Run: 2026-06-01-01KT1HZCV1CT94N0PXRADT5BEH

# Scene: The Café on Main Street, Alborn, MN — Late Morning *The café is nearly empty. Pale light falls across a corner table where MELANIE (30) sits alone, her camera cradled in both hands. She's been staring at the same image for a long time — her tea has gone cold. HUNTER (35), in a plain jacket and badge on his belt, steps in from the cold and spots her. He approaches.* --- **Melanie:** *(not looking up, mumbling to herself)* "Das kann nicht echt sein... das kann einfach nicht..." *(That can't be real... it just can't be...)* **Hunter:** "Ma'am? Sorry to bother you. Detective Hunter, Alborn PD." *(slides into the chair across from her)* "Mind if I sit? I'm asking around about some things that have been happening in town. Folks going missing. You seen anything strange the past few days?" **Melanie:** *(looks up, startled; her eyes are red, her hands trembling around the camera)* "Ich... was? Entschuldigung, ich spreche kein Englisch. Ich—" **Hunter:** "I said— are you okay? You look pretty shaken up. You understand me?" **Melanie:** *(shakes her head slowly, then pushes the camera toward him, pointing urgently at the screen)* "Nein, nein — bitte, schauen Sie. Schauen Sie das Foto an. Hier — sehen Sie das?" *(No, no — please, look. Look at the photo. Here — do you see that?)* **Hunter:** *(squints at the screen, leans in)* "Hold on... is that a person? Back in the trees? Ma'am, I need you to tell me where this was taken. Can you do that for me?" **Melanie:** *(fumbles in her bag, pulls out a folded tourist brochure, taps a spot on the map)* "Der alte Apfelhain. Am Rand der Stadt. Ich war dort gestern Abend, ich wollte nur... nur die Landschaft fotografieren, das Licht nach der Apfelernte..." *(The old apple orchard. On the edge of town. I was there last night, I only wanted... only to photograph the landscape, the light after the apple harvest...)* **Hunter:** *(taps the map, nods slowly)* "The orchard. Okay. I know it. Alright, take it easy — I'm not gonna hurt you. I just need to understand what you saw." **Melanie:** *(voice cracking)* "Ich habe es erst heute Morgen bemerkt. Ich habe hundert Fotos gemacht, und auf diesem einen — ganz hinten, zwischen den Bäumen — da ist eine Gestalt. Sie hat sich nicht bewegt. Sie hat mich angestarrt." *(I only noticed it this morning. I took a hundred photos, and on this one — way in the back, between the trees — there's a figure. It wasn't moving. It was staring at me.)* **Hunter:** *(slumps back in the chair, rubs the bridge of his nose)* "Lady, I really wish I knew what you were saying. You look terrified, and that photo... yeah, there's definitely something back there." *(sighs)* "You got a name? Anybody I can call for you? Friend, roommate, anybody?" **Melanie:** *(whispers, clutching the camera strap like a lifeline)* "Bitte... bitte glauben Sie mir. Ich bin nicht verrückt. Es war da. Es war wirklich da." *(Please... please believe me. I'm not crazy. It was there. It was really there.)* **Hunter:** "I don't know a word of what you just said — but I believe you saw something. Stay right here. Don't leave. I'm gonna find somebody in this town who speaks German, and we're gonna sit down and figure this out." *(His phone buzzes. He glances at it — his expression hardens.)* **Hunter:** "I have to take this. Stay. Right. Here." *(stands, answers the call as he moves toward the door)* "Hunter... yeah. What do you got?..." *(He pauses at the threshold, looking back once at the woman still hunched protectively over her camera, and then he's gone, the little bell above the door chiming softly behind him.)*