Howard's about to shoot back at Diana that for all they know it's already smelled or heard them, but then he hears a scratching at the door. Not like a cat, but like a person. He jumps away from the door and scrambles backwards, placing himself between Diana and the back wall. Congratulations, you are now his meat shield.

And just in time, because the door explodes outwards, knocked off its hinges by a thing. The first thing Howard thinks is that it looks like a cross between an overgrown baby and Spider-Man's Venom. It's large, maybe eight feet tall on all fours, with glistening beige skin that looks like slabs of raw chicken skin. Its mouth is a wide maw with strips of gum hanging from it, and every tooth looks sharp and long. Its slender arms end in elongated hands with needle-like claws; its feet look like oversized human feet, except they're bent backwards and twisted so it's walking on the top of its feet.

Worst is the eyes, just dark grooves in its awful face with no discernible eyeball.

One of its hands gets the nails stuck in the tread of the carpet. It yanks it up, knocking over the bookshelf with the books, action figures, lamp and oversized magic 8 ball. It makes a shrieking sound and lunges for Cedric.