Vincent hated the idea of leaving the ship, but Napalm was leaving him no choice. So he squeezed himself and pushed his human form up through the hold the better to see the situation. He was, at first sight, a thin, bare-chested boy.

And then, having seen Napalm, Vincent simply pushed upward with all parts of his great, extended body. The upward pressure buckled the decks. The few remaining bulkheads broke free from decks with a series of crunches and snaps. The superstructure tilted. The sides of the ship bulged outward.

Finally, with the earsplitting noise of steel being torn like so much canvas, he began to truly emerge. A red arm rose from the foredeck, an elongated triangle, tube feet waving. Another erupted through the side of the ship. A third swelled within the superstructure, bursting portholes and hatches. The big golf ball that sheltered the radar crumpled, the legs of the mast snapped or bent, and the golf ball smashed down onto the pier.

Monster, Chapter 25