CYOA: Honeyman's quest

[hello friend]

A

No time to waste.

 

[baud]

A)Rip the keycard out of her hand and go.
> we might get the drop on them, but the receptionist might call the cops on us (though at least the cops would come, at least...)
B)Mention your journalist friend who could leave very negative coverage.
> I don't think negative coverage would have a big impact on someone who's manning the front desk at night of a seedy motel. It feels too weak a threat compared to the gravity of the situation
C)Go to the room immediately and try to pick the lock, at the risk of giving them time to notice your attempt to break in.
> we should be able to pick the lock, but it's otherwise similar to A (since the girl would know we're trying enter into a room)
D)Make sure she at least calls the cops, and wait outside the motel.
> not sure how well the cops would buy our story and it's leaving Sonia with the pimp

I'd say A > D

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You look at her with exasperation. You understand that she's clearly overwhelmed, but you don't want to let her indecision and cowardice get in the way of helping a friend in dire need of help.

"There, you don't want to be held responsible? Let me absolve you of all responsibility."

You snatch the keycard out of her hand. The girl is still frozen. You sprint toward the stairs.

You look back and tell her:

"Call the police NOW! It's no joke lady!"

You see her grab the phone and call.

Then you open the door leading towards the stairs.

You sprint up.

You open the door leading to the second floor.

You frantically turn your head left and right. Notice that room 211 is toward the end of the corridor, to your right.

Then you walk there... so as not to make too much noise and warn them of your presence.

There seems to be light emanating from the room... and you hear the sound of TV. It seems that they are unable to sleep and watching it even at this late hour.

Your hand shaking, you insert the keycard in.

The key card slot DEL turns green.

From inside you hear "Uh???"

Then you turn the door handle and push the door open.

Then you see the two miscreants you've been chasing: the pimp is a white, emasciated man in his late twenties, wearing only boxers.

Then on the next bed you see a very tall, muscular black man with very long dreadlocks. He looks at you with a very menacing frown.

And then on the bed belonging to the pimp... you see Sonia!

She's naked, her body covered by the comforter.

She looks at you with an eerie look of surprise and fear. In this instant, your spirit is crushed. The blankness in her expression suggests these men already had their way with her, in a very forceful fashion.

You know full well that this is how human traffickers work. They violate, brutalize their prey, to ensure total submission from them. To make them their slaves.

Poor, poor girl. How many traumas did she go through in her turbulent life? And now they gave her her biggest trauma yet?

Over the last month you've seen that she's a great person. Her existence has simply been tough. And scum like these have purposefully addicted her to drugs, to turn her into an animal. A puppet, that will obey their every command. She's beautiful too. How do they dare torment her?

You are furious. You want to kill those men!

You shout: "Party's over now, bastards!"

The pimp replies nonchalantly and with disdain:

"Who the f*** are you? Her new boyfriend? How the f*** did you find us?"

"And what if I am? Got a problem with that?"

"That girl belongs to me! She eloped while still owing me a fortune with all the dope I gave her! She won't be free until she pays it all back!"

The nerve... the entitlement... the brazenness... the patheticness... of this rat.

"Listen up douchebag, you better let her go NOW, if you don't want me to do to you and your henchman what I and two chums did to eight Skull Riders the other day."

"Wait... you must be Honeyman? I think I heard of you. I think they're looking for you badly. This is great. They'll give us a pretty penny if we hand over your ass to them!"

The insolence... the sheer obnoxiousness... of this RAT!

Then the pimp turns to the black guy.

"Jean-Baptiste? Take care of this dude. He'll make us good money I'm sure."

Jean-Baptiste (who is probably Haitian based on his name), then smiles at you and slowly rises up.

"It'll be my pleasure, boss."

You quip at him:

"Oh so he's your boss? Is sleeping with him part of the job?"

Jean-Baptiste loses his countenance and gets absolutely furious.

"I'll rip your head off!"

The rest of what he says is in what appears to be creole and you do not understand.

Jean-Baptiste looks like a formidable opponent. He is very strong and fearsome.

How will you deal with him?

A)Hit him in the balls!
B)Go all crazy on both of them, Steven-style.
C)Straight fight with the moves and techniques you trained for.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

B

 

[hello friend]

B

It is de wey

 

[baud]

She looks at you with an eerie look of surprise and fear. In this instant, your spirit is crushed. The blankness in her expression suggests these men already had their way with her, in a very forceful fashion.

