Sweeney Todd 2: The Barber's Apprentice

Scene One

Music echoed from a small, but elegant Ballet Studio in downtown London, seven girls were dancing in the studio. One was better than the others. Her name was Victoria Shepherd, a tall and lean fourteen year old girl, who had just recently moved to London from a small town in North Carolina.

"Very good, Victoria. That's perfect. Girls! Watch her port de bra, it's beautiful!" Exclaimed the normally prim and proper teacher, who was now practically jumping with enthusiasm. Victoria smiled angelically and repeated her graceful port de bra. The rest of the girls clapped their hands, and fawned over how lovely she was, all except one. Marjorie Davidson. She rolled her eyes and strutted over to Victoria.

"Okay, this is a onetime offer. I will allow you to join our little…club, if you go to 186 Fleet Street and check out the building." She sneered. She knew exactly what was up there. She's heard the stories; she's seen the apparitions herself. Victoria however had no clue. She'd seen the movie, yes, it's her favorite. But, she didn't know the address of all these happenings. She didn't even know if it was all real.

"Yeah, of course." She answered, crossing her arms, thinking something's up with this chick. "But, what do you mean by 'check it out?'" She asked, coolly air quoting 'check it out.'

"I mean go inside. It's supposed to be really…cool." Marjorie lied. She only wanted this Victoria out of her life, so she could have the limelight.

"I'm sure I can fit it in before choir." Victoria mumbled, looking at Marjorie suspiciously.

"Okay! Thank you for coming girls, see you next class." Boomed the dance instructor, shooing everyone out of the dance studio. Marjorie smiled and walked away, leaving Victoria alone in the hallway. She sighed and took her hair out of the bun, letting her golden brown locks poof around her shoulders. Her brown eyes scanned the area; she felt as though she was being watched, as she took off her Pointe shoes and slipped on a light blue sweater. She suddenly got very cold, seeing as this scared her she quickly grabbed her dance bag and coat, and then she ran out and away of the premises. She rubbed her shoulders where she was cold, and found a white mark in the shape of a finger on her neck.

"Oh my God!" She whispered, feeling the strange need to be quiet. "What's in there?" She asked herself, looking back at the studio. Little did she know, it was the Great Judge Turpin's home, she would have noticed if she wasn't so freaked out. She pulled out her cell phone and called her mom.

"Mom?" She whispered into the speaker.

"Yeah, sweetie? Are you alright? You sound scared." Her mother, Gloria Shepherd questioned. God! She's so paranoid! Victoria thought, even though she was feeling a bit paranoid herself.

"Can you pick me up at 186 Fleet Street today?" She asked, hoping she would say yes.

"Yes. Why?" Gloria asked, drawing out the words.

"'Cuz." She moaned, not wanting to tell her.

"Tell me." Gloria commanded. Oh, boy! Just looks like I'll have to tell her. Victoria thought unwillingly.

"Marjorie said I had to if I wanted to join her 'club.'" She slurred her words on purpose, so as to confuse her mom. It didn't work.

"Oh, honey, I know you want to, but do you really think that's a good idea? Do you even know where this place is?"

"Mom! Sweeney Todd is my favorite movie! I know where Fleet Street is!" Victoria exploded back at Gloria.

"Hey! If you start acting like that, then-" Click.

"Good bye, Gloria." Victoria said, after she closed the phone. She looked at the address of the building she was in front of and saw in ancient writing: 186 Fleet Street.

"Well, hello! How did I get here so fast?" She wondered out loud. Victoria decided to go around the perimeter first. When she was at the right side of the building she saw a huge slanted window covered with a brown substance. She had no clue what she was looking at, and then it sunk in. It was blood! This was Sweeney Todd's barbershop and Mrs. Lovett's meat pie emporium!

"OMG!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, as she ran to the other side of the building. She saw the stairs, the aged barber sign and squealed. But, as she started to ascend the stairs, a great feeling of foreboding crept up her spine, also bringing nervousness. Did she really want to possibly encounter the most evil demon barber of all time and get her life ended in a mili second? She slowed her step, but her feet still brought her to that godforsaken door. She stared at the doorknob for a few seconds, and then she took a deep breath and opened the door.

As soon as she opened the door a cold breeze rushed out of the barbershop, and a weird mist enveloped her, causing her to cough. She took one step into the shop and looked around for a second, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, her head snapped in its direction. What she saw made her scream. Sweeney Todd. Right there, razor in hand. Victoria let out a scream that could have woken the whole of the dead, and ran towards the door. She started to ascend the stairs at a very fast rate, but still found something grabbing the tops of her arms. She saw her mom and dad, Chris, in their red Mustang and screamed.

"Mom! Help me please!" But, Sweeney's hand over her mouth muffled her cry. He dragged her into the old barbershop and the door slammed itself. He let go of her and she ran screaming towards the door. The mist appeared again and she groped the wall, trying to find the door. She saw it and a tear slid down her cheek, she was happy she could get out of this place. But, as she reached for the handle it disappeared.

"No! No, no, no!" She yelped, banging on the wall. She turned around, and Sweeney was there. She ran across the room to behind the barber chair. She had forgotten about the trap door. Sweeney smirked and stamped on the lever. Victoria fell through the hole in the floor, but grabbed onto the edge of the available surface. She whimpered when she started to slip and tried to pull herself back up, but Sweeney only got his razor and ran it across her fingers. Victoria screamed as her blood spurted upwards, she let go of the edge and fell into the depths of the bake house, landing on her shoulder with a sickening crack. She screamed in pain and looked up when a light formed itself within the old, useless furnace. Then a body appeared there. Mrs. Lovett.

