Author's Note: Thank you Guest review and do not despair. Thank you for the fave YamiTaylourIshtar95. anime-zombie14 and Innocentangel5500 thanks for the alert and fave. Cynthiatophklepinger thanks for adding me to your fave/alert list! I'll update the other fic when possible. 1fanofthemarauders thanks and CallMeLy thanks for the alert! 12/31/13 I've been really sick for the past week, but I just revised and added stuff to this one. Marie will get more detail next time and pardon my attempt at writing a Brooklyn accent. And one more thing…Merry Christmas!

(The Lorax, and The Once-ler do not belong to me. They're Dr. Seuss' and Illumination's. Same goes for his family or other characters or Seuss names from the books or shown in the film. Marie and her growing girls are mine!)

Chapter 35

Monsters and Humans

"Dada."

Once-ler moaned in his sleep as he rolled over. His hand dragged away from Marie's waist. His body was still at rest as he heard the soft cry.

"Dada!"

Once-ler's eyelids barely lifted as he saw through blurry vision something small. The something small reached up and smacked the bedside.

"Pancakes! Pancakes, Dada!"

His eyes completely opened after he yawned. He looked to see Chloe and Natalie, only a year-and-a-half old, standing by his side. He smiled softly to see his girls…

"Hey!" he exclaimed sitting up on his elbow. "What are you doing out of your cribs?"

"Me go out," said Natalie proudly. She shook her little wispy locks.

Chloe laughed and playfully put her hands to her head as she waddled in a circle. She had stopped pawing the bedside when her father woke up. Natalie waddled back and lifted her arms up.

"Up Dada," she demanded.

Baffled at their escape, Once-ler flipped the covers off and lifted them up easily. Marie still slept, head buried in her pillow. Once-ler found the bedroom door open and the little, spiral staircase leading down to the twins' room. The gate blocking the entrance hadn't been moved, but the girls had managed to climb over it. It was perched on a step and a little short, short enough that they could crawl over and then head up onto the next step. Yet neither parent had guessed the girls would escape. Once-ler saw their blankets were draped over the cribs and somehow they had crawled down with the bars.

"How?" he breathed. He looked at them with eyes as wide as saucers.

Neither baby answered except acted innocently. Natalie tugged at his pajama collar and Chloe put a hand over her eye as if she wanted to play Peek-a-Boo. In that situation Once-ler could only smile.

Then it all ended when Once-ler heard the sound of the doorbell from down below. Not this time…he wasn't going to talk to anyone. He was through with people knocking around, asking him about trees and all the searching for seeds. That had happened the day after Halloween. People came around with their questions. Especially with Christmas coming around within the month he didn't want anymore visitors.

Ding-Dong the doorbell went again in a deep tone. Once-ler rolled over in the bed and smacked a pillow against his face.

"They can wait," he thought bitterly as he laid still. "They can all wait."

As the doorbell rang again he pulled the covers over his body, still clad in his suit, and yearned for peace. Only an hour before he had bid goodnight to Marie. He already looked forward to hearing her and his girls again. Yet he'd never forget the first day that it all happened...

The first day they had come had been a day of surprise. He had been searching for digging tools in the basement of The Lerkim. To no avail, he had only found junk. The only sound was the wind.

"There has to be something," he thought with some positivity. "Anything that could-"

Ding-Dong went the doorbell. The sound made him jump out of his skin. He pulled on his coat that he had dropped in the corner during his search. The sound still rang in his ears and he froze.

"Nothing," he said to himself. "There's nothing."

Ding-Dong. It had been real after all. Puzzled by the ringing, Once-ler slipped up the ladder from the basement. The image of a young man peeking up from the floor came to be though nobody saw him. He crawled on the floor and inhaled. Someone was there. After a whole month someone was there.

"Marie?" he thought. "No, she's far away."

"Hello?" called a voice. The voice knocked on the wooden door. "Mr. Once-ler? Are you there?"

Once-ler inched carefully to the door and pressed his ear against it. He narrowed his eyes when he didn't hear the footsteps leave.

"Look I'll pay you if I can ask you about the trees," said the voice. "How much do you want? We'd like to hear your opinion about what happened?"

"Seems obvious doesn't it?" he thought hotly. Once-ler grimaced as he thought of a way to get the person to go. Then he had an idea.

In another minute the perky lady outside the doorstep was surprised to find a note slipped under the door. She picked it up between her finely manicured nails and smiled.

"Bring fifteen cents, a nail and the shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail."

The lady hopped back in her convertible and sped off. Once-ler watched from the window and grinned. She wouldn't be able to find that snail at least. She'd be put on a hunt and quit! Feeling he wouldn't be disturbed Once-ler went upstairs to find a drawing plan for a greenhouse.

It had been only three hours later when he heard that doorbell ringing and knocking again. With a huff, he peeked out of his glass window. From the corner of his eyes he could see that lady in her flowery dress and pumps. He frowned again and went down. Instead of opening the door he went back to the basement. He came back up hulling a bucket.

