Penny was braced for the final shock against the bathroom door, ready to try another desperate run to the parking lot. But nothing happened. She sensed Donny step away from the door, then heard footsteps receding. She felt that this might be her only chance to get away. Perhaps some customers had arrived: surely Donny would be constrained with others present. Penny slowly unlocked the door and walked out into the bedroom. She peered into the back office in time to see Donny leave it at a jog. She could not see what he was headed toward, and she moved cautiously toward the front. As she crept toward the doorway she could see the reception area.
It took a major effort for Penny to suppress a scream when she saw Leonard standing stock-still as Donny ran toward him at top speed. She could not imagine what her fiancé thought he was doing, but she could see a determined look on his face. She wondered whether he knew she was there, and decided that he otherwise would never have broken in. But she could not fathom his intention. She wondered if Leonard was trying to divert Donny's attention so she could get away. It would be like Leonard to sacrifice himself – just like a superhero, she thought with a wry smile.
Suddenly, curiously, Donny came up short and appeared to stop in his tracks. Penny could not see clearly what was going on, as Leonard flew backward several feet and bounced off the side wall. But within a few seconds Donny's intention was obvious. He had his hands around Leonard's throat and was choking the life out of him.
It was clear that Leonard could not long withstand this punishment. A couple of minutes and he would be dead. She looked around desperately for something to use to help Leonard, and saw the baseball bat lying on the floor. She grabbed it and headed toward the front office.
Penny wondered if she should make noise to distract Donny, or try to sneak up on him. She decided on the latter strategy.
As she came out of the back office, hugging the wall, she was directly behind Donny and apparently out of his view. The man seemed strangely quiet, wounded somehow, but she had no idea how. What she could see was that Leonard was in terrible shape. Donny had his massive hands tightly wrapped around her fiancé's throat, and as she watched Leonard's body seemed to go limp. Donny kept the pressure up on Leonard's throat as he lowered Leonard toward the floor.
Moving fast, Penny raised the bat above her head and took aim. Childhood memories of her father's attempts to teach her baseball flooded into her consciousness. Well, this was it. She said to herself, "Go, Slugger!" and brought the bat down on Donny's head with all her force.
There was a sickening crunch as the aluminum bat hit Donny squarely on the back of his head. Penny felt that the bat had actually made a dent in the monstrous skull, although she figured this was probably impossible. Donny started to turn around but decided instead to continue to concentrate on finishing Leonard off. He growled furiously.
Penny raised the bat quickly again. Again she said to herself, "Go, Slugger!" and smashed down as hard as she could. And again. And again. With each blow she felt herself getting stronger and stronger, almost hysterical. This was her last, her only, chance to save her future husband's life, and she was not going to fail.
Donny staggered more with each blow, and as he staggered he sank to his knees. Now Penny had an easier shot to the ogre's head. She gathered her strength one last time and hit him directly on the top of his head. Donny gradually crumpled to the floor.