Run: 2026-05-10-01KR8ZT05R74WWZB8FT3TEJW6Q

The late autumn chill of Alborn, Minnesota, seeped through the glass of the local café, where the scent of spiced cider hung heavy in the air. Marie sat by the window, her knuckles white as she clicked through the digital display of her DSLR camera. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes darting between the screen and the quiet, leaf-strewn street outside. Hunter pushed open the heavy door, the bell chiming a sharp, metallic note. He scanned the room, his eyes settling on the girl with the oversized lens. He adjusted his coat, his posture stiff—a habit carried over from his days in the Corps. He didn't like the look in her eyes; it was the same haunted expression he’d seen on the families of the missing. He walked over, pulling out the chair opposite her. *** **Voice Sheet** **Hunter:** "Excuse me, miss. I’m Detective Hunter. I saw you near the edge of the woods yesterday afternoon, right around the time the librarian went missing. Did you happen to see where she went, or if she was with anyone?" **Marie:** "Je... je ne sais pas comment expliquer... c’était terrifiant. Il y avait une ombre, une forme sombre dans les arbres, et puis... plus rien. Le silence était total, c’était comme si elle s’était évaporée dans la lumière. J’ai essayé de prendre une photo, mais tout est flou, regardez ! Regardez ce que j’ai capturé !" **Hunter:** "Slow down. I’m not following you. I just need to know if you saw a car or a person. Was there a struggle? Miss, are you listening to me?" **Marie:** "Mais vous ne comprenez pas ! Ce n’était pas un homme. C’était... c’était comme si l’air lui-même se déchirait. J’ai tellement peur, monsieur. Je ne devrais pas être ici, cette ville est maudite." **Hunter:** "Look, I keep asking for a time and a direction. I don't know what you're saying, but you're getting yourself worked up over nothing. I need a clear statement, not… whatever language that is." **Marie:** "Je ne peux pas rester ici. Vous cherchez des réponses normales, mais il n’y a rien de normal dans ces bois. Regardez mes mains, je tremble encore. Vous ne pouvez pas m'aider, personne ne peut." **Hunter:** *[Hunter’s pocket vibrates. He glances at his phone, his face hardening as he reads the caller ID. He stands up abruptly, frustrated.]* "Great. Look, stay put. My partner is at the station, he’ll be down here in ten minutes. Don't leave town." **Marie:** "Où allez-vous ? Attendez, vous ne comprenez pas le danger ! Monsieur ! S'il vous plaît, écoutez-moi !" *** Hunter turned his back on her, already barking into his radio as he stepped out into the crisp Alborn air, leaving Marie alone with the flickering screen of her camera and the gnawing fear that she was the only one who had seen a ghost.