Barbara tried to free herself from his grasp, but he would not release her. The harder she fought to wrest herself from him, the tighter he held her. She tried to bite his hand, but could not open her mouth.
Unable to utter a sound, she silently beseeched the ghosts who haunt bombed-out churchyards. "Dear God, No!" Her words were muffled and could not escape her tightly closed mouth. "Dear God, No! No! No!"
In whose hands would she rather die?, she wondered. Her pursuer's or her stalker's?
Neither!, she vowed to herself, finally freeing one hand. Making a fist, she pounded it against the strong chest of the man who held her.
Then the terrible thought came to her: Is my stalker holding me so my pursuer can take his revenge on me? Am I going to be savagely taken, first by one and then the other? Then left to die along in this graveyard?
"No!" she screamed inside herself, unable to take her eyes off the hideous face of the man who held her to him while she heard the other, laughing, as he came out of the shadows and started toward her, looking as if he knew he finally had her.
"Stephen!" His name exploded out of Barbara even though it was muffled in the hand that remained clenched over her mouth. "Come for me! You said if ever I really needed you, you would come to me, no matter what."
Time then stopped for her. She had not fainted, nor had her heart stopped. Time as she had known it until then stopped and an entire lifetime -- her lifetime -- swept over her like the storm clouds gathering over the churchyard as a cold, wet veil of fog descended over the darkness and Barbara and her pursuer as he advanced on her and the stalker who held her close against him and would not let her go, or even scream.
Barbara could not use her hands to free herself as she stood facing No Face, but he was not holding her feet. She threw her right foot back far as she could, then brought it forward with all her force, kicking low. The blow struck No Face's left shin and he cried out in pain, but did not release her.
"I'm not trying to hurt you," No Face said. "I'm trying to protect you!"
She didn't believe him. Desperately, she thrust her left foot back, then brought it forward with even more force. It did what she wanted. Doubling up in pain, No Face released her, cursing.