Run: 2026-04-25-01KQ2E4R9RA6ZAGCSGKQ9EEMJ9

**Maria:** *[Staring down at the camera’s digital screen, her brow furrowed. She zooms in on a photo, then quickly deletes it with a shaky finger.]* ...Ay, Dios mío. Esto no puede estar pasando. **Hunter:** *[Approaches the small cafe table, his shadow falling over Maria. He holds up his badge.]* Excuse me. Ma'am? Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. I’m looking for anyone who might have been near the old Hansen orchard yesterday evening. You fit a description. **Maria:** *[Looks up, startled. Her eyes are wide and red-rimmed. She clutches the camera to her chest like a shield.]* ¿Perdón? No le entiendo. Lo siento, no hablo inglés. **Hunter:** *[Sighs, his jaw tightening. He speaks slowly, louder, as if volume might bridge the gap.]* English? No? I need to know if you saw anything. Yesterday. Evening. At the apple orchard. *[He points a finger in the general direction of the east end of town.]* **Maria:** *[Follows the point of his finger and visibly flinches. A torrent of distressed Spanish spills out.]* ¿El huerto? Sí, sí, estuve allí. Fue horrible. No vi nada claramente, sólo... sombras. Y luego ese grito. He visto cosas malas en las fotos, pero nunca... nunca había escuchado un sonido así. Fue como si el silencio mismo se rompiera. **Hunter:** *[Kneels down to her level, his expression a mask of pure confusion. He pulls a small notepad from his pocket, but just stares at it, useless.]* Okay, slow down. Sounded like you said 'huerto'... orchard? You were at the orchard? *[He watches her face, trying to read her tone.]* You're spooked. What did you hear? A 'grito'? A yell? **Maria:** *[Nods frantically, her hands gesturing emphatically. She turns the camera screen towards him, showing him a blurry, dark image of twisted tree branches, an almost human-shaped silhouette in the deep background.]* ¡Mire! ¡Mire esto! Lo tomé justo antes de salir corriendo. No es una persona. Es algo... roto. No quería mirar atrás. Algo no está bien en este pueblo. ¡No está bien! **Hunter:** *[Squints at the tiny, grainy image, his face hardening. He can’t understand her words, but her terror is a universal language. He points a stern finger at the camera, then at a card he pulls from his pocket and places on the table.]* That. That photo. Don't delete it. Entiendes? No delete. Evidence. I'll need that camera. Do you understand? I'll be back. **Maria:** *[Stares at the card, then back up at him, her voice a terrified whisper.]* ¿Evidencia? ¿De qué? No quiero estar involucrada... sólo quiero irme a casa. *[Hunter’s phone erupts with a sharp, insistent ring. He glances at the screen: 'Station - Urgent'. He gives Maria one last, hard look.]* **Hunter:** *[Straightens up, answering the phone with a gruff, "Talk to me." He listens for a beat, his entire body going rigid. He snaps the phone shut and points once more at the camera.]* You stay put. I mean it. *[With that, he turns and strides away, already half-jogging towards his unmarked car, leaving a bewildered and trembling Maria alone with her terrible photograph.]*