Run: 2026-07-01-01KWEA46CYR5FCEPT21XD39N51

The bell above the café door chimed softly as Hunter stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on the young woman by the window, camera in her lap, thumb absently scrolling through photos on its display. She had that unmistakable look of someone replaying something over and over in her mind. He pulled out the chair across from her without asking. Melanie: "Oh—entschuldigen Sie, ich habe Sie nicht kommen hören." *(Oh—excuse me, I didn't hear you coming.)* Hunter: "Ma'am, I'm Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. Mind if I ask you a few questions about yesterday evening? You were near the old mill when the Sorensen girl went missing, weren't you?" Melanie blinked at him, her brow furrowing as she tried to piece together the rapid string of English words. She caught "detective" and "mill" but the rest slipped past her like water. Melanie: "Tut mir leid, ich... ich verstehe nicht. Sprechen Sie langsamer, bitte?" *(I'm sorry, I... I don't understand. Could you speak slower, please?)* Hunter: "You don't— okay. Okay, slow. Did. You. See. Anything. Near. The. Mill." She shook her head, more confused now, her fingers tightening around the camera as if it were an anchor. Melanie: "Ich war da, ja. Aber es war so dunkel, und dann hörte ich diesen Schrei—Gott, es war furchtbar." *(I was there, yes. But it was so dark, and then I heard this scream—God, it was awful.)* Hunter leaned forward, catching the shift in her tone, the way her hands had started to tremble slightly around the camera strap. Hunter: "Whoa—hey. Something's got you spooked, I can see that much. A scream? Did you hear a scream?" He mimed cupping his hands to his mouth, then pointed to his ear. Melanie's eyes widened with recognition, and she nodded emphatically, words spilling out faster now, almost frantic. Melanie: "Ja! Genau, ein Schrei! Ich habe versucht, Fotos zu machen von dem Sonnenuntergang, und dann—dann war da dieses Geräusch, und ich habe mich so erschrocken, dass mir die Kamera fast runtergefallen ist." *(Yes! Exactly, a scream! I was trying to take photos of the sunset, and then—then there was this sound, and I got so frightened that I almost dropped my camera.)* Hunter: "A sound. Right. Did you see who made it? A person—man, woman?" He held up two fingers, then made a vague human shape in the air, feeling increasingly ridiculous. Melanie stared at his hands, utterly lost, then shook her head and turned her camera toward him, flipping through the photo roll with shaking fingers until she landed on a shot of the tree line near the mill, shadows deep and strange in the dusk light. Melanie: "Hier—schauen Sie. Ich weiß nicht, ob es wichtig ist, aber da ist etwas komisch an diesem Baum." *(Here—look. I don't know if it's important, but there's something strange about this tree.)* Hunter squinted at the photo, unable to parse her words but recognizing the tension in her voice, the way she kept tapping one corner of the image. Hunter: "You want me to look at this? Alright—hang on, let me get someone from the station who speaks—do you know anyone who speaks English around here? A translator?" Melanie: "Ein... was?" *(A... what?)* She shook her head slowly, clearly catching only fragments. Before Hunter could try again, his phone buzzed sharply against the table. He glanced at the screen, jaw tightening. Hunter: "Damn it. That's dispatch." He looked back at Melanie, frustration and urgency warring on his face. "Stay here. Don't go anywhere, okay? I'll be back." Melanie: "Ich verstehe nicht, aber... okay?" *(I don't understand, but... okay?)* He was already halfway to the door, phone pressed to his ear, when he turned back once more. Hunter: "That photo—don't delete it. You hear me? Don't delete it!" Melanie watched him go, utterly bewildered, then looked down at the photo on her camera screen, at the strange dark shape half-hidden in the branches, and felt the unease settle deeper into her chest.