-VIII-

Four Years Later

Sweeney Todd remained silent and compliant through the remainder of his residence at the prison. It was this shift in temperament that allocated his movement to his original cell. The night he returned held no happiness for him, even despite the glowing grandeur of the moon he had not seen for almost a decade. Most everything appeared the same as it had before, however he possessed one physical difference. The wound above his brow had severed a strand of hair, and when it grew back it was a shocking shade of white. Such an occurrence was curious, but didn't strike Todd with any more relevance than that. His skin remained pale, despite the sun that leaked through his window, and his eyes remained dark and sullen.

On what Sweeney Todd predicted had been just about fifteen years of being rapt in the darkness, and when the guards became relaxed with his blindly obedient presence, Todd decided to act. He had since readopted his tasks in the work-yard, and as such was permitted to eat with his group of chained prisoners. As they sat amid the rocks, spitting out detestable porridge as they spoke, Todd waited patiently for a gap in the security. When such a lull was offered him, Todd leaned forward and commanded the conversation. Each prisoner stared at him in turn; probably not even aware he existed for this was the first time he had spoken to them. Todd used their bafflement to his advantage to explain his plan.

"We are going to escape this night."

The prisoner's exchanged glances. One such convict, a man with hair so blond it was nearly white, scoffed at this statement.

"We cannot escape. This place is a fortress; there is no way out, and even if there was this prison is surrounded by ocean. I think it wise to accept your fate, Barker."

Ah, so the man remembered him. However the man's mistake in addressing him by an inaccurate name did not implore Todd to correct him. He simply nodded with patient understanding, as though he was attempting to convince a group of impressionable children. His voice remained low and controlled.

"Only a fool accepts the fate which is given to him." He barely shifted his glance, but he saw the blond man prickle with vexation. Todd continued. "If anyone is interested in escaping this repugnant hole I suggest he speak now."

After a moment's hesitation all men gestured that they were very interested in hearing the plan, and even the blond haired man was listening intently. Todd kept the easy smile off his face as he began.

"Outside the prison-yard there is a boat. If the lot of us can make our way through the gates and onto that boat, we will have our means to be away from this wretched place forever."

"The guards will not allow it, there are too many standing post." A man interjected.

There was a murmur of agreement among the convicts, and Todd had to breathe deeply in order to keep his calm countenance.

"I will escape my cell, and in turn will release you all from yours. While you are liberating the remaining prisoners as a distraction I will progress to unlock the gate. When I have done so, you will make your way through the gates and we will all escape on the docked boat. Is that clear enough for you?"

Todd felt his throat had grown sore, for he had not spoken so many words in his entire fifteen years of imprisonment. The convicts exchanged glances, as though searching for a fault in his plan. There was no fault. Todd could already foresee the outcome to be very satisfactory indeed. The officers returned on their round, shooting the convicts a suspiciously sour glance.

"What's going on over 'ere?"

When no one answered, Todd felt the blunt poke of a bobby stick against his shoulder blade.

"Barker?"

Sweeney Todd turned, offering a shrug and a smile of feinted obedience.

"Nothing sir, nothing at all."

The officer raised an eyebrow, and then cleared his throat loudly.

"Meal's over, back to work."

Todd got to his feet, hearing the sound of clattering chains as the other struggled to rise. Sweeney Todd continued his work, anticipating the nightfall with a morbid enthusiasm.

_____________________

Night came gradually, but far too slow for Sweeney Todd's taste. He was escorted back into his cell, and he didn't make any struggle of resistance. When the door was locked and he was alone in his room, he waited with difficult patience as the rest of the convicts were locked away. It was when the hall lights were dimmed that he put his plan into action.

Todd had spent a few days practicing the first portion of his ingenious escape, and now he could perform the task blindfolded. Todd quietly tore a long strip of fabric from his shirtsleeve, and twisted it to make it as firm as possible. He strode toward the small slot of bars at his door, and glanced back and forth. A guard, alone, was walking idly from one side of the hall to the other. Todd pivoted, hiding within his cell as the officer passed. Just as he did, Todd reverted back to his previous position and took a button from out of his pocket. He held the treasure between a thumb and forefinger, and with a quick and silent flick the button collided off of the wall and clattered to a stop just in front of Sweeney Todd's door. Todd smiled. Perfect.

Although the sound of a button colliding with stone was not an especially loud sound, it resounded through the deathly quiet hall. The guard stopped, and turned with deliberation. Todd remained hidden in the shadows, and watched with growing anticipation as the officer neared his cell. Just as Todd hoped, the guard lowered himself to the ground and picked up the button with a look of confusion. Then he stood.