You know full well that this is how human traffickers work. They violate, brutalize their prey, to ensure total submission from them. To make them their slaves.

it seems that whatever we could do, we could only be too late.


C)Straight fight with the moves and techniques you trained for.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

She looks at you with an eerie look of surprise and fear. In this instant, your spirit is crushed. The blankness in her expression suggests these men already had their way with her, in a very forceful fashion.

You know full well that this is how human traffickers work. They violate, brutalize their prey, to ensure total submission from them. To make them their slaves.

it seems that whatever we could do, we could only be too late.


C)Straight fight with the moves and techniques you trained for.

I just don't see any other way for things to go. If they had her under her grip for a few hours, because our only mean to find them was long and laborious, they're not going to talk about the weather for all this time. They're going to make her pay her desertion and want to reassert control for sure.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You have seen how effective Steven's strategy usually is, and you are keen to use it again. Jean-Baptiste and his boss appear to be very easily provoked, which seems to bode well for such an angle.

Jean-Baptiste lunges at you and you easily dodge him.

"So, I take it you're the bottom?"
"Motherf*****!"

He rushes towards you but you quickly get out of the way. He plunges on the bed.

"Hey guys, I think the light is pretty dim here. Let me turn it up."

You take the lamp from the night stand, unhook it, and hit Jean-Baptiste on the head.

"So do you SEE more CLEARLY NOW?"

Jean-Baptiste crumbles on the bed in pain, moaning.

"And YOU?"

You throw it on the pimp who receives it on his forehead and crumbles screaming.

As Jean-Baptiste starts standing up again, you waste no time and unleash a slurry of punches from all sides to him. Then you violently kick him. He crumbles back on the bed. You punch him repeatedly again, imitating the type of screams Steven used to do. Afterwards, Jean-Baptiste appears too hurt to move again. You only hear him moaning softly. Then he says "You're crazy!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

Then you look at the pimp. He sees that the situation has turned to his disadvantage. He expected his colossus to get him out of the situation, but you've been faster, more reckless and cunning than him.

He starts panicking. He pulls Sonia toward him, and takes out a switchblade with his right hand, which he presses against her throat.

"Don't make a single move or she gets it!"

Can a man sink any lower?

"You're finished, the cops will be swarming the room any time soon. You have nowhere to go! Don't make things worse!"

He looks at you in sheer anger. He has a mad look on his face and lost any composure. He's losing his grip on reality.

"She's MINE! She's a WHORE! I make her f*** customers so she makes me MONEY! Nobody is going to take her from me!"

At this point, while he is looking at you menacingly, Sonia grows bold and uses his distraction to violently bite his hand.

"OUUUCH!!!"

You seize the advantage! You jump on him. You punch him repeatedly. You take the switchblade and throw it away.

Then it's your turn to have a crazed look at him. You are mad with anger! You start choking him. You want to kill that man.

As you start choking him and see the panic in his eyes, you realize that you are going too far. You don't want to stoop to their level.

You think it would be tempting to make him fess up the names and location of all his associates, who hold other girls in their clutches, possibly all over Canada. But, as tempting as it is, that is not how things work. Hopefully the police can get him to spill the beans.

You push him out of the bed. He looks at you in panic. He tries to run out of the room, but at this point, police officers barge in. They point guns at him. "Don't move!"

They shout in the rest of the room. "Nobody moves!"

But at this point you can't comply. You have to comfort your friend. She looks at you and you hold her tightly in your arms. She cries.

"Don't worry, honey. These men will never hurt you ever again. The police is there. And I won't give up on you."

She keeps crying, still in shock. She lets out a small "thanks".

A police officer says "Ok man, please come with us."

They're still not completely sure what is going on, but you don't seem to be a threat. They put handcuffs on the pimp and Jean-Baptiste. One of the police officers looks at the pimp and says "Wait a minute, I think I've seen this guy in a file?"

Apparently, he is already known from the authorities.

Two cops leave with the pimp and his associate in handcuffs. You look at another cop.

"Call an ambulance now. She's my friend. I'm pretty sure she's been beaten and raped.".

The police officer nods and requests an ambulance.

The other two been have been severely bruised from the fight, but they don't appear to require immediate care.

Some time passes. An ambulance comes to pick up Sonia. Then, you and the cashier are brought to the police station to get your statement.

You wait in the office, and finally your turn comes.

One of the police officers takes you to the interrogation room and talks to you.

