Run: 2026-03-11-01KKFGEH0ATANQ10VX4JTYR0K9

# Voice Sheet — Scene: "Café Encounter" --- **Selvi:** *[seated at a small corner table at Alborn's Main Street Café, scrolling through photos on her camera]* **Hunter:** *[approaching, standing over her table]* "Excuse me — ma'am? Mind if I sit down?" **Selvi:** *[looking up, startled, clutching her camera to her chest]* "…नमस्ते?" **Hunter:** *[pulling out the chair opposite her and sitting heavily]* "I'm Detective Hunter. I'm investigating some — uh — some things that have been going on around town. You're the woman staying at the Oakwood Inn, right? The one on the exchange program?" **Selvi:** *[nodding slowly, eyes wide, still holding her camera tight]* "…हाँ।" **Hunter:** "Good. Okay, good. I just have a couple questions. There's been a — well, there's been a series of disappearances. People vanishing. No leads. I'm trying to talk to everyone who's arrived in town recently." *[pauses, studying her face]* "You been out taking photos lately? Around the outskirts of town?" **Selvi:** *[her expression shifting — troubled, shaken — she lowers her camera to the table and speaks rapidly]* "हाँ — मैं कल फ़ोटो ले रही थी — पेड़ों के पास — और मैंने एक आदमी देखा — वह मुझे देख रहा था — बहुत डर लगा मुझे —" **Hunter:** *[staring blankly, blinking]* "I'm sorry — I don't — I didn't catch any of that. Are you — uh — are you okay?" **Selvi:** *[frustrated, pressing her hands to her temples, switching to slower, deliberate Hindi]* "मैं… कह रही हूँ… कि मैंने… एक आदमी… देखा…" **Hunter:** *[leaning back, rubbing the back of his neck]* "I genuinely have no idea what you're saying. Not a single word. I'm sorry." **Selvi:** *[pulling her phone out, furiously typing, then turning it around to show him — a translation app on the screen: "I saw a man watching me while I was taking photos near the trees. He frightened me."]* **Hunter:** *[reading the screen, his demeanor shifting — leaning forward, all business]* "A man. Watching you. Where, exactly? Near the trees — you mean the tree line off County Road 7?" **Selvi:** *[typing again, holding up the phone: "Yes. Past the old barn. He stood very still. Not normal. Then he was gone."]* **Hunter:** *[writing in a small notebook, nodding slowly]* "That's — yeah, that's right near where the last one went missing. Mrs. Calloway. Disappeared two weeks ago." *[looks up at Selvi]* "Can you describe him?" **Selvi:** *[typing, showing her phone: "Tall. Dark coat. I could not see his face."]* **Hunter:** *[exhaling heavily]* "That matches what the other witnesses said — before *they* went quiet too. Listen, you shouldn't go out there alone anymore. Understand? Stay in town. Stay around people." **Selvi:** *[nodding, but her eyes are glassy — she's rattled, pulling her camera closer as if it were a shield]* "…ठीक है।" **Hunter:** *[softening slightly]* "Look, I know this is — I know it's a lot. Being in a new place, not speaking the language, and now *this* on top of it. You're safe right now. Okay? Right here, right now, you're safe." **Selvi:** *[offering a small, shaky smile]* "…धन्यवाद।" **Hunter:** *[half-smiling despite himself]* "I have no idea if that was a thank-you or an insult." **Selvi:** *[typing on her phone, turning it toward him with a slight grin: "It was a thank you. Mostly."]* **Hunter:** *[a rare, brief laugh]* "Fair enough." *[Hunter's phone buzzes loudly on the table. He glances at the screen, and his face tightens immediately.]* **Hunter:** *[answering]* "Hunter here." *[listening, jaw clenching]* "Where? …When? …I'm on my way." *[hanging up, already standing]* "Someone else is missing. A jogger — vanished off the old mill trail an hour ago." *[grabbing his coat, looking back at Selvi with a grave expression]* "Stay in town. I mean it. I'll be in touch." **Selvi:** *[watching him go, alone again at her small table, hugging her camera, whispering]* "…भगवान मदद करे।" *[She looks down at her camera screen — the last photo she took — and freezes. There, in the corner of the frame, barely visible in the shadows between the trees: a tall figure in a dark coat, watching.]* --- *[End of scene.]*