MapleSAP Special: Justice Arrow
Part 14: Last day in Henesys

When we first came to Henesys, we assumed we would be making a documentary on Henesys well kept secrets. We found the secrets, but not at all on our own terms. Every one of us was pulled into the fold of Henesys’ extremist religious society backed by the militant Justice Arrow and it’s fanatical leader Dan Jalonska, a descendent
of 16th century colonist Lomi Jalonska.
Under the Jalonska regime, everything appears well on the outside of this peaceful and productive society, but once we got under the covers, we found the horrifying secrets even the GM can’t report on. Like many other media groups that came here to make a documentary fell into the one way current from visitor to trapped resident, MapleSAP’s team is not exempt from the big challenge of escaping Henesys and re-obtaining our freedom.

It is mid December now, and Christmas is in full swing here. Unlike the colorful commercialized Christmas you see in ads, TV shows, and store sales like in Kerning or Ludi, most of the decorations are plain and the holiday spirit is tainted with the heavy religious theme. As the snow builds up on the ground outside and servants and slaves work feverishly to keep the streets clean, word of HG08 has gotten out and everyone knows. Many of the unwilling residents are alarmed by the news. Trucks full of fresh noobs arrive weekly and more and more noobs are packed into the now complete prison in the south. SEA Landers and magicians are killed upon arrival, sparking the joy in Henesians, and fear in the hearts of Maplers.
GM Harris says he feels his heart break as he omits these grisly details from his monthly report to Orbis.
Some of the Bow Masters have gone for so called duty in Kerning City. Despite that its Christmas, children and young people; especially those who weren’t born here are still living under the brutalities and pressures that would mold them into submissive adults that will some day uphold the pillars of this society. Today is Friday, and I was driven alone to the Justice Arrow base to meet Chief Jalonska. He tells me that the time for filming is up, and since it is the holidays I was to leave and catch the next bus passing through.
“Sir, thank you for all your hospitality, and I am grateful to the Universal Migrator for giving me a chance to see the righteous people…Will I be telling my crew-“
“No!” Jalonska snapped firmly. “They are not leaving. You are, Mr. Kent. You have a project to complete for us, and we must give you way to complete it. I hope that you return some day. You’re a hard worker. We’d hate to lose you.”
I gulped. “Th-Thank you sir…”
“Boy, In the seven weeks you’ve been here you are the most mature of the group. You have indeed been guided by the Migrator through your life. The other three have not! They sniveled when they worked. They cried when we burned those witches!* They will remain here! This is the path for them. They are not able to take their own path of life! I have been told they are already benefiting here. becoming disciplined and stronger in themselves. Your friend Miller [Hank] is a good apprentice to our carpenters and we need him. That boy [Rannbo] is an unguided sulker, and he is repenting for his problems by serving us graciously. The girl, I understand, has been arranged to be married in the spring to a suiter from Stultzfus family- a group of Elite Rangers, might I add. She’ll do good a fitting wife to Roger Stultzfus. He was injured during the tour in El Nath and has been discharged from the Arrow. He is to work this year and needs a wife as the families have juristicted. I’ve told you why they are staying and now you know! Accept it as the Migrator’s blessings and get out of my sight!”
I was escorted out by the two Rangers standing by me and driven back into town. The next bus would be the one going to Lith Harbor.

At this time, the major holiday break across southern MapleWorld has begun and people in Orbis and Ludi are traveling west to Lith, Florina and Peach Blossom.
The stretch of Victoria Road going through downtown Henesys is crowded with local and foreign traffic. Bright crystal and flame lamps light the streets and balconies of the buildings. At times like this, the JA are busy picking on dumb visitors who ignored the safety guidelines. The occasional magician is pulled from a car or truck and dragged away.
I went around, contacted my teammates and arranged a meeting at my house. The Greenfeathers are out visiting.