At that instant Todd slid his hands through the bars and ensnared the guard with the scrap of fabric and pulled it taut against his neck. Todd leaned back hard on the rope, hearing sounds of strangled gasping from his victim. After a moment, the guard hung limp, unmoving. Todd held him there for a moment longer, and then reached out to clutch the man's jacket. It took some maneuvering, but he was able to grasp the key before he dropped the corpse to the ground. Todd reached his arm out as far as it would go, grimacing slightly at the pain the awkward position demanded. He stuck the key in the lock, and twisted. The sounds of the latch unlocking and the door slowly squeaking open were the finest sounds Todd believed he'd ever heard. He pressed open the door, forcing the dead body out of his way as he did so.

He could tell by the excited scratches inside the cells that the convicts were anticipating their own release, however they were clever enough not to holler and draw attention to their little breakout. Todd unlocked the cell of the blond-haired convict first, and he placed the key into the prisoner's hand.

"I will make my way to the gate." Todd whispered at the man's ear. "When everyone is free rush out into the courtyard making as much noise as possible."

The blond man grinned wickedly. Todd watched him scurry away, and then Todd followed suit in the opposite direction. Of course the man was excited. He knew that all but their small chain of prisoners would be recaptured, and yet he had no qualms about using human beings to fulfill his own salvation. Sweeney Todd shook his head wearily.

He waited in silence just outside the prison hold. He gazed down at the open courtyard, and then let his eyes trail over the path he would take when the guards were occupied. He glanced up at the higher portion of the walls. Just as he suspected, the entire roof was swarming with guards brandishing rifles, and the discovery was unsurprising. It was probably not the first time a mass escape was choreographed by the prisoners. Todd drew on the remainder of his patience, taking deep breaths despite the fact that his pulse was impossibly steady. He waited, and finally, it began.

_____________________

Sweeney Todd watched with a detached pity as the poor souls rushed in a crowd from the prison out into open ground. They all shouted with a thundering voice of chaos, and just as they spread themselves out over the yard an immediate shower of gunshots erupted in the night air. Todd took this as his cue to move, and sprinted with the grace and stealth of the shadows. He dodged from one wall to the other, using the darkness as a cloak to shield him from the guards. He reached a cleft in the wall, and yet standing directly in front of it was a sentry, lifting his rifle and then bringing back down, unsure whether he should leave his post or remain on duty. Todd sighed, and started forward.

The sentry didn't even have time to squeeze off one shot. Todd grasped the man by the collar and threw him hard into the rock wall. The sentry, caught by surprise, smashed his skull against the rock and stood there with widened eyes and blood leaking down the side of his head. Sweeney Todd casually lifted the musket, and brushed the dust off the shimmering blade. He gazed at the sentry with an indifferent expression, and stuck the blade into the man's gullet with a quick, steady jab. He pulled the blade out, leaving a large, gaping hole in the man's throat. Todd did not even wait to watch him crumple to the ground.

There was a crack of thunder from overhead, but the rain did not yet fall. Todd glanced up in response to the noise, but ignored it for the time being. A storm would make the escape over sea very difficult, but it was not the time to consider that as of yet. Todd slid down the opening in the rock wall, and then proceeded down the stone walkway, this time on the opposite side of the wall. Blasts still echoed through the outcry of desperate screams, but Todd continued with an unfazed step. He could see a boat bobbing slightly in the water, and he started toward it. He was subconsciously aware that he passed the latch that unlocked the main gate. Suddenly he heard a voice cry out to him, and he turned in its direction.

The blond-haired man, face streaked with blood, was pressed against the gate, reaching out to Todd with one desperate hand. Todd recognized many of the other men pressed against the bars as his fellow captives. The blond man's voice bordered an infantile wail.

"Open the gate! Hurry!"

Todd watched vacantly as one of the men dropped away from the gate, shot clean through the head. The blond man didn't even glance at his fallen companion. His eyes remained fixed on Todd's.

"Please Barker, open the door!"

Sweeney Todd decided he had seen enough. He marched past the latch without touching it and turned his back to the gate. Behind him, he heard the panicky shrieks of the man echo behind him.

"What are you doing? You can't leave us here! Barker?! Barker!"

Soon the man's voice was drowned into a pool of unrecognizable shouts, screams and gunshots. Todd didn't feel any particular obligation to turn around. After all, Barker was not his name any longer. Sweeney Todd stepped aboard his tiny ship and prepared to set sail. As he escaped the place that had caused him such unimaginable suffering, he did not find himself quite as overjoyed as he'd imagined. He had clawed his way through the hellish damnation of torment, using human bodies to create a living ladder so that he could struggle out of the beast's starving belly. He was free now, but as soon as that revelation came to him his next goal settled into place. He pulled a rope; setting the sails and watching them catch into the strengthening wind. He imagined Judge Turpin's throat underneath him, and felt himself shake with ecstatic excitement as he came to visualize the inevitably bloody death the fulfillment of his vengeance would require.