Run: 2026-03-25-01KMJ8RXV852M91FA1XCH7CD7G

**[Scene: A quiet corner of "Dakota Brew," a small café in Alborn, MN. Autumn leaves drift outside the windows. Melanie sits hunched over, her camera keypad lit up. She pauses at a photo of a shadowy figure backstage at the apple festival. Hunter, a man in a crisp windbreaker, steps up to her table, his tone low with urgency.]** **Hunter:** (casual, tapping the photo) "Mind if I sit?" *(Nods, takes the chair. Pauses, looking at her camera.)* "I’m asking everyone about last night’s festival. Did you notice anything... strange? Any unusual activity?" **Melanie:** (starts, then stares at the photo on her screen. Her voice trembles; she speaks quickly in German.) "*Das Bild von der Bühne... da war ein Mann. Er ist einfach... verschwunden!* I—I saw something. But I’m afraid... it’s proof." *(She traces the edges of the photo with her finger, then whispers to the table.)* "*Gott... der Schatten. Er ist nicht menschlich. Nicht*—*(sobs) —*ganz menschlich.*" **[Hunter leans forward, frown deepening. She closes the camera app and pushes a sheet of paper toward him—scribbles of a hunched figure with elongated limbs. He squints, uncomprehending, and finally shakes his head. A phone rings sharply. Hunter answers, stands.]** **Hunter:** (gruff) "Alborn PD. I’ll hold." *(Listens, face hardening.)* "Copy that. On my way." (Kisses coins on the table pressed against the paper drawing, then grabs his coat.) "Another case. You stay safe, okay?" *(He mutters the German phrase he once heard on a commercial: *„Guten Tag.“* Then winces, clearly missing the context.)* **Melanie:** (stands abruptly, fumbling for a napkin to sketch a location) "Wait! *Hier! Das Applelager. Niemand geht hin!* (Here! The apple warehouse. No one goes there!)" *(She scribbles a map fragment on a coffee stirrer and thrusts it into his hand.)* **[Hunter’s phone interrupts again. He glances at it, back at Melanie’s tear-streaked face. With a brisk nod to her sketch, he leaves, the door chiming as a yellow used-controller glint of the apple festival’s marquee fades with his exit.]** **Voice Sheet:** **Melanie:** "Das Bild von der Bühne... da war ein Mann. Er ist einfach... verschwunden!" "Ich... *ich habe jemanden gesehen, wie... wie er gezogen wurde.* Nicht Menschen." *(*Gott... der Schatten. Er ist nicht menschlich. Nicht*—*(sobs) —*ganz menschlich.*" "Wait! *Hier! Das Applelager. Niemand geht hin!* (She breathes deeply, lowers her voice.) Niemand..." **Hunter:** "Mind if I sit?" "I’m asking everyone about last night’s festival. Did you notice anything... strange?" "Another case. I’ll hold." "*Guten Tag.*" *(qualmishly)* "Your drawing—on it. The warehouse building at the edge of town? Are they working on something there?" "You stay safe, okay?" **[ фон: The café’s low hum of bluegrass music swells. A yellow leaf clings to one of Melanie’s glass windows, its edges trembling slightly as Hunter’s footsteps vanish into the afternoon.]**