6
Toby had locked the door as Mrs. Lovett had asked, but all kinds of fear still coursed through him. Was Mr. Todd really alright? Was his mum even going to survive the rescue operation? If they really tried, would the monsters be able to break down the old door and reach him? His hands gripped the battered chair he had used early tightly. Should he ignore what she told him and simply go out and fight too? Cold sweat coated his body, and he licked his lips nervously. Toby had heard the sound of breaking bones when Mrs. Lovett had exited the shop, but as the baker had made it farther away from the door, the sound had dwindled. Was she really alright?
A strange shriek that could have been laughter reached his ears. Who was that? What was that?
Shakily releasing his chair, Toby nearly ran into the door as he desperately peered through the glass. Mr. Todd and his mum were together! He closed his eyes and let out a relieved breath, when another thought occurred to him.
Why had she dodged around his question? How was the end of their world not time to answer it? If this was of course, the end as it seemed to him. Another thought caused his belly to twist with disgust. What was it in Mrs. Lovett's pies that had caused the men to turn so? Was it some freak coincidence that they had gotten sick when eating her pies, or was there a reason?
"Boy!" A voice roared, pulling him from his thoughts. "Open the door!"
Jerking back to reality, Toby fumbled with the lock before yanking the door open.
A/N This is the shortest chapter I've written, and I'm pretty sure none will ever be this short again, but I wanted to show that Toby's been thinking, so you can sorta thing of it as a 'back at the ranch' interlude scene. Though it's, 'up in his head'...
