Higgs scrabbled back frantically as the handprints drew closer to them, a look of dawning realization on his face. Gingerly, slowly, full of regret, he placed the child on the ground and continued to hold his breath.
The hand prints circled the child and as quickly as they came, they disappeared. The child's body turned to ashen charcoal and drifted away into nothing. Higgs' mouth opened in a silent scream, before he exploded violently into the same ashen charcoal, leaving Dan alone on the beach.