"Well, that wasn't very smart to go all Rambo on these guys. Being a vigilante can easily backfire. You got lucky this time, but you and your friend could've gotten seriously hurt."

You look at him:

"Sir, with all due respect, picture this. Picture a loved one being held in that room. You find out where she is being held. And you just stand idly? You waste precious minutes while you know they might be raping her or doing God knows what to her?"

The policeman looks away for a moment, clearly uncomfortable.

You keep talking for a while. He asks you the circumstances that led you to go to the hotel. He confirms that you are the one who found out where she was and who instructed the receptionist to call the police.

He says that the receptionist has confirmed your version. Rachel also contacted the police, and confirmed that she urged you to go after her.

A customer in the next room heard the last "speech" from the pimp in which he shouted that she was his whore and he owned her and made her work for money. What an idiot this guy is. The police officer says not to worry, that with all the evidence they have, that guy and his friend will be going away for a long time. They will question Sonia when she is in a better state.

You ask them to withhold your name from the press because you don't want any credit, as a lot of notorious crime figures are after you.

The police officer looks at you "Need any help? Or anything you have to tell us?"

You remain vague on the details, but say that you have been embroiled in some controversy as they wrongly believe you to have been an accomplice of Frank Ramsey. As such you largely remain in hiding from them.

"Yes, I think the pimp mentioned this actually."

The officer says he agrees not to mention you to the press. He asks for contact details and you give him your email address.

Then as they are done interrogating people for the day, the officer offers to drive you back to the hotel so you can go back to your car. Once there, he waves you goodbye. You see the receptionist making her way back to the lobby. She looks at you with shame. Obviously, that is a very troubling situation.

You are beyond exhausted. You drive back home. You take a long shower. Then enter a delirious sleep...

 

[ERYFKRAD]

You see the receptionist making her way back to the lobby. She looks at you with shame.

Missing an opening there Bruno.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You are awakened in the morning by a phone call. It's George.

"Hey Bruno, I heard about a ruckus at the Best Value motel. Apparently, a girl has been rescued from traffickers. Was that you?"

"Yeah, she's a friend. You better leave her alone though. Don't try to get her to talk just to record her tears. She's had it hard enough as it stands."

"Of course. But if I keep you anonymous, can you offer a few comments? This way we can update our article."

That seems to be a reasonable compromise. You say that upon learning of her disappearance, you looked at all the cheap hotels you could find, because you thought there was a chance she could be held in one of them.

You then say that you want no credit and simply wish everyone to let the girl recover in peace.

"Apart from that, anything new?"

"I confronted one of the Skull Riders lieutenants. He told me that David's name was written David Janssen. He's a preacher's kid apparently."

"Oh wow. I'll see if I can look up databases under that name. No wonder we couldn't find anything."

"But unfortunately, he just disappeared a while ago. Nobody knows where he is."

"Well, maybe his father is a pastor somewhere in Manitoba? If I was you, that's what I would look into next.

There are a lot of Mennonite communities in Manitoba. There might be a Mennonite pastor somewhere named Janssen, some Mennonites are Dutch immigrants. And that name looks Dutch."

You thank him, and then you both hang up.

Thinking about it... George's idea makes sense. That could be a promising lead.

Looking at your phone, you see that you've received a text message. It's Rachel, apparently, Julian and Steven are already at the hospital. Sonia is doing better. She's still traumatized and will need to undergo trauma therapy, but she's glad to be free from the clutches of those evil men.

You tell her that you're feeling at little under the weather and that you will pay her a visit later tonight.

You just want to change your mind right now. You decide to think of a way to find a Mr Janssen Sr.

Will you...

A)Go to the closest Mennonite Church and ask about it.
B)Take the day to try to find him on the Internet.
C)Try to find a Mennonite Church in the Winnipeg area with a study tonight.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

B

 

[hello friend]

B

 

[Nevill]

A)Go to the closest Mennonite Church and ask about it.

 

[baud]

She looks at you with an eerie look of surprise and fear. In this instant, your spirit is crushed. The blankness in her expression suggests these men already had their way with her, in a very forceful fashion.

You know full well that this is how human traffickers work. They violate, brutalize their prey, to ensure total submission from them. To make them their slaves.

it seems that whatever we could do, we could only be too late.


C)Straight fight with the moves and techniques you trained for.

I just don't see any other way for things to go. If they had her under her grip for a few hours, because our only mean to find them was long and laborious, they're not going to talk about the weather for all this time. They're going to make her pay her desertion and want to reassert control for sure.

it makes sense, yes, but it's still sad.

