Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KAMT3QSZGBR7W50FM5NQDM

**Scene:** A quiet café in downtown Alborn, MN. The air is thick with the scent of roasted coffee and woodsmoke. Outside, the sky is a flat, heavy gray. MELANIE sits at a small table by the window, her focus entirely on the camera in her hands, her brow furrowed as she cycles through photos. She looks pale and troubled. **HUNTER** enters, his gaze sweeping the room before landing on Melanie. He straightens his jacket and approaches her table with a no-nonsense stride. --- **Hunter:** Excuse me, miss. *(Melanie doesn’t look up, still staring at the camera screen.)* **Hunter:** Miss? You mind if I ask you a few questions? I’m Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. *(He flashes a badge. Melanie finally looks up, her eyes wide and visibly anxious.)* **Hunter:** You were out by the old Miller orchard yesterday afternoon, isn’t that right? Past the festival grounds? *(Melanie opens her mouth slightly but says nothing. Hunter presses on.)* **Hunter:** A young woman named Sarah Jenkins was reported missing last night. Her friends say she was last seen wandering toward the old service road behind the orchard. We’re trying to piece together a timeline. One of the neighbors mentioned seeing a woman with a camera out there around four o’clock. I think that was you. *(Melanie shakes her head slowly, her hands tightening around the camera.)* **Melanie:** *Ich verstehe nicht... Ich wollte nur ein Foto machen.* (I don't understand... I only wanted to take a photo.) *(Hunter’s brow furrows. He leans in slightly, tilting his head as if that will help him parse the foreign words.)* **Hunter:** Sorry, I didn’t catch that. English? Do you speak any English? *(Melanie looks at him, shaking her head again, clearly distressed.)* **Melanie:** *Nein. Kein Englisch.* (No. No English.) *(She looks down at the camera screen, then back up at Hunter, her voice trembling.)* **Melanie:** *Das Mädchen... sie ist einfach verschwunden.* (The girl... she just vanished.) *(Hunter’s eyes narrow. He pulls out a small notebook and pen, but only taps it against his palm in frustration.)* **Hunter:** Okay, I did not understand a word of that. But you understand what I’m asking, right? The girl? Missing? *(He points to a flyer on the café bulletin board showing Sarah Jenkins’ photo. Melanie follows his gaze, then flinches and looks away, her breathing quickening.)* **Melanie:** *Sie hat mich angesehen. Und dann... der Nebel. Nur der Nebel.* (She looked at me. And then... the fog. Only the fog.) *(Hunter scrubs a hand over his jaw, glancing toward the café counter as though hoping a bilingual barista might materialize. None appears.)* **Hunter:** You’re going to have to slow down. Was she with anyone? A man? A car? *(Melanie responds only with a stream of anxious German, her words tripping over themselves.)* **Melanie:** *Ich weiß nicht, was passiert ist. Es ging so schnell. Ich habe nur in den Wald geschaut und alles war still. Erst war sie da, dann war sie fort.* (I don't know what happened. It was so fast. I looked at the woods and everything was silent. First she was there, then she was gone.) *(Hunter lets out a short, controlled breath, clearly working to keep his patience.)* **Hunter:** Lady, I need you to write it down. Draw it. Something. We have a missing girl and if you saw anything— *(His phone buzzes sharply against his hip. He holds up a finger to Melanie, answering it with his other hand.)* **Hunter:** Hunter. Yeah. When? Where exactly? *(He turns slightly away, his voice dropping.)* **Hunter:** ...No, I’m at the café now. I’m with a possible witness. But I’m not getting anything useful yet. Hold the scene. I’m on my way. *(He ends the call and turns back to Melanie, his expression more urgent than before.)* **Hunter:** I have to go. Something’s happened. You’re staying at the college lodge, right? I’ll find you. Don’t leave town. *(He pulls a business card from his coat and presses it into her palm.)* **Hunter:** You understand? Don’t. Leave. Town. *(Melanie stares at the card, then up at him, nodding weakly, her face full of unspoken fear.)* **Melanie:** *Bitte finden Sie sie.* (Please find her.) *(Hunter watches her for a long second, frustrated by the wall between them, then turns and strides out of the café, the bell above the door chiming sharply behind him. Melanie remains at the table, the camera in her lap now, her fingers tracing the detective’s card.)*