Center Point Book One: Fallen Leader

Chapter 4 The Portal

Chapter 4- The Portal

Echo had been glued to his desk for the past week, planning what to do next. He had thought of everything he possibly could have. He had planned to vote for Til's measure and in turn Til would vote for his. Then the two would be able to run Center Point the way it needed to be run, without interference from those who think they know better, meaning Lucky, Potato, and Nugget. The one thing that had gone wrong was Helium returning. That had sent everything Echo had planned into a tailspin. Helium's return had caused Echo to be pressured into voting against Til's bill and almost cost Echo his own bill. Now Helium had challenged Echo to debate and election for mayor. An office that Echo had held for five years without incident until his return. This enraged Echo beyond reason, Helium had ruined everything he had planned out and now that Helium was back Echo had to come up with a new plan, but it wasn't that easy. Helium had changed a lot in the five years of absence which made him harder to predict then everyone else. This enraged Echo further how was he going to beat Helium if he didn't know how Helium would fight back? That thought had been nagging at Echo for the past week.

Every couple hour Til or Magic would stop by and speak to Echo about the campaign and inform him on what Helium and his campaign were up to. Echo learned that Helium was holding meetings with the villagers to discuss what he would do for them, but most of them didn't trust him and when asked why he left Helium wasn't able to give a good answer. Echo hearing this had an idea. If he was going to beat Helium, he would have to hammer home the fact that Helium had left before and could be planning to leave again. Echo told Til this idea and Til immediately loved it and gave a speech at the town fountain about it. All the villagers and even Potato were present to hear Til's speech. Echo did watch the speech from his balcony but didn't attend it as he was too busy planning.

Magic had noticed that Echo's absence on the campaign trail was affecting the enthusiasm of his supporters. Even though he had voted against the housing bill Echo remained popular with the villagers. The villagers had enjoyed the last five years of Echo's administration, but his absence was starting to become concerning. Most villagers questioned Magic about his absence and even asked does he not care enough to come talk to us? Magic of course had come up with excuse after excuse for Echo, but with the government being at a standstill and nothing major happening it was getting harder and harder to cover for Echo. In all honesty Magic didn't even know why Echo had bothered to stay in the mansion and plan, the villagers obviously favored Echo and would support him if he just came out to say hello, but even with Magic's pleas Echo stayed put and continued to plan.

The only person who didn't seem to be affected or even care about the upcoming election was Jack. Since he had arrived Jack had been hiding out in Helium's basement obsessing over trying to re activate Lucky's portal. Day and night, rain or shine Jack was in the basement or at the portal itself working and theorizing. Jack didn't even notice that Helium hadn't even been home for the past few days as he had been out campaigning and strategizing with Lucky. As Jack sat in his basement once again looking over his notes an idea finally popped into his head. Jack quickly grabbed what he needed and made a break for Lucky's house and was surprised when he saw that no one was there. Jack looked around the house and could only find a pen containing a horse, an artic fox, and one baby polar bear. This confused Jack even more as Lucky never mentioned having pets. Instead of waiting for Lucky to return Jack decided that he would head to the portal and test his theory before he informed Lucky. As he ran through town Jack paid no mind to the rally that Helium was holding in the town and didn't even notice it when Potato tried to stop and talk to him.

As Jack rushed past her Potato decided to follow the stranger as she found the rally to be just as boring as the rest Helium held. Potato followed Jack trying to catch his attention by yelling at him, but Jack didn't even seem to be aware of her existence. Eventually Jack made it out to the portal and immediately laid down everything he had brought, a piece of TNT and a flint and steel. Potato knew that Jack was trying to activate the portal, but she thought that the things he brought would not be able to activate it. Instead of placing the TNT inside the portal Jack placed it next to the portal and readied it to be lit. Potato decided that now was as good time as any to take a step back and as she did, she stepped on a twig that snapped and alerted Jack to her presence. In one swift motion Jack struck his flint and steel, but instead of hitting the TNT he hit the portal and succeeded in lighting it.