Run: 2026-07-01-01KWE95YF3PHB2TBPPMTJNNQY0

The bell above the door of the Alborn Café jingled softly as the afternoon light slanted through the window, catching dust motes above Maria's table. She sat with her camera in her lap, thumb hovering over the review screen, flipping through photos with a small frown. Her coffee had gone cold beside her. Hunter stepped inside, scanning the room with the practiced eye of a man who never quite turned off duty. He spotted her — the woman with the camera who'd been seen near the orchard the night before — and crossed the room, pulling out the chair across from her without asking. **Hunter:** "Afternoon. Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. Mind if I ask you a few questions? Understand you were out by the Petersen orchard last night." Maria looked up, startled, her eyes wide and glassy, like she hadn't slept. **Maria:** "¿Qué? No... no entiendo. ¿Qué pasó? Dios mío, todavía no puedo creer lo que vi." *(What? I don't understand. What happened? My God, I still can't believe what I saw.)* Hunter's brow furrowed. He leaned back slightly, studying her. **Hunter:** "Whoa — hold on. English? Do you speak any English at all?" Maria shook her head quickly, clutching her camera tighter against her chest, her knuckles pale. **Maria:** "No hablo inglés. Lo siento. Pero... anoche, cerca del huerto — había algo extraño. Una luz. Y luego nada. Se fueron. No sé qué fue." *(I don't speak English. I'm sorry. But last night, near the orchard — there was something strange. A light. And then nothing. They were gone. I don't know what it was.)* Hunter exhaled through his nose, rubbing the back of his neck. **Hunter:** "Okay. Okay, that's — that's not gonna work. Do you have anybody with you? A translator, a friend, anything?" Maria's hands trembled slightly as she turned her camera around, showing him the small screen. On it was a photo — dark trees, a faint blur of light near the tree line, and beyond it, barely visible, a shape that could've been a person, or could've been nothing at all. **Maria:** "Mire. Esto es lo que vi. No sé si es importante, pero me asustó mucho." *(Look. This is what I saw. I don't know if it's important, but it scared me a lot.)* Hunter leaned forward, studying the photo despite not understanding a word she'd said. His jaw tightened. **Hunter:** "That's... huh. That's near where the Talbot kid went missing." He pulled out his own phone, snapping a picture of her camera screen, then looked back at her, frustration and curiosity warring on his face. **Hunter:** "You saw this last night? Near the orchard?" Maria nodded slowly, pointing toward the screen, then toward the window, gesturing vaguely toward the direction of the orchard outside of town. **Maria:** "Sí. Anoche. Fue horrible. No pude dormir después de eso." *(Yes. Last night. It was horrible. I couldn't sleep after that.)* Hunter sat back, exhaling. He didn't understand her words, but her face told him enough — fear, real fear. **Hunter:** "Alright. Alright, just — stay put. I'm gonna find someone who can translate, and we'll sort this out." Just then, his phone buzzed sharply against the table. He glanced at the screen, and his expression hardened instantly. **Hunter:** "Damn it — not now." He stood abruptly, already halfway into his jacket. **Hunter:** "I have to go. Don't leave town. I'll send someone to talk to you properly — don't delete anything on that camera, you hear me?" Maria blinked up at him, clearly lost by his words but sensing the urgency in his tone. **Maria:** "Espere... ¿adónde va? ¿Qué está pasando?" *(Wait... where are you going? What's happening?)* But Hunter was already moving toward the door, phone pressed to his ear, his voice low and clipped as he answered the call. The bell jingled again as he disappeared outside, leaving Maria alone with her camera, her cold coffee, and the photograph that refused to leave her mind.