B)Take the day to try to find him on the Internet.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You decide to try to look hard for a Mr. Janssen who would be a pastor in a Mennonite Church in Manitoba.

Unfortunately, searching for his name with "pastor" doesn't yield anything in Canada, only in the United States and in the Netherlands.

You then start the laborious task of visiting Mennonite Church websites one by one. Scouring every page, in search of your pastor.

You go through many mission statements. Belief statements. Upcoming events. It goes on and on. And on.

You find out that unfortunately, most of these pages seem to be managed by elderly or middle aged people with little to no knowledge about computing. People who also seem not to mind not to update their site for 7 to 8 years.

Seeing as this church has been fruitless, you decide to look up their pages on social networks.

You go through many shots of events, people photographed singing, charitable activities... these churches seem to be populated by wholesome, good people. The type that you would want as your neighbor.

Just as you start to lose hope, you see something that piques your interest.

You see a publication dating back about one year, in which the elders of the Mennonite Mission of Selkirk are photographed.

And among them, you see a man named Bernard Janssen.

Is this your man?

You can't be sure. It could be wrong. But, this is your best lead so far.

You look at their website and see that they will have a Sunday service in a few days. You decide that the best way to go about it will be to attend the service with the other congregants, and try to find Bernard there.

You are not sure what will happen. How will he react? You tell yourself that you will simply do your best.

For now, seeing as the evening is coming, you decide to visit Sonia at the hospital.

You drive there. You ask at the reception, and get a room number. You take the elevator to the fifth floor. To room 507.

You see that room 507 is guarded by a police officer. He greets you, and asks you to give him a piece of identification, to be handed back to you upon your leaving.

Obviously, with the ordeal that the girl went through and the kind of men that could possibly decide to retaliate against her, the police wisely decided not to take any chances.

You enter.

You look.

You see Rachel sitting next to the bed.

And Sonia, with her long red hair untied.

Looking beautiful. So beautiful! Like an angel.

Upon seeing you, she lights up, showing a radiant smile.

"Oh! You came!"

The two of you hug profusely and warmly. Sonia looks at you blushing.

Rachel decides to leave the two of you alone for a while.

"So, how are you feeling now?"
"I was so scared last night. I thought that was the end. That they would move me from city to city, all over Canada, staying only in short bursts. Then I would go into a downward spiral, eventually dying of a drug overdose."
"These guys are shameless, and disgusting. They lure these girls with the promise of easy money, turn them into slaves, press them like a lemon, and once they're used up, cast them aside. If they die, all the better to them. They just got rid of a burden."
"Yes, that's really, really sad. It aches to know that many girls are still stuck in their clutches. It truly is hell."

"Were these men violent with you? Did they... rape you?"
"They drugged me. After that I couldn't resist. They both did violate me. I told them no continuosly, buy they wouldn't stop.

Alas, they are not the first men who were violent with me. So, I guess the shock was not that bad to me.

But you know? Even in the worst moments, I kept praying to God, urging Him to come to my rescue. And He answered my prayers! He sent you!"

Disgusting. You want to throw up. You have no words. They treated her like dirt. It is good at least that her faith kept her sane and gave her some glimmer of hope.

"I almost killed your pimp. What a rat. One of the most unpleasant individuals I ever met, and I met some real problem cases over the years.

I only refrained from killing him because I didn't want to stoop to their level.

The police went to interrogate you?"

"Yes, they already did. They told me that Chris would go to jail for a very long time, and they will try to get him to out his associates. Unfortunately, he knows his rights and hasn't said much.

I will have to testify against him, but when the time comes, I will do so, without hesitation.

They asked me about you, and what kind of trouble you were in with the Skull Riders. I kept it vague and said you were just a good friend, and didn't know anything about that. Which is essentially the truth anyway.

Steven also said he intends to train me like he did with you, so that bad people like them can never hurt me again."

"Good idea. It can't hurt. It will change your mind too. Make you see that you don't have to be a helpless victim, and you can take charge."

The two of you discuss for the next 30 minutes or so. Then it's time to part. You hug her again, wish her good night as she seems exhausted, then leaves.

You take back your driver's license from the agent.

Then you notice that Rachel is still there, sitting on a chair and using her phone. Noticing that you left, she comes up to you and says "We need to talk. Want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, no problem."

The two of you go buy a sandwich. You sit at the sandwich shop.

