Run: 2026-07-01-01KWEA8JBBMYT5ZB1QPSR27TZM

**Scene: The Copper Kettle Café, Alborn, MN — Late Morning** *The café is quiet except for the low hum of the espresso machine. Maria sits near the window, turning her camera over in her hands, scrolling through photos with a furrowed brow. Hunter enters, shaking rain off his jacket, and scans the room before making his way to her table.* Maria: *(muttering to herself, not noticing him yet)* "No puede ser… esto no estaba aquí ayer." Hunter: "Excuse me — Maria, right? You're the exchange student staying at the Whitmores' place?" Maria: *(startled, looking up)* "¿Perdón? Ah, sí… soy yo." Hunter: "I heard you were out by the old mill yesterday evening. Taking pictures. That right?" Maria: *(nodding slowly, her hands tightening around the camera)* "Sí, sí, estaba allí. Fui a fotografiar el atardecer, pero… vi algo extraño. Muy extraño." Hunter: *(frowning)* "I'm sorry — I don't... I don't speak Spanish. Can you tell me in English? Anything at all?" Maria: *(shaking her head, flustered, speaking faster)* "No, no entiendo — I mean, no hablo inglés. Lo siento, pero tiene que ver con las luces, las luces cerca del molino. Se movían solas, como si alguien las llevara, pero no vi a nadie." Hunter: *(sighing, rubbing his temple)* "Lights. Okay— I caught the word 'luces.' That's lights, right? Near the mill?" Maria: *(brightening slightly, relieved he understood something)* "¡Sí! Luces. Exacto. Se apagaron cuando me acerqué. Y después escuché pasos, pero cuando miré, no había nadie." Hunter: "Footsteps... after the lights went out. Did you get a picture? Anything on that camera?" Maria: *(hesitating, glancing down at the camera)* "Tengo una foto, pero está borrosa. No sé si servirá de algo." *She turns the camera toward him, scrolling to a dark, grainy image — the faint outline of a figure near the tree line, indistinct in the dusk light.* Hunter: *(leaning in, studying the photo carefully)* "That's... something. I wish you could tell me more. We need someone who speaks Spanish down at the station — soon as possible." Maria: *(quietly, almost to herself)* "Ojalá pudiera explicarlo mejor. Tengo miedo de que vuelva a pasar." Hunter: *(catching the tone, if not the words)* "Yeah... I hear you. Something's not right in this town." *Hunter's phone buzzes sharply in his pocket. He glances at the screen, expression hardening.* Hunter: "I have to take this — it's the station. Stay put, alright? I'll send someone who can actually talk to you." Maria: *(nodding, though clearly not catching everything)* "Vale... está bien. Estaré aquí." *Hunter stands, casting one last glance at the blurry photo on her screen before stepping outside, phone pressed to his ear. Maria watches him go, then looks back down at the image, her fingers tightening around the camera as the rain begins to patter against the window.*