Scenes of eventually stories

The Journey for hope(2): Hardships

(Fair warning, this chapter gets a little bit confusing since it is takes place in the middle of the story and after all the exposition has taken place, so things might not make a lot of sense.)
_____________________

After a surprising peaceful night of sleep, Jay checked out of the inn just as the sun rose. The streets were mostly empty, other than the few who were setting up their shops and those who woke up to see the sun rise. He looked at the buildings surrounding him. Based on what the lady at the inn told him, the Mayor's office was the most flamboyant building in the whole town. "Madison, do you see any building that looks 'flamboyant' to you?"

Madison appeared next to him and looked around as well. She shrugged. "They all look pretty normal to me. Like the buildings back at home." Jay nodded in agreement.

"Well, we've been through most of the town already, so maybe it won't be far?" He asked hopefully.
_____________________

It took them 3 hours to find the Mayor's office. To be fair, they did end up getting lost for at least an hour and half of the time Jay spent turning down a few determined shop owners who tried to sell him things when he asked for directions.

The building was indeed flamboyant. It was painted a multitude of colours, all of which were neon, and the front door was at least 4 meters tall with two large Christmas trees at the sides of the building, despite the fact that it was nowhere near Christmas. Pink flamingos where scattered around the lawn outside the building and the fountain in the middle was spewing some green liquid. Jay opted to not question it and walked across the lawn as fast as he could.

Jay pushed open the front door(which took as much effort as one would expect when attempting to push open a 4 meter tall door) and was greeted by a surprisingly normal lobby. The desk lady smiled at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning, could I speak to the Mayor, please?" He asked and began searching through his bag. He pulled out an envelope with a signature on it. "I have a few matters I need to discuss with her."

The desk lady nodded and led him to the Mayor's office, passing by many different doors with names on each of them. Once they reached, she bowed slightly and left him standing in front of the office door. Jay gripped the envelope tightly and entered the room.
_____________________

"I can't believe it, it's been 50 years since we've been frozen in time. 50 years since Winqur was trapped and now she's loose again."

"I know it's pretty hard to believe. When Janin first told us about it, I think I almost passed out from shock. But it's true. Winqur's back and me and my friends have been playing her games for I don't know how long."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But if she truly hasn't changed her ways, it seems that you might be near the end of your journey. I remember having this exact conversation with Omar, your teacher, when he came here looking for his brother." The Mayor, Ms Jonica, smiled to herself as she recalled her meeting with Jay's physics teacher.

Jay blinked in surprise. "He did?"

Ms Jonica nodded. "Oh yes. But he was much more anxious about it compared to you, seeing as it was his own brother, and the fact that all previous participants had been killed or failed on at least one of the missions caused him extreme distress. In fact, they were actually the first to beat Winqur at her own game, despite it not lasting long."

"Which is why I need to find Neo and save her before she ends up becoming a guardian for Winqur. It will be bad if we have to deal with another guardian, but I don't think I'll be able to face Anthony if I fail to rescue her." Jay said.