Chapter Ten
It had been one week since they had seen Aloysious O'Hare, and the Artificial Operator attacks had been on the rise. He must've taken some chips with him. Finally, they got the message. Thneedville was under seige by people who the police couldn't stop. No matter how many times they were shot, they'd keep coming like some kind of monsters. Once-ler takes a deep breath. He'd not been to the town named for his invention in years-not since he'd cut down the last Truffula tree. The four of them Blink to Thneedville and find people's windows boarded up. No one on the streets except Artificials wandering and moaning. Once-ler wondered if perhaps their transformation was painful.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! My Thralls! It seems the Master's dogs have entered the city. Take them out for me." Suddenly, each of the Artificials's attention turns to the four of them and they run to them like zombies, screeching and clawing. Thirty-eight and Eighty-six begin with the ones coming at their backs, while Once-ler and Sylvester ready themselves for the ones coming to their fronts. Sylvester gets the first punch in, driving the Artificial down. He stomps and caves in their chest, killing them while Once-ler grabs an Artificial by the head and shoves them, face-first, into a wall, crushing their skull killing them instantly. 38 rips people in half like paper while 86 follows suit. As Once-ler is about to be grabbed, a shot rings out. An old woman with curly, white hair sits atop a house with a sniper rifle. She salutes him, and goes back to picking off the Artificials. Once-ler turns to 38.
"I think this is our opening. We need to get to the O'Hare building and put a stop to this once and for all." He says.