Run: 2026-02-25-01KJ95T4PCXRFH0CC1ESGD4WPB

Marie settles at a small outdoor table of the Alborn Café, the scent of fresh coffee mixing with the crisp autumn air. She sips her latte, then lifts her camera, its lens whirring softly as she scrolls through the recent captures. Her brow furrows slightly as she pauses on a specific image, a flicker of unease passing over her features. Just then, a man approaches her table, his frame broad and solid. He looks around, then his gaze lands on Marie and her camera. Hunter: "Excuse me, miss? Detective Hunter Miller, Alborn PD." He pulls out his badge briefly. "Do you have a moment? I'm asking folks around town if they've witnessed anything unusual in the past few days. Specifically, around the old apple orchard road?" Marie puts her camera down slowly, her hand trembling slightly as she glances up at him, her eyes wide with a troubled unease. Marie: "Oh, monsieur… pardon. C'était… c'était affreux. Je… je ne sais pas. J’ai vu quelque chose, oui. Mais… je ne comprends pas tout." Hunter: (Frowning, clearly not understanding a word) "I'm sorry, miss, I don't… speak French. Do you… do you speak English? Just basic conversational English?" Marie: (Shaking her head, her expression still fraught with worry) "Anglais? Non, je suis désolée. Pas encore." Hunter: (He sighs through his nose, running a hand over his short hair, trying to rephrase slowly) "Unusual. Did you… see… anything… unusual? Strange? Yesterday? Day before?" He tries to gesture vaguely towards the town. Marie: (Her eyes dart to her camera, then back to Hunter, her voice hushed and hurried) "Ceci… une photo… C'était… effrayant. Très, très effrayant." (She points to her camera again, her finger hovering over the screen.) Hunter: "Photos? You have photos? Of… of something strange? Can I… can I see them?" He leans in slightly, trying to look at the camera screen. Marie: (Pulling her camera back slightly, a look of distress on her face) "Oui, des photos. Mais la personne… elle était… (She makes a fleeting, almost startled, disappearing gesture with her hand) Partie. Puis… plus là. Je suis… très effrayée." Hunter: "Gone? Someone disappeared? You saw someone vanish?" His voice hardens with a sudden urgency, recognizing the word "disappeared" and the gesture. "Where? Where did they go? Can you show me on your camera? Is it *that* picture?" Marie: "Je ne sais pas où! Juste… (She shudders, her shoulders hunched) évaporée. Comme si elle n'avait jamais été là. Mon cœur… *il bat très fort*." Hunter: (Frustrated, he rubs his temples. This is critical, and he's missing it.) "Okay, okay. Just calm down. Take a breath. Try to… point. Where was this? What did you see?" Before Marie can attempt any further explanation, Hunter's phone buzzes violently in his pocket. He pulls it out, glancing at the caller ID, his face immediately going grim. Hunter: "Damn it." (Into the phone) "Miller. Talk to me." He listens, his body language becoming rigid. "On my way. Code Three." He snaps the phone shut, his eyes meeting Marie's with genuine regret. "I am so sorry, miss. I have to go. This is… important. Could you… wait here? I'll send someone who speaks French, maybe help translate?" Marie: (Her eyes still wide, she nods slowly, looking even more shaken by the abrupt departure) "Oui… d'accord." Hunter: "Thank you." He offers a strained, apologetic nod, then turns and strides quickly away, already pulling out his phone again, leaving Marie alone again with her troubling images and overwhelming fear.