"So, what is this about?"
"How do you feel about Sonia?"

She's certainly a very prying girl, and direct.

"Hey, I don't want to be rude, but is this really any of your business?"
"Do you love her?"

You were drinking your diet cola as she asks this. And you choke up a little.

You recover. You pause.

In fact, you never asked yourself that question.

Looking at it now... you believe it might well be possible.

You think about her more and more. You blush when you have to go see her. You are captivated by her beauty, and her tortured soul.

You've tried hard to deny it so far. But this is the truth.

You don't know what to answer Rachel.

"Errr... errr... I believe I might, yes."
"I spent a lot of time with her today. All she can talk about is you. I asked her and she says that yes, she believes she loves you. But she doesn't dare say it out.

I just don't want her to get hurt by a man ever again."

"Hey, I almost went to hell and back for her. You still don't trust me?

Then again, I guess this is why you're her friend and she trusts you. You are fiercely protective of her."

"So, what do you intend to do about it?"

You pause again. You then think of something that has been bothering you for a while.

"You know... I think that it's just not a good idea for me to get involved that intimately with her. She's a great girl, sure. But I am kind of a marked man these days. I don't want to put her through any danger again.

And most of all... because I rescued her from great danger, not once but twice... I feel that between us, things would be inherently dysfunctional.

As if she was indebted to me, and she could never fully repay it.

So, I think we better remain friends."

"I understand. I have to tell you that I'm pretty sure that Steven has fallen really hard for her. I think that his offer to help her learn self-defense hides an... ulterior motive."

"Oh, would that be so bad? Steven acts like a jerk from time to time, but he's a good guy. Dependable, respectful, and always comes through."

In fact, you think that you prefer things to be this way. You don't know how things will develop, but you would trust Sonia in his care, for sure.

But let's not rush anything. Let's let things develop naturally.

After Rachel has had her gossiping session, you go back home.

You take the next three days to make sure you are well-rested. You change your mind. You train. You think about your life up to this point.

Then, Sunday morning comes. You drive to Selkirk again, this time to the Mennonite Mission. You wear your best clothes for the occasion.

You park. You enter.

The usher notices that you are new and shakes your hand.

"Welcome, we're so glad you're here! God bless you!"

This process is repeated many times, as many in this largely middle-aged congregation come to greet you and ask you a few basic questions. You thank them back, but you remain vague about who you are.

What a friendly bunch. What good people. It's a breath of fresh air not to deal with dangerous strangers, for once.

The service is about to begin.

A man steps up in front.

You immediately recognize him as Bernard. That's him! Elder Janssen.

The next hour and a half consists of chanting, and then a sermon about God's grace.

Then there is a lunch. Three different congregants come to offer you to join them. You can't very well turn them down, can you?

Once the lunch is over, you tell yourself that this is it. You must approach Bernard Janssen. But you're not sure how to proceed about it.

A)Simply greet him and make his acquaintance.
B)Greet him but ask questions about his life and family to ascertain indirectly whether or not this is him.
C) Quickly get to the point.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

C

 

[hello friend]

C

 

[baud]

C) Quickly get to the point.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You go introduce yourself to Elder Janssen.

"Oh I'm really glad to meet you! So glad you decided to visit us!"

After a little bit of chit chat... you decide to be straight with him.

"Mr. Janssen... I have to tell you... I had another reason to see you. I need to talk to you. Do you have a son named David?"

As soon as he mentions David, Elder Janssen becomes very, very pale. He freezes in place for a while.

He looks very uncomfortable. He looks at you with suspicion.

Then he says "Not here. There is an office upstairs. Meet me there in 30 minutes."

Hopefully, the man isn't too shaken up by your sudden arrival. What exactly has happened between his son and him? Then again, if he is actively involved in a church, and his son became involved with a criminal gang, then it's normal that the relationship between them would become strained, or even non-existent.

You go back to eating some lunch and conversing with the other attendants.

After the delay has elapsed and most people went back home, you go upstairs. You quickly find the office.

You knock. "Come in."

You enter. Elder Janssen invites you to sit down.

He says: "Let me look at you in the eyes."

What? Nevertheless, you let him do it.

He looks at you. Then says: "You don't look like an ill-intended person to me. Although it's not completely foolproof, I learned in life that you can usually spot bad people from a mile away.

Sorry. A few months ago, two men who looked like trouble came to me. They wanted to see David too. I said I had no idea and refused to help them. They insisted a lot, but they eventually left."

