But at that moment the door behind him burst open and he turned to see the gargantuan form of Mrs. Bay-lock hurtling through the air, her reddened lips stretched wide in an unearthly cry of rage. Thorn grabbed for the child but the woman landed squarely upon him, knocking him to the floor. Damien screamed in terror and ran from the bed; Thorn rolled beneath the woman and grappled with her hands as they dug deep into his eyes and neck. He hit at her, but her weight was too much for him, her meaty hands finding his throat and pressing until his eyes began to bulge. Thorn desperately pushed at her face, her teeth sinking into his hand as a lamp tumbled from a table beside them; he reached for it, bringing it hard against her head. It shattered on contact and stunned her; the woman shuddered and reeled to one side. Thorn hit her again with the broken base, feeling her skull give way beneath it as blood streaked down through the white powder on her cheeks and chin. But still she clung to him; Thorn hit her a third time before she fell sideways and he struggled to his feet, staggering backward to the wall where the child stood, his eyes glazed with horror. Thorn grabbed him and lurched out the door, rebounding off the walls of the hallway as he made it to the back stairwell and slammed the door behind him. Damien clung to the doorknob, banging on the door, and Thorn wrenched him away; the child's hands clawed his face as they half-fell down the stairs together. In mid-stairwell the boy grabbed hold of the hanging light bulb and Thorn strained to pull him free; both suddenly were jarred by a jolt of electricity that knocked them over, throwing them downward to the bottom of the stairs.