47
It was like walking into the home of a stranger. All of the familiar sounds were replaced by silence, or the creak of worn floors. The safe place Johanna had been running towards no longer seemed safe. Anthony squeezed her hand, and lead the hesitant girl forward. She shuffled slowly after him, casting suspicious glances at wall hangings she had once walked by without a second glance. Johanna didn't even have to strain her ears to hear the sound of the city burning, and the thought of how close the fire could be made her shiver.
Anthony's steps wavered and Johanna found herself stop moving instantly. "What is it?" She whispered, it didn't seem right to speak loudly.
"I think I hear something." The sailor mumbled back.
Of course you can hear something, it's the world falling apart. Instead of voicing her thoughts, the girl strained her ears.
There was indeed something making noise, and it happened to be coming from the closet right next to Johanna. Anthony immediately stepped out in front of her, though he hesitated before reaching towards the door-handle. The teens jumped slightly at the sound of the door opening, even though they had been the ones to do it. Once the hinges had creaked open far enough, the pair peered into the closest.
Three terrified women stared right back at them. One of them gasped at the sight, while the other two huddled closer to the wall.
"Miss! You're still alive."
Johanna blinked, mind still trying to process the fact there was no danger.
"If you wish to stay that way you shouldn't be here much longer!"
The girl only managed to get out, "we've only just gotten back-" before the maid cut her off again.
"Why would you want to come back?!" She looked hysterical, and on the verge of leaving the safety of her closet. "Did you not hear them? Those screams?"
"Screams…? Mrs. Lovett?!" Johanna nearly shouted, unintentionally causing the maids and Anthony to jump.
"No woman made those sounds miss. 'Tis the work of demons and crazed men!"
"The Devil!" The woman in the far closet corner shouted out.
The blonde felt she had little time to question the maids, and her mind was quickly falling to panic. The knowledge someone had been screaming bloody murder in the house was not helping to put her at ease. It meant someone was grievously hurt, and the only wounded people she knew of were Mr. Todd (it was still difficult to think of the man as he father) and Mrs. Lovett. Another thought suddenly occurred to her. Had Mayhew heard the screams? Had the apothecary even made it back? Had he caused it?
Without bothering to take Anthony's hand, Johanna found herself sprinting down the hall. She did not make it very far, and it wasn't because of the panicked shout of 'Johanna?' behind her. The parlor door was open. Two people she had completely forgotten about were in that room. Had something happened to Turpin and the Beadle? She simply stared at the open door, too terrified to go near it.
"Johanna? What is it?" Anthony's presence soothed her slightly, but she still felt on edge.
"Who could have gotten hurt?" The words were out of her mouth before she knew she had spoken them.
"They're frightened, they probably have no idea what they're talking about," he tried to console her.
"This door was not open when we left Anthony!" Johanna shouted, once more causing the sailor to flinch. "Something happened," she continued softer. "I know it."
"Maybe Mayhew-"
Not listening to him, Johanna took steady steps towards the door. After one calming breath she stepped through the threshold. "Oh God…" The sickly feeling of cold fear-induced sweat on her skin felt like nothing compared to the nausea now twisting in her stomach. She leaned heavily on the door way but kept sinking down until Anthony came and wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his body becoming still at the sight in the room, though he made no sound.
"Johanna," he whispered, voice sounding hoarse. "You don't need to see this."
Johanna shook her head, tears filling her eyes. She felt she could no longer move. Not so long ago she felt she had made peace with how she felt about Turpin and the Beadle, but seeing them in such a state sent the strangest emotions through her; and she couldn't help but wonder. Should she feel sad at their passing? Was she supposed to be happy that that chapter in her life and been abruptly and permanently closed? Even if it was in such a violent manner.
"Mrs. Lovett…"
"She couldn't do this!" Johanna choked out. Anthony's words fueled her confusion. She was still unable to tell whether it was tears of joy or sadness streaming down her face.
"No! She's-"
And then she saw them. They seemed to blend in with the violent scene painted right next to them, which only caused the furious hammering of Johanna's heart to increase. Mrs. Lovett and Mr. Todd were utterly still, and the girl supposed without all of the blood the scene could have almost been romantic, the way his arms seemed to be wrapped so tightly around her.
"How did they get here..?" She mumbled.
Anthony was disentangling himself from her, about to head towards the pair, but she grabbed his arm. He looked back at her hesitantly, obviously debating on taking her closer to the bodies.
"I've already seen it." Johanna reminded him, the sailor just nodded his head and kept hold of her hand. Though she felt the desire to confirm it with her own eyes, Johanna's steps were slow and shaky as they moved towards the pair on the ground.
They were two feet away when she felt she couldn't take it anymore, and collapsed into the closest chair she could find. Anthony watched her a moment before turning his attention back to the floor. He didn't pause as he sank down to his knees, the fabric of his pants brushed slightly against Mr. Todd's shoulder. The sailor swallowed down his bile as he stared into the empty face of the man he had thought of as his friend. Sweeney's ghost-like skin looked gray, and even the shock of ivory in his hair seemed somehow dull compared to what it had been. In fact, aside from the splash of ruby at his mouth and trickles down his chin the barber was devoid of life and all it's vibrancy. Anthony heard Johanna begin to cry behind him, and he would have turned to comfort her had he not seen it. It was a faint stir, and so soft the was sure his eyes had conjured it up, but in another second he saw that it was true.
"She's still alive," he gasped.
Johanna's tears seemed to abate at the news. "We can't leave her here," she finally mumbled
Anthony nodded his head, but even as he lifted is hands to remove the woman from the dead man's grip, a part of his mind protested. He shook away the feeling and reached out to pry away the barber's arms. His stomach was on the verge of messily protesting when he finally pried an arm off of Mrs. Lovett. Doing his best to handle his dead friend's body with care, Anthony slowly lowered the limb to the ground. When he looked back he saw that she had opened her eyes. The sailor's entire body froze as he watched her slowly move a hand to lay against the barber's cheek.
"Sweeney…" Her lips didn't seem to move as she spoke.
"Mrs. Lovett… M'am…" Anthony felt suddenly desperate to get the woman's focus off of the dead man.
"Sweeney?" Her voice grew louder.
God.. Does she not know he's dead? "Mrs, Lovett? M'am?" He didn't feel he had the courage to reach out and touch her.
"Sweeney." She had propped herself up and hovered over his body. "Sweeney…!"
Anthony jumped to his feet, feeling irrationally terrified and guilty. There was movement behind him, then he felt Johanna at his side. When he looked at her, her face must have mirrored his own. Johanna's eyes darted between Anthony and Mrs. Lovett, as if trying to find the answer to what had just happened. They both felt as if they had done something incredibly wrong by removing Eleanor from Sweeney's arms, and as the woman started to cry the pair bolted for the door, not knowing if they could handle what would happen if they stayed in that room.
A heart-breaking scream echoed after them.
A/N I almost ended the story in this chapter- but decided to leave this bit on it's own. The story will probably end in the next chapter, but there'll be an epilogue.