“Dude, you gotta be fuwking kidding me! Tell me you’re just tripping on us!” Hank jeered as he pounded his fist on the table. “Yeah, really!” Maria said as she struggled to not break into tears.
Rannbo was sitting on the couch and said nothing. He was pissed.
“So, let me get this straight, Ross,” Hank said. “We been here 6 weeks, and we are all at the end of our lines, here. We wanna go home! We worked our asses off while you just snoop around, getting dirt on these psychotic fuqking bowmen, and now you are telling us the almighty dictator chief said only you can go back to Kering? W.T.F man?!”
“Hey, I worked too, you know! They looked at me and pulled us out of the slave gangs! don’t call me a slacker!” I shot back.
Maria started crying and buried her face in her arms. Hank and I were real close to pounding the crap out of eachother.
“Did Jalonska tell you to tell us?” he demanded.
“No.”
“Then why did you come to taunt us?! Why not just leave and have us still being hopeful thinking you disappeared?!” he almost shouted.
“What are you getting at?!” I shouted, jumping off my chair. “I got us together because I wanted to arrange an escape plan!”
I had to get that out before Rannbo and Maria joined in on Hanks accusation.
“Escape plan? What the bloody hell are you smoking man?” Hank retorted. “You think that by playing ‘hero’ we’re all gonna sneak our way out of this hellhole, past oh, 2000 fuqking damn BOW MASTERS, and walk off into the night were it is ten thousand degrees below zero? first we’re gonna get shot, and if we do some how get away, we’re gonna freeze to death before we get anywhere!” Hank shouted, slamming his fists on the table.

“Well done. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” I fumed. “Don’t forget that I, myself am ALSO affected by the shyt we saw here! I hate these bowmen and the rest of these people just as much as you do! I don’t even see why the fuqk the Chief decided to let me off when they could just take everything we recorded and collected and deliver it to our boss themselves! Im as worn down, and just a pissed as you, so watch it!” I threatened.
Hank exploded in rage. He reached back with his right arm and swing his fist at me. I ducked then drove my shoulder into his ribs and we both knocked the table over and started beating the crap out of eachother.
Hank slammed his fist into my eye, knocking me back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rannbo run up the stairs, and Maria was on the couch, her head between her hands, and then she let out an ear piercing scream. We both stopped for a brief second, but I was still pissed.
Mad as hell, I sprang up and kicked him hard in the throat. Hank staggered back and hit the floor.
“Had enough you idiot?!” I shouted.
Hank staggered to his feet, trying to regain his breath. The sound of us breathing was deafening.
“Just quit it, before you get us all killed!” I breathed. The Rangers will find out!”
“When we could’ve gotten out, you wanted to wait, and wait and wait!” Hank choked, spitting out blood. I got him harder than I thought. “Don’t you see? We are trapped here! There’s just too many of them!”

“We’re not the only ones in this rut!” I said. “Every other media team that came here had the same problem, even KLON!”
“Well KLON’s got that contract with the J.A, so they were able to get their guys out of here! We got nothing! Those bastards back at the office probably forgot about us already!” Hank shouted, a tear coming out of his eye.
And we have no diplomatic coverage! The city council won’t send someone to tell the JA off!”
“You’re right,” I conceded. “Which is why we are sneaking the fuqk out!”
“Why would you give up your one chance to get out yourself?”
“Because I care about you guys! I want us all out! Not just me!”
“You let us down!” Maria babbled.
“Quiet, you!” Hank snapped.
“Chill, man! Seriously, chill!” I said. “Lets get our heads together! No more screwing around! The sure way we’re gonna get killed is if we blow up on eachother!” I said as I sat next to Maria and held her. She leaned her head against me and cried.
“Okay, Mr. Hero, what’s the game plan?” Hank demanded.
“How do we go about sneaking out? It’s not like we have dark sight!”
“Not tonight. tomorrow night. The noobs have been conferring with the new arrivals, who have found a way out of that new prison, and are planning the escape tomorrow night, early in the morning. There is safety in numbers, and it will be daylight by the time we make it to Victoria Road past the checkpoint.”
“So when and where do we meet?”
I paused for a moment. “At 2am or so, make your way out of town. Since most of the outsiders are going west, everybody is going to gather along the border of the western fields. We will go with them. Im not sure if we are going to be able to stick together, so get to the fields, and go when they go. In the morning, you should cross into West Henesys Hills. It’s uninhabited, and beyond the Justice Arrow’s jurisdiction. Make your way to Victoria Road, and hitch hike. If all goes to plan, we should be back at the office by Tuesday.”
Hank snuffed in disbelief. “You know what-…alright, fine!” he said. He opened the door and slammed it on his way out.
Rannbo came down the stairs.
“You hear what I said?”
he nodded.
“Good. now get home!”
Rannbo passed me without looking at me and left.
I sat there for at least 20 minutes with Maria weeping in my lap. Her hair was a mess, and her gown was dirty from her working in the bakery. Her hands were still caked in crusting dough. Her hair was a mess and strewn everywhere.
We sat for another hour and Maria fell asleep. When I tried waking her, she seemed too comfortable to want to leave. She would later say that she never felt safe when I wasn’t with her. I hated to shaker awake, but we had to leave before the Greenfeathers came back.
I walked Maria through the snowy streets to the intersection close to her home.
“I’ll get you tomorrow night. Don’t worry. we’re gonna be out of here and back in Kerning before you know it” I assured her. “sure” she nodded in her daze.
I watched as she walked up the stairs to the third floor catwalk of her building and knocked on her door. The red-haired woman wasn’t angry so it seems she had no suspicion.

