Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCXMQF1W320V2N5KSCC348V

The late-morning sun filtered through the windows of the Maple Leaf Café on Alborn’s quiet main street, casting warm rectangles across the worn wooden tables. Maria sat in the corner booth, her DSLR cradled in both hands, scrolling through landscape shots—wildflower fields, river bluffs, rows of ancient apple trees—when a broad-shouldered man in a faded leather jacket pulled out the chair across from her. “Excuse me, miss. Detective Hunter, Alborn PD.” Maria looked up, dark eyes widening, and instinctively clutched her camera closer. Hunter leaned forward, his voice steady and direct. “I need to ask you about Tuesday night near the old orchard. Did you see anyone? Anything strange?” Maria’s face went pale. She answered in rapid, trembling Spanish, her free hand gesturing to her chest and then toward the window, her voice rising with distress. Hunter blinked, his jaw tightening—he caught *miedo* and *cámara*, but nothing else. For several minutes he tried yes-or-no questions, pointing to her lens, miming walking through trees. Maria responded each time with urgent Spanish, eventually sliding her camera across the table to show him dark, blurry images of gnarled apple branches and something indistinct hiding among them. Her hands shook visibly. Then his radio crackled. “Hunter, situation at Miller’s well. Move now.” He stood, frustration and concern mixing on his face. “Stay here. Translator’s coming.” Maria nodded, still trembling, her fingers never leaving her lens. --- **VOICE SHEET** Maria: "Disculpe, señor... ¿habla usted español?" Hunter: "No, sorry. Detective Hunter—Alborn Police." Maria: "No entiendo... soy María. De España." Hunter: "Right. You're the exchange student. Did you see anything Tuesday night near the old orchard? People are going missing." Maria: "Sí... anoche estuve en los manzanos antiguos. Vi una sombra entre los árboles. Fue horrible." Hunter: "A shadow? You took pictures?" Maria: "Sí, sí... mire la cámara. Las fotos del bosque. Pero tengo mucho miedo." Hunter: "Show me. Maybe you caught our missing person on that thing." Maria: "No es una persona normal... es peligro. Por favor, no vaya solo al bosque." Hunter: "You're trying to warn me? Okay, I hear that loud and clear even if I don't get the words." Maria: "Mis manos... todavía tiemblan." Hunter: "You're shaking. Okay, you're safe right now." Maria: "¿Se va? No me deje sola..." Hunter: "Hunter here... Miller's well? I'm on my way." Maria: "¿Adónde va?" Hunter: "Emergency. Stay in the café. Don't leave town—someone who speaks Spanish is coming for you."