"Get out!" She shouted, sounding more demonic than human, pointing a ghostly hand towards the door out. Victoria cried and nodded as she ran up the stairs, and got lost in the pie shop, running around the same corner twice. She finally found the door and struggled to get it open. She almost tore it off its hinges before she got it open. But, when she did she ran down the street at such a rate that the fastest sprinter would have had trouble catching her. She slowed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Then she collapsed into the street, falling into darkness.

Scene Two

"Hello? Victoria, can you hear me?" Chris Shepherd asked his unconscious daughter. She moaned and opened her eyes.

"What happened? Where is he?" She asked in a frantic tone, scuttling into the head board. She hit her head and gasped her hand flying to her head. She saw the bandages across her fingers and realized the whole thing was real.

"Where is who?" Chris asked, putting a hand on her undamaged shoulder.

"Sweeney! Didn't you guys see him? He grabbed me and forced me into his barbershop! And he slit my fingers!" She blabbered, holding her hands up. Then, Gloria appeared behind Chris.

"Honey, the doctor thinks the cuts are self inflicted." She said sadly, thinking her daughter needed to go to a loony bin.

"Self inflicted? Why would I do this to myself?" Victoria yelled, throwing her hands in the air. She hissed when the pain in her right shoulder became worse.

"I don't know. Why would you?" Gloria answered coolly. What's wrong with my mother? Something's wrong with her. Victoria thought, glaring at Gloria through heavy eyelids.

"What's up with you?" Victoria mumbled her eyes narrowing.

"Don't be smart with me young lady! I could take your entire dance, choir, everything away! I think I might from what you've done!" Gloria yelled right back at her. Victoria wanted to spit on her mother when she said this.

"I swear to God, mom! If you do that, so help me what I will do to you." Victoria snarled, sounding as demonic as Mrs. Lovett had. Gloria looked slightly taken aback when Victoria said this.

"Victoria." Chris barked. "You will not do anything to harm your mother." But, the unheard question was Will you?

"Oh, yes, I would, Chris. You don't know what I can do." Victoria growled.

"That's it! No more choir! No more dance! No more anything!" Chris yelled. Victoria screamed wordlessly in anger and started writhing around in the hospital bed, her heart rate accelerating. She tried to take the needles and pins out of her arms, but failed epically. Nurses and a doctor spilled into the room, trying, unsuccessfully to hold Victoria down.

"Miss Shepherd, you need to calm down!" The doctor exclaimed, trying to give her some sort of medicine, but Victoria kept her mouth shut and was moving so much that it was hard for them to even put the restraints on her. They settled on just stabbing a needle with a sedative inside her. When they did this, Victoria immediately felt drowsy, but still insisted on writhing and screaming. She eventually gave up on that, but every time someone came near her she snarled and hissed. The last thing she heard before the sedative won was, "Book a bus to Bedlam."

Scene Three

When Victoria awoke, she was in a dark, dank place. There were sounds of women crying from all around, and there was screaming coming from a distant corridor.

"Where am I?" She asked herself. She couldn't see a thing, it was very dark. She heard a soft voice from somewhere next to her. Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. It sang, and Victoria immediately knew the voice.

"Toby?" She asked in disbelief, creeping closer to where the voice was. She had this weird feeling that she wasn't alone, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Yes, ma'am." The boy answered, "They got to you, didn't they? Like they got to me. They make you insane, they do." He said, and Victoria felt tears pricking at her eyes.

"I wouldn't say they got to me, because I've only been there once." She answered, feeling cold, near her hand. Toby must have been holding it, or trying to.

"They're horrible people they are. Demons in life and in death." Toby sneered. He hated them now. He always would, no matter how bad Mrs. Lovett wanted him to love her, like he used to.

"Can you leave here?" Victoria asked, wanting to get out of the topic of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett.

"I can leave this cell, yes, but I can't leave the building." He answered, sadly. He wanted so badly to leave this place. He wanted to be free. Victoria's hopes leapt high.

"Could you find me some keys?" She asked, hoping he would be kind enough to. Toby nodded, but she couldn't see him.

"Yes mum." He answered in the most angelic tone, "You remind me of Mrs. Lovett before she was the devil's wife."

"Aw! Thank you. She was a very kind soul before that happened." Victoria cried, talking like she was from a different time. Toby got up and left through the door without as much as a creak of the old floorboards. When, he was gone Victoria was trying to wriggle out of the Strait jacket she was in, but to no avail. She tried standing a few times, but whenever she got halfway up the wall, she would collapse out of exhaustion. When Toby returned, he helped her out of the jacket and unlocked the door for her. The door swung open and light filled the room, Victoria could finally see his face. It was just as I had been in the movie. Messy brown hair, pale blue eyes, only he was slightly taller.

"The way out is down that hallway, and down the stairs after that. Do be careful not to get caught, or else you would get thrown back in here and they would find me. No one knows I'm still here." He said, pointing down the hallway.

"Thank you, Toby." Victoria said, giving the boy a warm smile. Then, she ran down the hall as fast and as quiet as she could, when she got to the stairs, she ran down those as well. When she got to the door, there were guards.

"Oh shit!" She mumbled, hiding behind a corner. She had to find a way to distract the guards. When they weren't looking she grabbed a piece of rubble, and threw it over by the corner. It scuttled and slipped and ended where she wanted it to. Away from her, the guards went over to investigate and she bolted towards the door, she opened it without much difficulty, but without a sound. She ran away from Bedlam and didn't look back. She was free of that place and she loved it.

"Thank you, Toby." She whispered to the air, and she thought she heard, I'm going to miss you mum, in the wind.