The next day, the snow let up, and the sun poked through the clouds. As everyone got on with their day, the noob slaves and servants were tense. Young wives recently kidnapped and integrated and married are also tense. they have to remind themselves to breathe as they carry out their daily tasks carefully. They move slower, making sure to save energy. Seeing the Justice Arrow troops, churchmen or the Bow Masters makes some people break into cold sweats.
On Victoria Road, the visitors come and go, gathering supplies or taking a brief rest before hitting the road. Horses pull buggies loaded with people from nearby Mennonyte settlements outside Jalonska’s borders. The Mennonites are similar to the people of Henesys, but are nowhere near as fanatic. They keep to their own business.
There is was a sharp rap on my door, and I almost had a heart attack when I answered it.
“Mr. Kent?” the JA ranger asked.
“Yes?” I answered.
“Here are your things we confiscated upon your arrival,” he said, passing me a sack full of only my belongings; camera,clothes, my messenger, and books.
“Oh, we forgot, here is your tag,” the ranger said, handing me my name tag.
“Thank you, sir,” I dare not ask why they didn’t return everyone else’s things. I knew why.

The last day, Hank, Rannbo and Maria did pretty much the same thing- they worked. Maria wanted to work in the bakery today, but the women made her stay home; they wanted to talk about the arranged marriage.
+
“M-marriage?” the word echoed through her mind like a thunder clap.
“Yes” said the mother, sitting next to her. “What’s with you? You look so tired?”
“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Maria said. she had a headache. “Had weird dreams.
“About what?” the red haired girl said.
“I-I dont wanna talk about it,” she groaned.
“Well you’re going to tell us!” the mother said firmly.
“I had this dream where I…I was…burned.”
They all looked at her seriously. “I don’t wanna die!” Maria said in panic.
“It’s a warning from the Lord, child,” the mother said.
Maria quickly added, “I don’t know why he hates me! I was very good ever since I got here!”
“Well, maybe you need to pray more. The Lord and the Migrator don’t know of how hard you work unless you pray. Then you can tell him.”
“Back to the topic at hand!” the mother snapped. “We have talked with the Stultzfus family, and they want their son Jacob to marry you.”
“Right,” Maria said obediently.
“He needs a nice wife to take care of him. He was injured when he went to El Nath, and now the Arrow wants him to live and work here.”
“When’s the wedding?” Maria asked.
“Christmas Day” she said.
“We’ve got to get on making the wedding dress!” the red haired girl said excitedly
+
Dusk passes, and it is night. Another blizzard has kicked in by the time I got out. Rannbo waited for me behind a stack of barrels by his home and we ran through the streets.
+
Maria dreamed. It was the same dream where she was running through Henesys at night and she got caught by the rangers. Everyone else showed up and she found herself tied to a pole on the burning platform. That SEA Lander girl was tied up to the pole next to her and the fire was ignited. The stinging heat swallowed them both and Maria felt her skin bubbling and breaking apart…

Maria sat bolt upright and in her panic she kicked the blanket off of her. The heavy woolen blanket hit the hardwood floor with a loud ‘fwoomp’
She panted heavily and felt sweat dripping down her face and hair. She felt a thick film of sweat all over her body. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was. She lay back on her bed and breathed heavily. Tears streamed out of her eyes. She suddenly realized she didn’t wake the red haired girl who was sleeping in the bunk above her.
Then it hit her. “OH CRAP” she breathed. The fields!
Maria snuck around the house. every sound echoed and felt ten times louder.
She grabbed a bookbag and stuffed with a breadloaf, a compass from the girls’ father’s den. She pinched a knife from the display cabinet- it was an ancient 400 year old jack knife from the first settlers, not that Maria knew or cared.
She stole a coat and shoes and crept to the door. Just before she opened it, she accidently hit an oil lamp.
The glass lamp fell and smashed on the floor, spewing glass shards everywhere.
“Oi! What’s going on?!” an angry voice shouted.
Panic mode! Maria ran for the door, flung it open and slammed it on her way out.
She bolted along the catwalk and down the stairs to the street.
She ran as fast as she could through the blinding storm. Snowflakes hit her full force in the face. it was so cold, and the flakes were so sharp, they started making cuts in her skin. Hurt like hell.
She ran for all she was worth. Then as she passed the next corner, a huge arm reached out of nowhere and grabbed her!
It was all over. She reached the end of her line.