Haunted by Greed

Chapter 14: A Surge of Power

Notes: This chapter wasn't originally planned, but as I said last chapter, things got kind of messy and I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see the true "fallout" from Once-ler's "mistake". So I created this chapter in order to try again and hopefully fix that. This chapter was partially inspired by the songs "Lights Out" by Breaking Benjamin and "Already Over" by Red. The chapter includes some heavy foreshadowing, hidden/double meanings, and some Lorax book and movie references. As always, I hope you all enjoy it!

After Once-ler took some more time off to rest and make sure that he fully recovered, he once again came back to work. The first few days since his return had been going well and he had not been bothered by either the Lorax or Greed-ler. As a result, Once-ler could work in peace and got several tasks done. He had ordered the parts that he needed to build the super axe hacker prototype and he had also finally finished writing the song he would perform for his TV appearance.

Once-ler was also making steady progress on completing the paperwork that had piled up while he was away. While his mother had some authority to sign certain documents for him, and she had taken care of what she could during his absence, there were certain papers that could only be signed off by Once-ler himself. He had been in his office working on these documents one day when suddenly the lights flickered and then went out.

Once-ler's eyes widened in surprise. It was still daylight out, so he could still see, but the sudden loss of power still startled him. Once-ler was also worried. He knew that without electricity, the factory could not operate. Once-ler looked out his window to see if perhaps a storm or some strong winds had knocked out the power, but the only thing he saw was the smoggy sky. He turned back around when he heard the office door opening.

"Hey Once-ler, the power is out." Chet spoke as he entered the office, with Brett following behind him. Both twins had been standing outside of Once-ler's office door. Ever since Once-ler had returned to work after his illness, his brothers had been keeping a closer eye on him during the workday.

"Yeah, I know," Once-ler replied as he dug through his desk to retrieve a flashlight. "I had better check the electrical panel and see what's going on." Once-ler then left the office and made his way down the hall to the electrical panel as his brothers followed close behind him.When Once-ler reached the electrical panel and opened it, his eyes widened with shock. Nearly all the wires inside were burnt. "Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" he asked his brothers. Once-ler dreaded to hear their answer. Either his mind was playing tricks on him again or this was actually happening. At the moment, Once-ler wasn't sure which scenario would be worse.

"Oh, I see it all right..." Chet began to answer

"...and it looks pretty bad," Brett finished for him

Once-ler stared at the electrical panel in shock and dismay. Unable to process what he was seeing.

"Once-ler, you have to do something." Chet insisted.

"Right," Once-ler replied with a grimace. He knew that what Chet said was true. If this really was happening, there were protocols that Once-ler needed to follow as the company president. He quickly went back to his office, picked up the corded radiophone that sat on his desk, and called the electric company.

"Greenville Electric Company, how may I help you?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Once-ler, President of Thneed inc. and I'm calling to report a complete power outage at my factory. The wires in the electrical panel are completely fried and I need someone to come over to fix it and restore the power as soon as possible, please." Once-ler informed the person on the other end. Although Once-ler was upset about the situation, he still tried to make sure he sounded professional and polite.