Most probably, Skull Riders who were looking for David.

"Anyway, the answer is that I know what happened to David, but I can't help you find him. I'd like to find him myself, but have no means to."

Oh. How so?

"David used to be a good kid. But people used to make fun of him at school. He never thought that he fit in. Furthermore, I didn't spend enough time with him. Back then, I was a pastor in this church, and the duties of the church were all I could think about. I neglected my son, and this is now one of my biggest regrets.

David felt like he didn't fit in anywhere. So when he got the opportunity to join a gang that offered him to feel like he did, of course he jumped on it.

After a while though, he grew progressively more disillusioned with it. He saw the damage that they were doing, that the other guys wanted to ignore. Eventually, he left. He was adrift for a while.

He was still a Christian, but he didn't like us. He thought that we were all hypocrites.

Then, he found a rather... hardline Christian group, with peculiar beliefs. He decided to join them. He's been with them ever since, I think."

"And there is no mean to contact them?"

"No, there's absolutely none. They are among the most secretive groups on the continent.

They don't have a formal name. They often just call themselves "The vagrants".

They believe, as a Bible passage alludes to, that you must "give up your friends and family" for Christ.

They go from place to place, staying wherever they can and trying to spread the gospel and recruit new members.

You can guess that this lifestyle makes families who lost their loved ones very, very worried. In the past, the Vagrants were not as suspicious. Then because of family members who wanted their loved ones back, they had police raids, even kidnappings.

There is also the fact that most people simply do not like transients, so they tend to be seen as undesirables wherever they go.

Eventually, they developed a system against it: they avoid technology most of the times. They split into small groups, and then into smaller subgroups. Then they travel to various cities to preach. Then only meet in larger groups very rarely.

So you see? They are so suspicious of outsiders that contacting them or finding them is essentially impossible."

"Hmmmmm... it kind of sounds like a cult."

"Well, yes and no. They're not a dangerous group. They're not Jim Jones dangerous. But for sure, for a group like that to function, there needs to be a charismatic leader, strict principles, isolation from the rest of the world.

Their leader is called "Pious" Peter Horridge.
"

"So there really is no mean to find them?"

"Well... in fact there is one. But it's extremely difficult."

"Tell me, what is it"?

"You would have to essentially join them, and stay with the group for quite a long while. That's it. This way, you could eventually meet David.

So, can you tell me your story? Why are you looking for my son?"

You decide to be honest with David. You take an hour and tell him everything you have been though.

"I don't know what to say. You've put yourself in very dangerous situations. But at the same time, you're brave. And you protect others, you're not thinking of enriching yourself.

The Skull Riders for sure, in their quest for money, power and notoriety, leave a lot of damage in their wake. They must be stopped."

You think that you understand why David joined that group. Not only could be escape the gang of sociopathic criminals he was stuck in and be with people who act with true integrity... but he made sure that he could never be found.

You're starting to think that it might be a good idea for you too. You have no other option. Spending time with that group would allow the heat to die down considerably around you.

"I think... I think I'll consider joining them. To see what they're truly all about. And to find David."

"For sure, it would do me a great service. I haven't spoken to my son in so long, not even a phone call.

Do you know the Bible at all?"

"Uh, a little bit I guess."

Bernard frowns.

"That won't do. These guys spend many hours all day reading the Bible. They know it almost by heart. If you don't have a minimal basis of biblical knowledge, they will be able to make you believe whatever they want, and make it look plausible.

Let's do something: let's take the next week so I can teach you the basics of what I know. Afterwards, I'll try to support you.

Once you're ready, you need to go on the Campus of the University of Winnipeg. They often hang around there, trying to recruit impressionable students. You still look relatively young, so you could pass as a student."

You spend the afternoon with Bernard. He teaches you the basics of his theology.

When it's 5:00PM, you offer to pursue the work tomorrow.

Then, as you two tell each other goodbye, you have an idea.

You tell him again about the Sonia. You ask him if he could visit her from time to time, in order to offer her "spiritual counseling". He happily agrees to it.

You are relieved by that. He gives you his phone number. You go back home...

 

[Humanity has risen!]

You stand at the back of the farmhouse, looking over the horizon. It is late at night.

You think of all you've done in the last six weeks.

Was that a good idea? Or should you just have fled and given up?

You are now inching closer towards your goal of finding David Janssen, and probably learning what Frank Ramsey was truly doing that bothers the Skull Riders so much. He seems to be the only one who really knows.