"You want me to talk," he mumbled to himself. "Fine. Fine." He bitterly tied a knot of rope over the bucket. He opened the window and crack and let it fall.

The lady looked over in shock to hear the metallic clunk. She strutted under the window and looked for Once-ler. She couldn't see him well enough. He stayed low with his long legs stretched out. He heard the clinking of metal and copper in the bucket and pulled it up. Clumsily, the contents fell in his lap. Fifteen pennies, a rusty nail and a shell from a snail was inside.

"Good thing I had a snail shell collection huh?" the lady called up.

"What do you want?" yelled Once-ler enunciating his words.

"My name's Emmy Paisley," the lady called. "Like I said, I want your opinion about the trees! Anything you have to say?"

"What is there to say?" hollered Once-ler as he sat on his heels. "Its all my fault!"

"Why?" asked Emmy. She tapped her pencil against her notepad. "Care to explain that?"

"Why do you care?"

"The newspapers are curious and I just got a job there so a big scoop will help me and my daughter."

Once-ler softened a little. It made him want to see his own. It wouldn't hurt to tell her something. At least she'd go and maybe no one would come back or maybe they would because they'd finally care about the trees. Either way, he'd help her and her child.

"How long do you have?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"Long enough," replied Emmy. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "So what's the story?"

"I'll tell you one half then you come back tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah sure." Emmy didn't plan on coming back tomorrow for she had things to buy and a child to discipline. Surely she'd get enough information from one visit.

"Where to start?" Once-ler stated after a pause. "A long time ago-well not too long ago-I was leaving home..."

He left out Marie and the twins. He only focused on The Lorax and the trees. He stopped after the threat from The Lorax. Emmy Paisley didn't come back for the second half. Others came though. He fixed a pulley with the bucket and created a long tube that slithered out of the window so his voice wasn't strained. That's how it went for the next month. People coming around with their questions and the payment. Emmy had written that in her article: "The Hermit's Tale." which was rejected from publishers. Nobody believed The Lorax was real anyway. Yet she spread rumors of the payment. That which Marie knew off and always hoped he was safe.

The morning after Once-ler bid goodnight to Marie, she got the girls up for school. After she closed the door behind them she washed the dishes and pulled out two dresses; one for a customer and one for herself. Winter was coming and she needed a wool dress. It was only an hour after the girls had left that the telephone rang.

"Hello?" she responded casually as she rethreaded a needle.

"Ms. Finnegan?" A baritone voice lulled. "This is Mr. Cubbins. The principal?"

"Yes?" asked Marie attentively. She expected maybe the girls got sick from the food and had finally given into queasiness. "Is something wrong? Are the girls sick?"

"Can you come down here?" he asked. He sounded concerned. "We found-there's a-your girls are in danger. Someone's done something to them."

"What?" she cried. "What happened-no, I'll be there! Thank you!"

With a terrible fright Marie hung up and pulled on her boots and coat. Without her make-up on or hair combed, she ran for the car. Over the streets she went until she twisted into the corner of the school's parking lot. The colorful landscape was a vast contrast with a grey sky against it. She raced inside and made her way down the hallways to the principal's office. She knew the way after Natalie's past troubles. The lights barely flickered down the ceiling. The air inside was warm, but there was a sense of something ominous.

When inside the burgundy decorated office Marie found the girls, sitting on the sofa with a tissue box. Chloe had crumpled up wads of tissues in her hands and her face was red. Natalie looked frozen stiff. Mr. Cubbins, an aging and bald man sat behind his desk with Miss McFuzz behind him. Both looked concerned.

"Oh girls," said Marie tearfully. She knelt before them to hug them together. "Are you okay?" Neither answered. "What happened?" she asked, directing her attention to the other adults.

"I don't know how to explain," said Miss McFuzz as she wrung her frost-bitten hands.

"This happened," said Mr. Cubbins pensively. He held up a newspaper from his desk.

Marie screamed when she saw it. There, on the front page was Natalie on a school bench with her book and the caption in bold letters: "The Once-ler's Biggest Secret? Illegitimate Child Found? See Page 2."

"Would you like to read it?" asked Mr. Cubbins softly.

Marie snatched it and rapidly scanned the article.

It appears this could be a hoax or true fact! The Once-ler seems to have been harboring more than cruelty than we realize! From unknown sources, it has been revealed that he may have a child! As appeared in the picture she attends Thneedville Elementary and is around five years old. It has been reported that Isabella, The Once-ler's mother, had tried to cover up the incident by saying she is an orphan. Is this entirely true? As of now, it is hard to reach contact with The Once-ler since his banishment with "the payment" so it'll be guessed by the eyes. Whether this is true or not, The Once-ler will be in headlines again.

"I do apologize Ms. Finnegan," said Mr. Cubbins. "I am so sorry that somebody so terrible would pull such a prank over one of your children."

