Run: 2026-09-23-01M36X8ANKCWTMNT029Z2C54J7

# Scene: The Café on Main Street *[Interior. APPLE PIE CAFÉ, ALBORN, MN — mid-afternoon. MELANIE sits alone at a corner table, cradling her camera and scrolling through photographs. Her hands tremble slightly. HUNTER approaches, badge clipped to his belt, notebook in hand.]* Hunter: "Afternoon. Mind if I sit? I'm Detective Walsh. I'm investigating the disappearances. I'm told you were near the old orchard yesterday evening." Melanie: *(looking up, eyes wide and unsettled)* "...Oh — ich verstehe nicht. Tut mir leid, ich... ich spreche kein Englisch. Entschuldigung." Hunter: *(blinking)* "I... sorry? You don't—? Okay. Uh... you... *see*... something? Last night?" Melanie: *(shaking her head, gripping her camera tighter)* "Ich habe... ich habe Fotos gemacht. Im Apfelhain. Und dann habe ich jemanden gesehen... oder... ich weiß nicht. Es war so dunkel." *(She turns the camera screen toward him and taps a blurry photograph — a shadowy figure between the apple trees.)* "Schauen Sie. Dort. Ich habe es fotografiert, aber ich verstehe es nicht." Hunter: *(leaning in, squinting at the photo)* "That a person? In the trees?" Melanie: "Der Schatten... er war nicht... richtig. Die Form... sie hat sich verändert. Ich bin weggelaufen." *(Her voice cracks.)* "Ich hatte solche Angst." Hunter: *(sitting back, dragging a hand down his face)* "Okay. I got 'trees.' Maybe 'shadow.' That's about the extent of my German, which is to say *none*." *(He pulls out his notebook and flips to a blank page, pushing it toward her with a pen.)* "How about we do this differently. You draw. Or — you got photos? I can look at the photos." Melanie: *(taking the pen with a shaking hand, nodding)* "Fotos... ja. Ja, hier." *(She scrolls through her camera, laying it flat on the table between them. A series of images: the apple orchard at dusk, rows of trees, then — a sequence of three shots showing a blurred, dark shape moving between the trunks, distorted in a way that looks almost wrong.)* "Sehen Sie? Immer bewegt sich der Schatten... näher. Bild für Bild." Hunter: *(studying the photos, jaw tightening)* "Okay. That... that's not a trick of the light." *(He flips to a new page in his notebook and starts sketching rough notes.)* "You said something about fear. 'Angst' — I know that one. Were you scared of *him*? Of this... figure?" Melanie: "Er hat mich... er hat mich *angesehen*. Ich spüre es noch. Seitdem... ich kann nicht schlafen." *(She wraps her arms around herself.)* "Meine Kamera — sie hat etwas festgehalten, was ich mit meinen Augen nicht sehen konnte. Und das... das macht mir noch mehr Angst." Hunter: *(quietly, watching her)* "You're not sleeping. You've seen something you can't explain. And you're a long way from home." *(Pause.)* "That's three reasons to take this seriously. I'm going to need copies of these photos." Melanie: *(nodding urgently)* "Ja. Natürlich. Was auch immer Sie brauchen. Aber bitte..." *(She looks at him directly, voice dropping.)* "...finden Sie diese Person. Oder... was auch immer es ist. Bevor es jemand anderem passiert." Hunter: *(holding her gaze, nodding once)* "I don't know what you just said, but I think I got the part that matters." *(He takes the camera gently and begins copying the photos to his phone.)* "You stay somewhere safe tonight. Lock your doors. And if you see—" *(He mimics a shadowy figure with his hands.)* "—*that* again, you call this number." *(He slides his card across the table.)* Melanie: *(taking the card, holding it carefully)* "Danke. Ich... ich versuche, mich zu erinnern. An alles. Vielleicht zeichne ich... was ich gesehen habe. Für Sie." Hunter: "A drawing would help. A drawing would help a *lot*." *(His phone buzzes. He glances at the screen and his expression hardens.)* "Damn it." *(He stands, tucking the notebook away.)* "I have to go. We found a vehicle out on County Road 12 — matching one of the missing persons." Melanie: *(standing too, alarmed)* "Was ist passiert? Ist... ist jemand verletzt?" Hunter: *(already moving toward the door, then stopping to look back at her)* "I don't know yet. Stay here. Stay where there are people." *(A beat. He taps the camera still in his hand and sets it back on the table in front of her.)* "And keep this close. That camera of yours might be the best witness I've got." Melanie: *(clutching the camera to her chest, voice barely above a whisper)* "...Bitte passen Sie auf sich auf, Detective." Hunter: *(pausing at the door, glancing back one last time — he doesn't understand the words, but he nods anyway)* "...You too, kid. You too." *[Exit.]* *[Melanie watches him go through the café window, then slowly looks back down at the blurred photograph of the orchard. She zooms in on the shadow. Her breath fogs the screen.]* Melanie: *(to herself, murmuring)* "...Was bist du?" *[End scene.]*