Nights are starting to get really cold in mid-November in Winnipeg. Soon, snow will cover everything.

Then, it hits you.

The reason why you went into this wild adventure was not rational. Any rational person would have immediately left it in the hands of the police and fled Manitoba.

No, the reason why you did is the same reason why people join a gang. Or a church like Elder Janssen's Church. Or a hardline community like the Vagrants.

You were trying to find meaning in your life. You wanted to find out where you belong.

Just as you are lost in thought...

"There you are, I've finally found you!"

From the right side of the house, a familiar masked figure emerges.

"Lance!"

He points a gun at you. He orders you to put your hands up in the air. You comply.

"Well it sure took you a long time, didn't it?"
"The other day late in the night, someone recognized your car. He followed it for a while. He saw you go into Sainte-Agathe before losing your trail. Later on, they asked around in town where you lived."

So that's how they did it... come to think of it, when you came back from the hotel, you weren't as cautious as usual. From what you can guess, that's when it happened.

"Dennis was so incredibly pissed off with your little stunt in the bathroom the other day. He spent almost an entire day stuck in there before he was found. He told me when I'd find you, to drown you to death in your own toilet.

Although, I found it funny myself. I won't go that far, because I've seen what you're capable of. Better just shoot you."

"So, has your face healed yet? From the whisky bottle.

He gets visibly upset.

"Now listen up. Tell me who all your accomplices are and where they are, and I'll make this quick and painless. Refuse, and I promise you that you WILL suffer, begging for your pathetic life to end!"

A) Can't you see the Skull Riders are using you, Lance?
B) I'd rather die than rat out on my friends!
C) Let's make a deal here.

 

[baud]

I'd presume B would just kill us and I don't want to snitch on our pals, so A)

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I'd presume B would just kill us and I don't want to snitch on our pals, so A)

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Ok, i tried to leave plenty of time to hello friend and Nevill. But I'll give you guys a lot of time as well for the next choice.

You decide to drop any and all sarcasm and malice. You look at Lance, who is still pointing his gun at you, and smile:

"Lance, please listen to me. I've only been in these circles for six weeks and I'm already fed up. I can't believe that you're happy after so many years of doing so many unspeakable things for people who ultimately don't care one bit about you. I can't believe all the scars and trauma that you're carrying from all this.

The first time I've seen you, you broke into my apartment and tried to kill me, when I'd done nothing to you. I could've killed you that day, but I didn't. I can't force you not to pull that trigger.

But I ask you to please think about what you're doing. I refuse to believe that beneath the mask, there isn't a human being, who isn't tired of burying all this disgusting stuff his bosses order him to do, that keeps gnawing at him."

He looks destabilized, but that is short lived.

"Money solves a lot of things, my boy."

"Money only gives the illusion of these things being solved."

"Alright thank you for the nice speech but I'm tired of was---"

POW! POW!

Just as he says this, you hear gunshots! Someone shot Lance's gun, which falls off his hand, and Lance's leg. He doesn't seem crippled but falls down on his knees and moans in pain.

You quickly pick up the gun and throw it far away.

You look around to see who the gunman is. Then you see a figure emerging from the woods: it's René Cadieux, armed with a hunting rifle. Yolande soon comes up behind him, armed too.

René starts yelling out:

"Now LISTEN TO ME boy, and LISTEN TO ME WELL. You're going to get back to wherever you came from and leave Bruno alone. If you don't get the f*** out immediately, the next shot goes right through your forehead. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? T'AS TU COMPRIS?

I hate scum like you. You've ruined all the villages in Manitoba! You destroy our communities, get people addicted to disgusting garbage and don't do the slightest thing about all the damage you leave in your wake.

My nephew killed himself because he grew out of control due to your dope and couldn't deal with it anymore. And as far as I'm concerned, YOU'RE responsible.

So SCRAM, and NOW, before I get even angrier!!!"

Lance realizes that he's been beaten yet again, and that he has no choice but to flee. He's limping slowly, but he is able to walk. You see him walking away in an opposite direction to the woods, to go back to his car parked farther away.

When he is far away, he screams:

"I'll get you Honeyman, I'll GET YOU ONE DAY!"

Yolande yells back in turn:

"Yeah, you go ahead and do that, my boy!"

A few minutes later, you hear Lance's car speeding away.

The Cadieux invite you into their home.

"Are you hurt Bruno?"
"Fortunately, more scared than hurt. Thankfully, no one got killed too."