Marie's stomach churned so much she felt like throwing up. Her heart pulsed in her ears and all her worries were pressed into her mind. She didn't know what to say. Only a tear formed in her right eye.

"Once-ler," she thought with a broken heart. "Oh Once-ler I wish you here!"

"I bring the newspaper rolled up from home for the teachers' lounge," said Miss McFuzz. "I didn't see it until Mr. Cubbins called for me and the girls. I'm horrified by this as much as you are."

"We can call the police to see who did this," said the principal. "We only wanted to get your approval because they are your children." He noticed the girls again. "Now, now," he coaxed. "Don't be scared little ladies." He reached into a candy jar on his desk and offered out a sucker.

Chloe only shook her head and sniffled. Natalie still sat there without a solid movement.

"The girls can go home early today," said Miss McFuzz. "I can get their assignments for today… Ms. Finnegan?"

"I have to…" started Marie. "Yes. I need to take them home." She sniffled and shakily breathed. "I need to clear up this hoax."

"We won't say anything until you give permission," said Mr. Cubbins. "Again, I'm so sorry. This can all be cleared up just like any other tabloid folly."

Marie took some tissue and wiped her eyes that threatened more tears. Miss McFuzz left the room and returned minutes later with two folders. Marie trembled as she took them. Outside in the dark sky, a peal of thunder was heard.

"You may want to hurry before a big storm comes," said Miss McFuzz. "Take care girls."

Marie tucked the folders into Chloe's satchel and took each other their hands. She calmly walked out of the building, but when in the parking lot she ran. Chloe kept up thanks to her natural gift, but Natalie stumbled and tripped. At one point her nice shoes were scuffed with grey scratches.

"Come on, come on," encouraged Marie. "Hurry! In the car!"

The twins obeyed and their mother speeded over the streets. Rain abruptly poured and blinded her. The windshield wipers furiously swished and loudly kept rhythm. When in the condo's parking space she grabbed the twins out and ran inside with them. They were drenched from the rain and shivering.

"Mommy why is Natty in the papers?" Chloe finally said. "I'm scared!"

"I don't know," panted Marie as she took her coat off. "I don't know Sweetie. Natalie, are you alright?" Natalie's eyes seemed to get bigger and bigger. "Sweetheart, please! Speak to me!"

"They got my…age wrong," said Natalie stiffly. "I'm not five. I'm six-and-a-half."

"Is that all?" shouted Marie. She had a mix of anger and fright in her voice. "Natalie your picture is in the-forget it! I need to call your dad!"

"I want to talk to him! Please!" Chloe begged and latched to her mother's waist.

Marie only pulled the telephone down to the floor and hugged both girls. The line didn't ring back like usual. It droned out a long dial tone.

"Come on Once," pleaded Marie. "Pick up!" The kitchen light suddenly went out with a soft click. She pushed on the buttons rapidly and waited. After a long pause she dropped it. "The electricity is out. We can't reach him."

Marie lifted their babies up and blindly found the countertop. She felt around for the drawers and fumbled out a box of matches. She lit one and pulled out a tall candlestick. Her pale face had a warm glow from the light and Chloe thought of how her mother looked like the heroine's in her story books.

"Okay," breathed Marie. "We're okay."

"What if somebody gets inside?" asked Chloe fearfully.

"I locked it already," said Marie. "Nobody can get in."

"Mom?" said Natalie while they all caught their breath. "I'm sorry I was in the papers."

"Natalie," said Marie sternly. "Don't you dare do that! This isn't your fault! Whoever did this should apologize! Not you!"

"Mom I-" began Natalie.

"It isn't!"

"Mom-"

"Natalie, don't!"

"Mom it's my-"

"It isn't your fault!" shouted Marie. "Now be quiet while I think of what to do! The whole city will have seen it!"

"Mommy I want to talk to Daddy," pleaded Chloe.

"Not right now," said Marie firmly. Her hands ran over her cheeks in frustration.

"Mommy can't you fix the phone?" Chloe pleaded again.

"We can't do that right now!" snapped Marie. Her frustration released. "Be quiet! Both of you! Not a word until I figure this out!" She stormed away to find more sources for light.

Neither of the girls could recall seeing their mother so angry. It scared both of them. The last time Natalie saw anyone so angry was Once-ler on that fateful day the last tree fell. She swallowed though her throat was dry. Then Chloe rubbed her eyes and her sister side-hugged her.

"She didn't mean to be mean," Natalie whispered to her.

Marie turned on any flashlights and lit any candles she could find. She yanked the big, blue comforter off of her bed and gave it to the twins. She got out Chloe's stuffed animals and Natalie's cat. Both girls climbed down from the counter and by a flashlight found the couch.

"I'm afraid," whispered Chloe to Natalie. "What if they take a picture of me?"

"They're not going to," said Natalie. "I promised Dad I'd take care of you and Mom." She squeezed her hand for comfort.

