Run: 2026-03-25-01KMJ8CRHPM6J32N1GEX6Z2RQ3

**Voice Sheet – Café Scene** *(Ambient café sounds: soft chatter, clinking cups, distant coffee machine hiss. Melanie sits near the window, flipping through photos on her camera, her brow slightly furrowed. Hunter enters, wearing a beige trench coat, eyes scanning before he approaches her table.)* **Hunter:** Excuse me, miss. You’ve been in town a few weeks now, right? I’m Detective Hunter. I’d like to ask you about the night of the festival—the apple festival. Did you see anything unusual after it ended? Anyone acting strange? *(Melanie looks up, startled. She shakes her head slightly, clutching her camera. She speaks quickly, distressed, in German.)* **Melanie:** *Ich… ich weiß nicht. Ich war am Waldrand… ich habe Fotos gemacht. Aber dann… dann habe ich… ein Geräusch gehört. Wie ein Schrei. Und danach… nichts. Nur Stille. Und… da war eine Lampe. Eine kaputte Laterne. Aber ich… ich bin weggerannt. Ich hatte Angst.* *(Hunter stares, clearly not understanding. He frowns, leaning forward slightly, voice steady but puzzled.)* **Hunter:** I… sorry. I don’t speak German. You’re shaking. Are you okay? Did you say you saw something? **Melanie:** *(Frustrated, switching attempt to broken English, hands gesturing toward her camera.)* I… was… taking pictures. Near woods. At night. After festival. Then… sound. Like… scream. Then… nothing. And light… broken. Then I run. I scared. **Hunter:** *(Eyes sharp, tone shifts to focused.)* You heard a scream? After the festival? Where exactly were you? Near the old orchard trail? **Melanie:** *(Nods fast, tapping her camera screen.)* Da—there. I show… *(She flips to a photo—an overexposed trail disappearing into dark trees, a crooked streetlamp flickering at the edge. A shadow near the base, blurred but vaguely human-shaped.)* **Hunter:** *(Leans in, squinting.)* That’s… that’s the north path. That shadow—did you see that when you took the picture? **Melanie:** *(Shakes head.)* No. I see after. On camera. Not… not with eyes. *(Hunter’s radio crackles. His phone rings. He pulls it out, glances at the caller ID—“Sheriff.” He hesitates, torn.)* **Hunter:** Stay here. Don’t leave town. I might need you again. Got it? **Melanie:** *(Worried, speaking slowly in broken English.)* You… believe me? **Hunter:** *(Pauses, then nods.)* I believe something scared you. That’s enough for now. *(His phone keeps ringing. He answers as he turns, already walking away.)* **Hunter:** Hunter. Yeah. On my way. *(He exits. Melanie stares after him, then down at her camera. The photo remains on screen—the dark shadow beneath the broken lamp.)* **[END SCENE]**