the energy of the steam generator polarized the energy of the droit itself , shorting it out and shutting it down entirely , and it lowered , propelled forward by its previous momentum , skimming the ground once , twice - skipping the surface like a stone across the water-pastor rigby briarwood looked up with an expression of pure fright as the crashing droit caught him head-on , taking him with it ( he instantly vanished ) as it proceeded to skip twice more until its tip stuck in the ground and there was an outburst of soil and smoke .