Danielle the Balam

A Balam woman walks north from the Amazon to Chicago, looking for the Turtle's Song. Just beyond the Mexican border, she sees a strange quiet in a nearby town. Heading into the center of town, she begins to smell the Wyrm. She makes a note of it and passes on.

Two nights later, she senses she's being watched. When she tries to escape the spy's attention, she feels a presence come up beside her. She can't shake it no matter how hard she tries, but it seems disinterested in attacking. It just follows her. She tries to run, and then to challenge it, but gets no response. She kicks some dust on it so she can see a pair of trousers, then tries heading for holy ground. A church yard is the closest sanctified site, but it's a Sunday and she's spotted. She runs again, only to discover she's now being followed by a car.

Two nights later, the invisible presence finally reveals itself--a man in a labcoat with a clipboard and inky black eyes. She attacks him. He defeats her without effort, and then takes notes.

"How does that make you feel?" he asks her.

Black tentacles emerge from his back and catch her when she tries to run. She flies into a rage, which seems to make the tendrils stronger. He takes a blood sample from her. "Do you have anything to add?" he asks.

A Native American girl walks up, with cybernetic implants in her face that leak black fluid. "Put the pet project to rest for a bit. We've got work to do," she tells him, then drags him off, ignoring the werecat entirely.