Run: 2026-07-07-01KWZ3KFRWJRGP3CJPAAK6NVG4

Maria: *sits at a corner table, scrolling through photos on her camera's display, a half-finished latte growing cold beside her* Hunter: *approaches, badge clipped to his belt, clearing his throat* Excuse me, miss? I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn County Sheriff's Office. Mind if I ask you a few questions? Maria: *looks up, eyes widening slightly at the badge* ¿Disculpe? Hunter: *pulls out a small notepad* I'm looking into some recent incidents in town. People who've gone missing. You were at the apple festival last week, weren't you? I saw you taking photographs near the east orchard. Maria: *her face drains of color, hands tightening around the camera* Oh, sí, sí... yo estaba allí. Pero algo... algo pasó. *her voice trembles* Vi algo muy extraño, detective. Un hombre... él estaba siguiendo a la mujer con el vestido rojo. Yo le tomé una foto, pero cuando revisé la cámara después... los dos habían desaparecido. Solo... solo había niebla en la imagen. *she swallows hard* No sé qué hacer. No conozco a nadie aquí, no hablo inglés, y tengo miedo. Hunter: *furrows his brow, glancing between her animated gestures and the rapid Spanish he can't follow* I'm sorry, I... ma'am, I don't speak Spanish. Do you speak any English at all? Maria: *shakes her head, looking increasingly distressed* No inglés. Lo siento. Yo solo... *she points to her camera, then mimics someone walking with her fingers, then makes a vanishing gesture* Desaparecido. ¿Entiende? Hunter: *watches her gestures carefully* Disappeared? Someone... disappeared? *he holds up a finger, pulling out his phone and opening a translation app, speaking slowly into it* Can you tell me what you saw? Maria: *watches him with the phone, some relief crossing her face* Sí. Yo estaba tomando fotos del festival, de las manzanas, de la gente feliz. Pero entonces vi a este hombre... él tenía una cicatriz aquí. *she traces a line down her left cheek* Y él estaba mirando a la mujer del vestido rojo de una manera... de una manera mala. Como un depredador. *she shivers* Le seguí con la cámara. Entraron juntos detrás del granero rojo. Esperé. Cinco minutos. Diez minutos. No salieron. *her voice cracks* Fui a mirar y no había nadie. Nada. Solo... silencio. Hunter: *reading the rough translation on his phone, his expression darkening* A man with a scar on his left cheek. Following a woman in a red dress. They went behind the red barn and... *he looks up sharply* You actually went to check? Did you see anything else? Any vehicle? Anything out of place? Maria: *nods rapidly, switching her camera to playback mode and turning the screen toward him* Mire. Mire esto. Esta es la foto que tomé justo antes de que entraran detrás del granero. *she points to a figure in the background of the image* Aquí está el hombre. Y aquí... *she zooms in on a shadowy shape near the tree line* Hay algo más. Algo que no debería estar allí. No sé qué es. Parece... parece una puerta. Pero no había ninguna puerta cuando pasé por allí el día anterior. Hunter: *leans in, studying the image, jaw tightening* That's not a door. That's... *he stops himself, straightening up* Can you send me this photo? *he gestures to his phone, then to her camera* Photo. Send? *he mimes the action* Maria: *understands the gesture, pulling out a tangled charging cord from her bag* ¿Por cable? Yo puedo... *she struggles to explain, then spots a napkin and pen on the table, scribbling down her email address* Mi correo. Aquí. Usted puede... ¿cómo se dice? *she makes a clicking motion with a camera* Las fotos. Todas las fotos. Para usted. Para ayudar. Hunter: *takes the napkin, reading the email address* Maria.Santos@universidad.es. Got it. I'll have someone who speaks Spanish reach out to you properly. Don't delete anything from that camera, understand? *he makes a cutting motion with his hand* No borrar. No delete. Maria: *nods firmly* No borrar. Entiendo. Por favor, detective... *she grabs his sleeve before he can turn away* Esa mujer. La del vestido rojo. Ella también es... ¿desaparecida? ¿Cómo las otras personas? Hunter: *pauses, looking down at her hand on his sleeve, then meeting her eyes* We don't know yet. That's what I'm trying to find out. *his phone buzzes loudly, and he glances at the screen, his expression shifting to something harder* I have to go. Stay at this cafe. Don't wander off alone. Someone will come speak with you soon. *he steps back, already answering the phone* Hunter here. What do you mean another one? When? *his voice fades as he pushes through the cafe door* Maria: *watches him leave through the window, her reflection ghosting over the image of Hunter striding across the parking lot. She looks back down at her camera, scrolling to the photo with the strange shape by the trees, and whispers to herself* ¿Qué es eso? ¿Qué demonios es eso? *she wraps both hands around her cold latte, staring at the photograph until the screen goes dark*