Vagan's eyes narrowed at the man emerging from the fog. "Who's that?" she asked.
Blue, still carrying Pluto, adjusted him on his shoulder and muttered, "That's Van Dragul Helsing…"
Vagan's face tensed. "What do you mean we can't escape?"
Van Dragul Helsing stood tall, eyes half-lidded, his expression unreadable. "Because this mist… is artificially made. As is the barrier you're standing in."
Suddenly, from behind him, rows upon rows of armored soldiers began materializing from the fog, silent and ready, holding their spears tightly. The ground trembled beneath their numbers.
He stepped forward slowly, the soldiers falling in behind him like a wave of steel.
Blue leaned toward Vagan. "What do we do?"
Vagan clenched her fists, thoughts racing. Then something pressed against her hand in her coat pocket. Her eyes widened. The pouch.
A flashback surfaced , when the old woman had thrown the dust at her face… She must've slipped this into my pocket.
Vagan pulled out the small pouch and stared at it. If this dust lets me see the barrier… what happens if I throw it at it?
With no time left, she made her decision. She grabbed a pinch and flung it toward the glowing edge of the barrier. The mist hissed and cracked, and a section of the barrier began to vaporize into light, revealing the world outside.
Van Dragul Helsing's eyes widened slightly. What is that? he thought. He barked aloud, "Quickly GET THEM!"
The soldiers began to charge. Vagan, heart racing, tossed more of the dust, widening the hole just enough.
She turned to the others. "Now! Go GO!"
Blue dashed through first, still carrying the meditating Pluto. Vagan followed, and as soon as she crossed the threshold, she gasped the sky was clear and blue, the sun still high. The ship sat calmly at shore, waiting.
"GET READY TO SAIL!" she shouted.
Morin, who had been standing at the deck confused, saw the soldiers behind them and immediately sprang into action. "On it!"
Vagan, Blue, and Pluto leapt aboard, and Pluto now instinctively awake grabbed the wheel.
As the ship lurched forward, one soldier tried to follow them out of the barrier, but the moment he crossed it, his body turned to dust and scattered into the wind.
The others froze, horrified, and did not follow. They stood at the edge of the fading barrier, watching.
Van Dragul Helsing remained motionless, his face tense, his jaw tight. He said nothing. He simply watched as the ship disappeared into the horizon, the mist curling behind them like the closing of a wound.
THE END.