"Natty?" asked Chloe after a pause. "I'm going to put on my wish list that I want to see Daddy again."

"Me too," her twin agreed.

Marie finally sat down on the floor and put her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do about the papers. She wasn't sure how to get out of the situation. The storm flashed outside and caused spines to cringe. At one terrible crash of lightning Chloe screamed and dove under the cover. It showed how short Marie's temper had become for she snapped again.

"Chloe please!" she ordered.

"You're scaring her!" shouted Natalie angrily.

Chloe whimpered and shook. She held onto C.C. and stroked his long ears. She suddenly worried about her critter friends.

"Please keep Melvin safe because Daddy misses him," she whispered. "Oh, and Edwin because he's Mommy's cat; and Pipsqueak my bar-ba-loot friend; and Gill the Humming-Fish; and Lou because he's a chubby bar-ba-loot and gets tired fast; and Bill the baby swan because he's little; and Mr. Lorax…"

Any fears for them would've received comfort knowing that the animals were surviving. The storm hadn't caught their direction. Edwin was trotting along with Melvin's plodding and Pipsqueak was riding on the mule's head.

Chloe's little prayer list grew as she named each creature. Natalie was mad at Marie for yelling and folded her arms. Marie bit her lips and kept her breathing under control. She couldn't think of anything to protect her girls. She also felt guilty because she didn't mean to yell. She lost her temper like any human would. For two months she had to carry without Once-ler and now she wasn't sure if she could do it anymore. She needed help.

"Betsy…Rufus…" she thought. "I wish you were alive to guide me."

She imagined all the things that could happen: paparazzi following the girls, tabloids of lies and bombarding of questions and hate. There was nothing she could do at the moment, but wait for the storm to end.

The storm lasted for a long time. Clouds kept rolling in and only pausing to gather. By the time it was in the afternoon Thneedville and its half-formed walls were soaked. The streets were slick and shiny. Everyone had gone their separate ways. Natalie sat drawing at the table. Chloe stayed in their bedroom and brushed C.C.'s hair with Natalie's comb. Marie curled up on her bed in thought.

For a long time she had tried coming up with good excuses about the family, but there seemed to be a loose end each time. She couldn't think of a decent lie to cover up the twins. There was…nothing. Except one option…

The truth.

She was saddened to admit it, but there was nothing else except admit the truth. All the fears that she and Once-ler had harbored for years would come true; paparazzi, tabloids, and hatred. That was all they could do.

Slowly, she stood up and headed for her room. She looked in the bathroom mirror at her face, etched with worry. Her hair was more tangled than she could remember, her face flushed and eyes watered. A look she'd probably have for a long time with the stress that could follow.

"I can't do anything about this can I?" she reaffirmed to herself.

At that moment she heard a knocking on the door. She felt her heart skip a beat, but regained her composure…that is until she heard one of her favorite voices.

"I'll get it," called Natalie.

"Natty don't!" yelled Marie as she raced out to stop her. "Sweetheart no!"

But by the time Marie turned the corner of the hallway to the front door it was nothing but flashing lights and calling out things like "There she is! It's true!" Natalie screamed and covered her face. Marie jumped back, but she didn't freeze up. She swooped in and pulled Natalie back.

"Get away from my house!" she screamed at the people while a question trailed in.

"Ma'am what's it like to be the mother of The Once-ler's lo-"

Marie smacked the door and locked it. It didn't help for the flashing lights were seen in the kitchen window. As if it wasn't enough that Natalie and Marie had screamed, now Chloe screamed and ran from her room. Now they had gotten a picture of her! Lights flashed in and her mother yanked the curtains together to shield themselves. She did the same for the kitchen windows. Amazing! She hadn't even received a moment to tell anyone the truth and already they were getting attention.

All day long and into the night, none of them left the house. Marie kept the girls home the next day and decided she had to go alone. She fixed herself nicely and rehearsed what to say for she was going to face the worst fears of the family.

"Mom can you give them a knuckle sandwich?" asked Natalie as she watched her mother comb her curls. She hugged her around the waist and hoped she would say yes.

"I don't want even you to give people one," replied Marie. "I'm going to talk to them." She put the comb down and smiled gently to her eldest daughter. "Whatever happens though, we will always be together." She stroked one of her freckled cheeks.

Natalie nodded. She knew, without a doubt, she had very brave parents.

"Chloe's still sleeping," said Marie. "Now both of you stay inside and don't open the doors, windows or answer the phone."

There was no point in that though. The phone line was still dead despite the lights being on. Natalie nodded again and went to her room. She listened to her mother walk down the hall and the jingle of her keys before the door opened and quietly closed.

Marie had adjusted her coat and quietly left the house. It was quiet, too quiet. After a few more paces, she was across the street where Once-ler was arrested and she went up the block. There, like she expected was a crowd. The photographers were arriving to her house. Like predators circling their prey they were on her. All the shouts, flashing bulbs and questions! One of them, the most common one was: "Are the newspapers all true Ma'am?" Marie let it all sink in before she opened her mouth.

