Run: 2026-03-03-01KJV010K2XMZWYRS8XDEHCSSB

The crisp autumn air of Alborn, Minnesota, carried the scent of spiced cider and ripening apples. Inside The Rusty Apple Café, Maria sat by the window, the soft light catching the lens of her Canon. She wasn’t looking at the world outside; she was scrolling through her digital display, her brow furrowed as she zoomed in on a blurry image of the forest edge from the previous night. Hunter entered the café, his heavy boots sounding a rhythmic, no-nonsense beat against the wooden floor. He wore his badge pinned to his coat, his eyes scanning the room with the practiced intensity of a man who had seen too much. He stopped at Maria’s table, pulling out a chair without waiting for an invitation. *** **Hunter:** "Excuse me, miss. I’m Detective Hunter. I’m looking into the folks who’ve gone missing near the orchard lately. You were out with that camera of yours near the woods yesterday evening—did you see anything unusual?" **Maria:** (She looks up, startled, clutching her camera to her chest. Her eyes are wide, reflecting the lingering terror of what she had captured.) "¡Señor, por favor! Fue horrible... vi una sombra cerca de los manzanos, algo que no parecía humano. ¡Se movía muy rápido, como si huyera de algo aún peor! ¿Qué clase de lugar es este? ¡Tengo miedo de salir sola!" **Hunter:** (Frowning, he leans forward, his hands flat on the table, trying to catch a recognizable word.) "Whoa, slow down. I—look, I don't follow you. Is there a problem with the orchard path? Did you see a person, or was it just the lighting?" **Maria:** (She points frantically at the camera screen, her breath hitching.) "¡Mire! ¡Ahí, en la esquina de la foto! ¡Esa mancha oscura! ¡No era una persona, era algo... diferente! ¿No entiende? ¡Alguien más va a desaparecer!" **Hunter:** (He squints at the tiny, grainy digital screen, feeling a headache pricking at his temples.) "That’s just a blur, miss. A smudge on the lens, maybe? Look, I need you to stay in town. Don't go back to those woods. Can you understand 'stay'?" **Maria:** (She begins to tremble, shaking her head rapidly, her voice rising in pitch.) "¡No puede ser solo una mancha! ¡Lo sentí! ¡El frío... el silencio de los pájaros! ¡Por favor, necesito hablar con alguien que entienda el peligro!" **Hunter:** (His phone vibrates sharply in his pocket, a harsh mechanical buzz cutting through the tension. He glances at the screen and sighs, his jaw tightening into a grim line.) "Blast it. Duty calls. Look, keep that camera safe. Don’t go near the orchard, you hear me? Stay. Put. I have to go." **Maria:** (She watches him stand abruptly and head for the door, her hands shaking as she taps the screen of her camera.) "¡Espere! ¡Señor, no se vaya! ¡Todavía no me ha entendido nada!"