Run: 2026-10-09-01M4FXY961KA9X0Y6BM8EQZH97

**Voice Sheet: "The Apple Orchard Photographs"** *Scene: A small corner cafe on Main Street, Alborn, MN. Late afternoon. Maria sits by the window, her camera in her lap. Hunter approaches.* **Hunter:** Excuse me. Are you the one who was at the orchard road on Tuesday night? The Hale girl said she saw a foreign woman with a camera out near the old barn. **Maria:** "Perdón, no entiendo. ¿Usted es policía? Me dijeron que hubo otra desaparición... Anoche, en el campo. Yo tomé fotos, y en una de ellas hay una luz, y una sombra, y... Dios mío, no puedo dejar de pensar en eso." *(Sorry, I don't understand. Are you the police? They told me there was another disappearance... Last night, in the field. I took photos, and in one of them there's a light, and a shadow, and... my God, I can't stop thinking about it.)* **Hunter:** Okay. Slow down. I need to know if you were out there last night. Did you see anyone near the north field? **Maria:** "Lo siento, pero no entiendo nada de lo que dice. Solo sé que la cámara lo vio. Mire, mire aquí. Esta sombra estaba junto al tractor, y después ya no estaba." *(I'm sorry, but I don't understand anything you're saying. I only know the camera saw it. Look, look here. This shadow was next to the tractor, and then it was gone.)* **Hunter:** *(leaning in, squinting at the screen)* Yeah... that's a blur, lady. Could be a deer. Could be a person. Could be a smudge on the lens. **Maria:** "No es un ciervo. Los ciervos no se quedan quietos así. Y tenía la forma de un hombre con sombrero. ¿Por qué nadie me escucha?" *(It's not a deer. Deer don't stand still like that. And it had the shape of a man in a hat. Why won't anyone listen to me?)* **Hunter:** I'm listening. I just can't follow you. *(pauses, pulls out a notepad, and draws a rough sketch of a hat)* Like this? Hat like this? **Maria:** *(a small, startled laugh, then tears)* "Sí... así. Exactamente así. Pero usted no entiende ni una palabra, ¿verdad?" *(Yes... like that. Exactly like that. But you don't understand a single word, do you?)* **Hunter:** Not a word. But I'm starting to get the hat. *(sits down across from her, lowering his voice)* Look, I'm not here to scare you. Three people have gone missing in this town since September, and you're the only person I've found who was out at night with a camera. If you took a picture of a man in a hat, that's the most useful thing anyone's given me all week. **Maria:** "Tengo miedo. Mi profesora de la universidad dijo que Alborn era un pueblo tranquilo, con su festival de manzanas y sus casas de madera. Nadie me dijo que la gente desaparece aquí." *(I'm scared. My university professor said Alborn was a quiet town, with its apple festival and its wooden houses. Nobody told me people disappear here.)* **Hunter:** Yeah, well. Nobody tells the tourists much. *(softer)* Can you email me those photos? Or... can you show me the original files? I've got a buddy at the county office who can pull the metadata. Time stamps, location, that kind of thing. **Maria:** "¿Metadatos? No sé qué es eso. Pero sí, puedo mostrarle las fotos. Espere, se las enseño en la pantalla. Esta es la del tractor. Esta es la del granero, de hace dos noches." *(Metadata? I don't know what that is. But yes, I can show you the photos. Wait, I'll show you on the screen. This is the one with the tractor. This is the barn, from two nights ago.)* **Hunter:** *(nodding slowly, scrolling through the images with her)* Okay. Good. Okay. *(His phone buzzes. He glances at it, and his expression hardens.)* **Hunter:** Dispatch. I have to take this. *(stands, phone to ear)* Yeah, Hunter here. Say that again. Where?... Got it. Ten minutes. *(He looks back at Maria.)* **Hunter:** Listen, don't go out to the north fields tonight. Stay in town. Lock your door. *(he hesitates, then points to her camera)* And keep that thing charged. I'll come back for those files. **Maria:** "¿Se va? ¿Ahora? Por favor, no me deje sola con esto." *(You're leaving? Now? Please, don't leave me alone with this.)* **Hunter:** *(already heading for the door, half-smiling)* I'll take that as a yes to the files. Lock the door, Maria. **Maria:** *(whispering to herself, gripping the camera)* "Cierra la puerta, sí... pero y si la sombra viene a buscarme?" *(Lock the door, yes... but what if the shadow comes looking for me?)* *[END SCENE]*