyes welling up slightly with helplessness and the resurfacing memory of the unsettling scene, she shakes her head slowly, clutching her camera to her chest like a shield.) "Je ne peux pas... Je ne sais pas comment expliquer. C'est... au-delà de mes mots, monsieur. C'est comme si rien n'était là, mais je sais que quelque chose... n'allait pas." **Hunter:** (His phone buzzes urgently, startling them both. He glances at the screen, a flicker of urgency crossing his face, then looks back at Marie, a tight, apologetic line forming on his lips.) "Hold on. Detective Hunter." (He answers quickly, listening intently, his eyes scanning the cafe as if looking for an escape.) "...What? Now? ...I'm on my way." **Hunter:** (Snaps his phone shut, his face grim. He gives Marie a serious, albeit harried, look. He's clearly not finished, but this new development takes precedence.) "Look, I have to go. Something just came up. But we're not done. I'll... I'll find someone to translate. Don't go anywhere." (He gestures vaguely around the town, then turns abruptly and strides out of the cafe, leaving Marie bewildered.) **Marie:** (Watches him go, a bewildered expression on her face, still troubled by their non-conversation and the memory it brought forth. She sighs, picking up her camera again, but she doesn't resume looking at her photos, clearly too disturbed.) "Mais... qu'est-ce que...?" **[SCENE END]**