"I don't know who took that picture of my daughter, but whatever is in the newspaper…is true."

That was were Marie made a mistake. She didn't correct that the newspaper was wrong about calling Natalie "illegitimate." However, all that came to mind was that she wanted to clarify that he did have a child after all. Whatever the case, Marie had good intentions none the less.

"What about the other kid?" asked one of the men there. "Is she Once-ler's too?"

"…Yes. I'm married to him too. Just please leave us alone. That's all I ask and don't bother Once-ler about this. He has enough to worry about."

Whatever Marie asked for did not happen. Things certainly didn't get better. For some reason the phone line never worked despite the electricity being on. School became worse. Going to the store was worse with eyes glaring at Marie. People would whisper that she was a loose woman and the ring was a cover-up. "Bet he did that to make her feel more wholesome," they'd mutter. Marie's old co-workers were angry at her. Girls who had swooned over Once-ler were furious that she had lived their fantasies. (Or perhaps not, for theirs were that of teenagers, not young adults.) Children at school who liked the girls didn't talk to them. Then bullying took place and Natalie found herself deeply tempted to fight back. However, Chloe remained her anchor and would squeeze her hand if she looked angry.

On the first day back to school Chloe looked for her friend Ellie Paisley, hoping to find some friendship. Ellie wasn't there, but the bullies were though. Boys who were in her grade and older called her names whenever they could.

"You know what you are?" hollered Sean Spring on that first day back. "You're a moron like your dad!" He skipped around the slide as she climbed up.

"Am not," said Chloe confidently.

"And you're a coward," another boy called from behind her.

Chloe slid down on the cold metal and jumped up to reply.

"I am not a coward," said Chloe firmly. She crossed her arms with a huff.

"Then why is he hiding?" they chimed.

"He's not hiding!" Chloe stomped her foot into the cold ground.

"Prove it," the boy retorted.

"If you're not a coward," said Sean with a grin that showed his missing teeth. "Then I dare you to take that snail and put it on Miss McFuzz's desk!" He pointed to the fake tree that had a small snail slithering its way up.

The best idea would've been to walk away from the dare. Once-ler and Marie would've greatly encouraged it. Chloe though was always weak around peer pressure as a result of a bossy sister. Bravely and with a grimace to Sean, she took the snail without a squeal of disgust. She marched into the building and within a minute came back out. She brushed her hands over her wool skirt.

"There," she said proudly. "I did it. I'm not a coward."

Coward she was not at that point. That changed later in class. Miss McFuzz had sat down at her desk after teaching math when she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"A slug! A slug!" she squealed and jumped on her chair.

"It's only a snail," said Chloe with a raised hand. "He wouldn't hurt you."

Miss McFuzz suddenly glared at Chloe. Natalie knew that look and bit her lips. The next thing anyone knew, Chloe was sitting in the corner for the first time that year.

"Next time you think," said Miss McFuzz coldly as she put the snail in the trash can. "Then again, I wouldn't expect anything different from A Once-ler," she added as a parting shot.

Natalie watched the whole thing and thought of dark thoughts to her teacher. When Miss McFuzz ended the class Natalie carefully ducked her hand in the trash and pulled the snail out. Squirming inside with disgust she put him back outside. There were no real trees or bushes to put him on so he slithered away on smooth rock.

"Not his fault she squealed like she saw a fat rat," she thought. Then she looked up and saw Sean Spring playing on the swings while waiting for his mother.

Sean's last encounter with Natalie had been a nightmare, but at least she was gracious enough to only get up behind him, and push him off. When he yelled and fell onto the new pavement. When he looked up to see her she had that familiar look.

"You get C in trouble again I'll punch you," shouted Natalie with a jabbing finger.

Sean scrambled up and grabbed his backpack. He ran a short distance before yelling out "I'll tell my brother! You'll be sorry!"

"No I won't," called Natalie with a sing-song tone as she shook her head in rhythm.

The next day, instead of getting dared Chloe and Natalie were teased about how they looked. The girls would pass by their desks and say they looked ugly. Boys would make faces at them during reading time. Both girls were happy to leave school and wait for Marie to come, but it took a detour when a tall boy with blonde hair and brown eyes showed up with Sean behind him.

"Hey Shrimp," he barked. "You Natalie? The one who picked on my brother?" He got low in Natalie's face and she saw the glint of his braces.

"Yeah," she said boldly. "He hurt my sister first."

"Oh yeah?" he said.

"Yeah," mimicked Natalie. "Now why don't you go visit the tooth fairy about your teeth?"

"See Stanley?" whined Sean. "She's mean!"

"Don't worry bro," said Stanley. "She won't bug you anymore. I'm gonna teach she and Mop Top a lesson!"

"Mop Top? What does that mean?" asked Chloe fearfully behind Natalie.

