Run: 2026-03-03-01KJTYW6357PYA7S1FCNW66CR4

The air in the Alborn cafe smelled of cinnamon sugar and damp wool, a hallmark of the mid-October apple festival season. Maria sat by the window, her fingers trembling slightly as she toggled through the playback on her Canon. Each shot captured the quaint, autumnal beauty of the Midwest—until she reached the last three, blurry images she had snapped near the woods. Hunter pushed the cafe door open, the bell chiming sharply. He moved with the precision of a man who still counted his steps in cadence. He’d seen the girl’s camera around town for two days; she was the only one who seemed to be wandering alone near the perimeter of the disappearances. He pulled out the chair across from her, his expression a mask of official, no-nonsense exhaustion. *** **Voice Sheet** **Hunter:** "Excuse me. I’m Detective Hunter. I’ve seen you around town with that camera all week. You were near the north orchard trail yesterday evening, weren't you? Tell me, did you see anything unusual? Anyone heading toward the treeline?" **Maria:** *(Whirling the camera around, her knuckles white, voice breathless and spilling over with frantic urgency)* "¡Por favor, señor! No entiendo lo que dice, pero tiene que escucharme. ¡Vi algo en el bosque! Había una figura... era alta, oscura, moviéndose entre los árboles justo antes de que el sonido se detuviera. ¡Estaba aterrorizada! Mi cámara... intenté enfocar, pero todo se volvió negro de repente. ¡Necesito irme de aquí, este pueblo no es seguro!" **Hunter:** *(Furrowing his brow, leaning back with a frustrated sigh)* "Slow down. I’m not following a word of that. Look, miss, 'espan-yol' isn't in my repertoire. Can you give me a name? Or point to a location on a map? You’re acting like you’ve seen a ghost, and I need facts, not theatrics." **Maria:** *(Gesturing wildly at the blurry photos on her display)* "¡Mire esto! ¡No entiende la gravedad! ¡Es una locura, esto no es humano! Nadie aquí sabe lo que está pasando en la oscuridad, pero yo lo vi. ¿Por qué no me escucha? ¡Necesito ayuda, no una entrevista!" **Hunter:** *(Running a hand through his hair, his voice hard but clipped)* "I’m getting absolutely nothing from you. You’re clearly rattled, but I can’t build a case on pantomime. I’m going to need you to find someone who speaks your language, because right now, we’re just wasting daylight." *(Hunter’s radio crackles violently against his hip, a sharp, dissonant static that cuts through the cafe's chatter. He taps the device, his eyes turning cold and alert.)* **Hunter:** "Hunter here. Copy that. Heading to the site now." *(He stands up abruptly, placing a business card on the table without looking at her.)* "Stay put, and stay out of the woods. Don't leave town until I check back in. We're done here."