Toby quickly stumbled backward, watching the blood pour from Mr. Todd’s neck onto the pale, scabbed face of the old beggar woman. The blood-stained razor fell from his hand and made a sharp, metallic clang on the cement floor. His breathing was quick and labored, as the little piece of innocence he had left ebbed away. All of sudden, he heard a noise; the door to the staircase was opening very slow and cautiously.

“Anthony, what do you see?” Johanna whispered in a small, scared voice. Anthony, quickly peaked out of the small opening into the cellar. “He…he killed him! Mr. Todd is dead!” Anthony responded, “That child…he, he just dropped a bloody razor; he must have kil– oh lord, he’s seen me. He’s coming up the stairs, what should I do”? “Go, Anthony; he’s just a child, go and help him. No one can imagine what this has done to him. It could scar him for life, just try to comfort him, I’ll fetch the constable”.

Toby had reached the top of the stairs, and in a fury, whipped the door wide open to reveal a man who had occasionally seen around Mr. Todd’s shop. “What are you doing here?” Toby said in harsh, angry tone. “You can’t be down here, don’t you know that? There’s much work to be done, you know. I’ve got to get back to work…I finally know the secret!! Three times – that’s the secret. Three times through the grinder to make them tender and juicy.”

Anthony stared at Toby; he was not the happy, smiling child he had occasionally met before, oh no. He had deep, dark shadows encircling his eyes, his skin had became pale, and his eyes – they were two empty portals of a dead soul. As Toby ranted and raved about intruding on his work, Anthony watched as the boy continued to do a simple wheeling motion with his hands; over and over and over, he kept wheeling the imaginary grinder. “Toby?” Anthony said in a soft, caring voice. The child looked up from his “work”, and produced a crooked smile on his face, and replied, “Yes, Mr. Anthony”? This was not a normal child anymore, Anthony thought to himself. The crooked smile disturbed Anthony, so he quickly asked, “Would you like to come, I mean, to live with Johanna and I? Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett are gone, they can’t harm you anymore, Toby”.

What is this sailor asking Toby, Toby thought to himself, why does he want Toby to leave. Toby couldn’t leave, he had to stay, to help. Now that Mr. Todd was gone, there was much work to be done, Toby had to help Mrs. Lovett – where could she be? The last time Toby saw her, she was with Mr. To– oh no…

After asking his question, Anthony watched as Toby’s face twisted; his crooked smile melted away into a look of sheer terror. The child sprinted away, frantically looking around the room. He looked everywhere in the basement, then sprinted upstairs. Anthony listened as he heard his frantic step returning to the basement, and watched and a horrible realization came to Toby; he never looked in the over. Toby ran across the room, flung the door to the oven open and shrieked – the charred remains of Mrs. Lovett laid inside. At this sight, the poor child’s legs gave way and he collapsed on the floor. In the fetal position, his whole body was shaking as he sang quietly to himself, “Somethin’ bad harmed you, and I was still around. Somethin’ bad harmed you, yes, mum, and I was still around. A bad demon caught you blind of sight, with his might, took your life. Mr. Todd harmed you, and I was still…around”, while hot tears streaked down his face.

She’s gone, Toby thought to himself, Mr. Todd…how could he? What did she ever do to him? Only bad people are killed in such a horrible manor, and she wasn’t a bad person…or was she? As he continued to strain his mind for an answer, his body broke out in a cold sweat, he was starting to seize. She was always helping Mr. Todd, and he must’ve killed hundreds people, but why did they have to die? Were they bad too? Were all people bad; did everyone deserve to die?

Anthony watched in horror as Toby’s body began to rapidly shake, his pale, dull eye’s rolled into the back of his head, and his breathing became uncontrolled; the boy had began to seize!