"It means you're hair looks like a gross mop," said Stanley with a wicked smile. "Like the one used by the janitor in the bathrooms and when someone pukes in the cafeteria!"

The boys laughed and Chloe tugged her cap over her head until her eyes barely peeked out. Natalie growled and pulled at her sister's sleeve. She promised she wouldn't get into a fight and she had upheld it this time.

"Hey Bratalie!" yelled Stanley again. "Your hair too! It's so long it could pick up all the dirt on the ground!"

"Don't…don't." thought Natalie.

"Yeah," said Sean. "Let's how long it can go!" He reached his mitten covered hands out and suddenly did a spiteful thing!

Chloe cried out to see Sean suddenly yank on Natalie's long hair and pull her to the ground with a thud! Natalie gasped and yelled in pain. She hit the dirt and felt the wind knocked out of her. She gasped again and coughed.

"Natty!" screamed Chloe and knelt by her. "Natty are you okay? Is your hair gone?"

Natalie wanted to cry from the pain, but she rubbed her head. She remembered hearing Isabella saying to her once it was always shameful to cry. So the child jumped up and pointed a finger at Sean.

"You're a goblin!" she yelled with blurry eyes. "A big, fat goblin! I'm going to tell!" Then sharply she yanked on her sister's arm. "Let's go!"

Rapidly she scampered in with Chloe at her heels. They dodged into the classroom decorated with bells on the door.

"Miss McFuzz!" Natalie screamed. "Sean Spring's a moron!"

"Haven't I told you to not say that word?" said Miss McFuzz as she erased the chalkboard.

"But he-" Natalie protested.

"Miss Natalie!" her teacher warned. "That's enough."

"Miss McFuzz he and his brother-"

"Shut up!" The yell from their teacher silenced Natalie who was suddenly afraid.

Miss McFuzz came down from her platform and stood still. She was inches away from Natalie. Chloe looked just as frightened. She heard her twin swallow, but Chloe knew all too well Natalie wouldn't quit. If she wanted to quit she wouldn't had been the first of the two to crawl, walk, or speak.

THWAP!

The sound echoed in the quiet room. Natalie's head was turned with a red streak on her cheek.

"You and your family have been nothing but trouble haven't you?" the once nice teacher hissed. "Its all your faults' the trees are gone!"

"He pulled her down!" defended Chloe. Miss McFuzz ignored her though.

"Natalie Once-ler," commanded Miss McFuzz. "You have gotten in enough trouble before! I suggest you stop being a bully yourself before you blame others for being one." She went back to her desk, smacked some papers down sharply and opened a drawer. "I'm sick of these Once-lers," she muttered under her breath.

It got worse when the girls were out in public and people looked at them with fierce eyes. The boys shoved them on the playground. They'd push and make rude calls at them. All the girls would ignore them and whisper when the girls were visible. It seemed that no matter what Marie, Natalie or Chloe did no one was on their side save for their few and faithful companions from long ago. The teachers only shamed Marie for being associated with Once-ler if she tried calling about the girls.

Then one day, a friend did seem to emerge. It was only a week before Christmas when Sean had gotten into a fight with Natalie and with her smacking him. Chloe crouched behind the metal tree and gasped when it wiggled from the wind. Sean pulled off Natalie's necklace and its clasp broke.

"Give it back!" snapped Natalie and chased him to the other side of the playground. She and Chloe had agape mouths when Sean flung it over the fence thanks to his brothers' teachings about pitching.

"Hah! I win this one!" he laughed.

"No!" screamed Natalie in horror. "Dad gave me that for my birthday!" She clung to the chain-link fence in grief as cars zoomed over it. Certainly it would break.

"Then go get it," the boy had taunted.

Natalie punched him for stealing her precious jewelry and was caught. Did Sean get in trouble? Nope. He did not. He was pitied for being attacked by that "daughter of the tree-killer." Yes it had been wrong for Natalie to punch him, but with all the stress and lack of allies she didn't know what to do. She wasn't even able to communicate with her father thanks to the dead phone line. Why was it still out?

In the office, Natalie could hear the principal working on a bulletin for the corkboards down the hall. He spoke slowly into the Dictaphone and only made her feel sleepy with listening. "-this shall be for the benefit of our school's future comma, and also for the children…period." When he stopped she felt alert again.

The secretary glared at Natalie as she typed on her typewriter. Poor Natalie would be kept after school and her mother's pleas over the phone could do nothing. The girl sniffed and drew her legs up. She wanted to cry because she was afraid that her necklace had been ruined in the street with all the cars. That's how far it had been flung. She hated Thneedville more than ever. She just wanted to go home; the home where her father was. She was so out of touch that she didn't hear the door open or someone speak to the secretary.

"`Scuse me," said a voice. "Is this yours?"

Natalie looked up to see a tall, young man, perhaps nineteen, holding her necklace in his palm.

She snatched it from him and held it to her chest. She sniffled again as she stared at him, the kind man who had brought it back.