Yolande takes a serious expression and speaks to you:

"Listen Bruno... sorry we haven't been forthcoming, but Julian told us everything from the start. We knew you were in great danger. We knew those bikers were after you. He asked us to keep a close eye on you and guard the house to make sure you remained safe.

He told us about that girl too. You try to act though, Bruno, but deep down, you have a heart of gold.

Please don't tell Julian we revealed it to you."

"I won't, and I understand. I can't thank you guys enough. I didn't knew I had guardian angels."

René then interjects:

"Nobody dares to oppose the Skull Riders. We kind of did, but we're old and we have nothing to lose. We've seen the damage that they've unleashed.

I don't know how exactly, but they must be stopped.

Hopefully you find that guy and it hurts these bastards real bad."

"Thank you so much to the both of you... but with this, I'm going to leave this house permanently. I wanted to go underground anyway, I will not have a need for it anymore. And there's just too much heat.

I made friends in the last weeks, including you, and my biggest fear is anybody getting hurt. I also have to do this, for everyone's sake. If I don't, they're going to come here with 6-7 guys armed to the teeth."

Yolande then says:

"That's fine. We'll be worried about you, but we'll keep you in our prayers. Just promise us one thing."

"And what is it?"

René looks at you inquisitively

"If you end up marrying Sonia, invite us to the wedding!"

To that you erupt in laughter.

After spending a good night's sleep, you call Julian and explains the whole thing to him. He comes with a truck, and you take all your belongings off the house. You also go to your old apartment, and remove everything from it.

You call your landlord, telling him that you are terminating your lease.

Julian goes to store all your stuff in his garage.

Then, you contact Steven, Sonia (who has just been released from the hospital), and Rachel, and meet them at Little Mountain Park later that day.

You explain to them that you have to go completely underground because you care about them all and because it's the only way you can find the truth. You decide not to give them any specifics. If you do, you fear they might try to come to your rescue. For now, you no longer want to endanger them.

"I'll call from time to time to give you news. Thank you sincerely for all that you've done to me. I'll never forget it.

I was almost killed again last night. I can't put any of you into that kind of danger.

Please stay safe."

All of them try to comfort you and ultimately understand your decision.

Sonia looks especially concerned and sad.

"Don't feel bad for me, Sonia. You've proven you're a lot tougher than you look. You've been through hell, and yet you stood up again. You're a brave girl and I respect you greatly."

You then tell them that since Lance tried to find out who and where they were, it might be wiser to go on vacation for a little while, just in case. Which they all probably could use, anyway.

They agree. Julian decides to get them all plane tickets to Florida.

You go back to your car. With a heavy heart, you wave them all goodbye.

They all wave back at you.

Then, you turn back. You go to another hotel that you've selected close to Selkirk.

For a week after, you meet Elder Janssen, who teaches you the basics of his theology. He gives you a Bible. He tells you "The Vagrants are part of those who think the King James Bible is divinely inspired, and all other ones are corrupt, so that's the one you should have."

You bond with the man over the course of these encounters, who becomes some sort of fatherly figure to you.

Due to this, you are all the more determined to help him reunite with his missing son.

Then you decide that it is time.

You are unsure of what will happen, but to give yourself courage, you keep the memories of your friends in your heart, telling yourself that you will all meet again.

You venture on the campus of the Winnipeg University...



With that, the first chapter, "HUNTED LIKE A DOG", ends, and the second chapter begins, where you'll find out more about "Pious" Peter's mysterious group, and possibly the whereabouts of David Janssen.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Chapter 2

You dressed in plain clothes, just a t-shirt and jeans.

You look at a map. Unfortunately, the campus of the University of Winnipeg is not concentrated in a single place. Rather, it consists in a series of buildings on Portage Avenue, right in downtown Winnipeg. As such, finding a single place where Vagrants congregate might be a difficult task.

This setting is probably useful to them, because it is easier to them to mesh in the general population, without being bothered by campus security.

According to Bernard, they tend to wear strict clothing that are out of fashion with the times.

You spend about two hours on Portage Avenue, trying to find a place where they might be trying to recruit students. However, you remain empty handed.

You wonder if you couldn't try to enter one of the buildings? Maybe they're there?

Which one will you choose?

A) The McFeetors Hall (a student dormitory).
B) The Asper Centre for Theator and Film
C) The Buhler Centre (the economics department).

 

[hello friend]

A