He was almost as tall as Once-ler, around six-foot and three inches tall. He had dark brown hair, though short, that was shaggy. His eyes were a dark brown and very wide on his round face. His chin seemed invisible with his shape unlike Chloe's or Once-ler's who had a little chin pointing. His cheeks were rosy and big like a rodent stuffing nuts in his cheeks for the winter. He had a row of pearly teeth; the two biggest ones were slightly bucked making him look more like a rodent. He still had a pleasant and cheerful face despite the comical features. His pouty lips giving a childlike warmth which was less intimidating. The young man was dressed in stiff blue jeans with a leather jacket and boots. In his free hand he had a motorcycle helmet with red stripes painted on.

He smiled at Natalie, but she couldn't smile back. She was so relieved to have her necklace back that she shed a tear. He looked surprised and knelt down.

"Hey come on," he said gently. His voice had an accent like he was from a big city. "You shouldn't cry. You're a big goirl."

"I don't care," breathed Natalie. "I miss my dad."

"Oh I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. "It's tough. My pa left my ma and me."

"He was taken from me," answered Natalie. "Don't you read the papers?"

"No," he said. "I just moved into Thneedville to live with my goirlfriend. Name's Fred." He held his lean hand out to shake.

"I don't shake hands with strangers," said Natalie curtly.

Fred chuckled and stood up. "Smart kid," he said. "Hey cheer up Sweets, it'll be okay. I don't know what your pa did, but I'm sure he's still nice."

"Really?" asked Natalie with hope.

"Sure," said Fred. "We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we're always bad. I bet the same goes for your dad."

Natalie smiled a little at his remark. It was refreshing to hear. Fred got up, gave her a wink and put his helmet back on.

"See ya kid and don't lose that necklace," he said. "Just keep your chin up." Then he was gone.

Natalie looked down at her little jewelry. Her name in gold cursive had tire tracks printed over it, but it was still hers. That was all that mattered. She never saw Fred again, but she never forgot him.

While Natalie remembered Fred and wondered what he was doing Chloe encountered a sad event. After several days of wondering, Chloe asked Miss McFuzz where Ellie Paisley had gone. The woman had done nothing but be pleased with abuse she could give. She hated her students now and the whole faculty felt betrayed by the girls.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked slyly. She leaned over her desk to the child.

"Ellie's my friend," said Chloe. "Is she sick?"

"No," said Miss McFuzz. "She's no longer here. She's left Thneedville."

"Why?" cried Chloe. She had cried so loudly that the whole class stared at her from their reading.

"Perhaps her mother didn't want her playing with the Greedler's child," mocked the teacher. "You sent her away."

"She's my friend," said Chloe with a lump in her throat. "She'd tell me."

"You don't have friends," hollered one of the girls in the class. The other pupils giggled. "No one likes you or Nat the Brat!"

"I'm not a brat!" thundered Natalie. She stood up. "We'll show you! We'll show you our dad is good! We wrote about him on those cards for the Christmas show!"

"Did you?" said Miss McFuzz in surprise. She hadn't looked at the cards by the children yet. She sat down and pulled them out from her drawer. "Well isn't that nice?"

Then she ripped the two cards clean down the middle! Chloe and Natalie's dark blues eyes were a mix of tears and flame.

"You will both sit on the stage, but you will not talk," she said. "Unless you want to write about your mother, but then again I think we know enough about her. Now Miss Once-ler, sit back in your seat before you go in the corner again!"

When school had ended that day it was bitterly cold for mid-December. The girls didn't wear their Thneed coats and buttoned up their cardigans. They hid behind the school with trembling hands for their mother. Yet trouble found them again. Stanley came right around the corner with five other rough looking boys. Ever since Natalie's hair pulling the sixth graders had taken delight in shoving her around.

"So," he said looking at them. "Hiding out huh?"

"Go away," said Natalie sternly.

"Go away," mimicked Stanley.

The twins got up and walked away with the boys behind them. Trying to ignore the posse Chloe and Natalie held hands and kept up with the other's pace. The bullies walked faster and finally pulled on the girls' satchels. They slipped and scraped against the sidewalk.

"What was that for?" snapped Natalie.

"What's it like being a bastard child?" asked Stanley.

Neither girl knew what that meant, but it still sounded offending. Natalie was about to bark another insult when she was suddenly lifted up by the shoulders and dropped down on the soft dirt which would be covered with fake grass.

"You bully!" screamed Chloe in rage. Then she raced up and kicked Stanley in the shin making him tumble.

Immediately Chloe grabbed Natalie's hand, heaved her up and they dodged away. Angrily Stanley led his group. Natalie and Chloe ducked and weaved past honking cars and cross pedestrians.

"Little ragamuffins," mumbled an old man who nearly tripped when Natalie bumped into him.

The girls ran towards the playground and shouted when they saw a cop car swerve from their approach. It suddenly became a blur. Natalie took a turn to her right and leaped on the sidewalk towards the direction of home. When she was near the condo she fumbled out a spare house key that she was deemed responsible with, quickly unlocked the door and slammed it shut. Just in time to block out three of the bullies. She bolted each lock she could reach and slid down to the floor with rapid panting. Then she looked up, around and suddenly grew worried.

"Chloe!" gasped Natalie.

Yes, her twin had gone another direction. She had gotten distracted by the cop car and had gone to her left. Chloe bolted down each street with terrified ease. Her genetics were blessed with her long legs and own agility as she hurried away. Her Mary Jane's clacked and pounded against the pavement and her skirt swished around. Even with the frosty weather, she felt hot and sweaty thanks to her heavy cardigan and blouse. Her cheeks and nose were bitten from the chill. She dared to not look back until she felt safe at home. That had to mean a good thing if she was home because the bullies couldn't get inside. The bad thing? She wasn't in the right direction and was instead going to darker parts of Thneedville. Poor Chloe hadn't memorized street signs yet, save for her block and she didn't recognize where she was. It wasn't until she passed some busy construction workers and their machines that she realized how far she had gone.

The bullies looked just as surprised too, but they kept going. They weren't quitting on the wild goose chase yet. Though construction workers hollered at them the chased and the chasers kept up their "game." The construction sites began to fade and the bullies began to feel a little nervous. Chloe was leading them around the twist and turns off concrete pathways with deep caverns, spouts and drains. That would be the new way of disposing waste for Thneedville once the outer wall was finished. Already there were complaints about hiding the system and builders were planning on building another coating of wall inside.

Chloe could feel her throat dry up from panting. The bullies were close behind her, until something caught their eye. They gasped and suddenly turned around. Chloe hadn't really as she felt sweat drip into her eyes. She wiped them with her sleeve and blinked. She suddenly stopped.

Right before her was a stony slope, its arch ending into the paved road and vanishing into darkness. The smell of smog and rotting vegetation lingered in the air. The mountains were mysterious and coated with a dark fog. Chloe stood there looking at the desolation for a long time. She forgot why she was running until she looked around and saw the bullies had rushed away. While looking though, she saw the letters. Those letters facing inwards and mocking to its outside made her frown.

Her frown became stronger and she looked forward. She knew what she was doing. She scampered on her tip-toes down the slope and bolted off. She was going home: she was going back to her real home. She paused to see the billboard with The Once-ler on it. That only gave her more courage to keep going. She didn't care what her mom or sister would say. She wouldn't stay in Thneedville again if she could help it. She changed paces with running, to walking, to little skips then to running again. She was hurrying the best as her legs could carry her. They felt achy when she stopped to find a horrible sight; The Super-Axe-Hackers.

The machines, like a graveyard, were forlorn and frightening. Casting their cold shapes like tombstones against the dead nature. Chloe was terrified of those machines. She always had been. She saw the axes bent around like vines and branches in a jungle. Not sure of how to get around them, she cautiously climbed on the rusted limbs.

"Careful," she said to herself.

Chloe stood on one and reached out for the next like a monkey bar. She slid her leg over it and both feet onto the next one. It was a long and tedious task to accomplish! Not one axe bit was touched by her soft hands. She looked anxious on the most twisted and slipped down to crawl under them. Then she got out. She was free! With a sigh of relief, she trudged on for home. She passed the bridge that stood over a chasm.

Around the twists and turns Chloe slowly stepped. Her body was wearing out. The journey was too much for a child. That irrational enthusiasm to get home stayed with her. Her head was down and she watched her feet. They were filthy with dirt and with anklets all dusty.

"Daddy?" she called out.

Nothing replied back. Her voice had gotten lost in the wind. She kept on going until she noticed something coming into her face-down view; a pole sticking out. She followed its route up and saw signs nailed to the pole. She didn't bother to read them for what caught her attention was a crow, ominously perched up top with its feathers ruffled. It cawed out with its beady eyes glaring at Chloe. She stumbled back in fear. Uneasy about the monstrous bird, she sidestepped past, eyes never leaving it. The crow cawed again and flew off over her head. Chloe gasped, turned around and watched it fly away into the fog.

"Stupid bird," she muttered. She appeared to have to channel her sister's distaste for nature.

Crows or no crows, on she went to the iron gate, where part of the fence had been ripped into a hole. She crawled into the hole and saw ahead of her a gloomy sight of the factory. A faint fog rolling behind it shifted from the wind and a pile of stones in a circle could be visible. Chloe hadn't seen them before, but that wasn't what caught her attention.

Kneeling in front of the stones was a man. His head bent low that his bangs swept. His outfit of green was dusty and his hands clawing the dirt. However he looked, Chloe knew who he was. She ran as fast as her tired legs could go. Her heart pounding with exciting relief as she stumbled over one rock and recovered. With one cry her voice echoed over the empty land.

"Daddy!"