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Since no soul had crossed over with it, the ghost of the Sulphur Queen drifted for years; no crew, no passengers It drifted, that is, until the McGill found it, and turned it into the greatest pirate ship ever to sail the waters of eternity--and, except for one nasty run-in with the Flying Dutched

Since the evil smell of brimstone still surrounded the vessel, the McGill found it useful for inspiring fear, because the McGill knew that when it ca One only needed to sniff the brimstone to be convinced that the Sulphur Queen was a ship from hell, rather than a ship from Texas

The McGill had remodeled the tanker into as proper a pirate ship as possible It wasn’t too hard to , for the ship was already rusted and rancid when it crossed into Everlost That, the smell, and the McGill’s fearsome reputation were ail it took toterror of Everlost

On the open deck, the McGill had fashioned himself a throne made from pieces of this and that: pipes torn fros that had crossed over The throne was studded with jewels that were glued on with old bubble gum It was, in short, a monstrosity--just like the McGill himself--and it suited him just fine

The McGill’sheard rumors of the Haunter, and his ht kids to haunt, eird discipline, like it was soends that didn’t involve hiends were competition, and needed to be silenced

The Haunter was silenced well Oh, he had put up a fight, levitating, and sus--as if any of this could impress the McGill He had learned early on that one’s physical strength in Everlost had nothing to do with th of one’s will--and the McGill was surely the most willful creature that ever lived After he had shredded the wraith-warriors with his claws, the McGill took on the Haunter hiht -- but in the end he was no et out of there," he had shouted at the barrel where the Haunter had been sealed, "you had better NEVER crossworse for you"

He wasn’t sure if the Haunter had even heard hi from within the barrel

The McGill had dined royally on the spread of food that this Haunter had so world He feasted for hours, and threw his scraps to his associates, ere happy to have them That’s what he called his crew:

"associates"

Now, still full from the feast, they had returned to the ship with a dozen barrels, leaving behind only the one that contained the Haunter

"So what do we do with the at the barrels now arranged haphazardly on the deck Pinhead was the McGill’s chief associate Sootten the correct proportion of a human head to its body, and so the size of his head had receded like an apple left on a sill The difference was not so profound that he looked like a complete freak It was subtle When you looked at Pinhead, you knew so, but you weren’t quite sure what it was

"Sir? The barrels--what should we do with them?"

"I heard you," the McGill snapped

He rose from his throne, and loped in his awful crooked stride toward the barrels

"According to the Haunter, there’s sole one of them,"

Pinhead told him, with a certain excitement in his voice In life, Pinhead h a cereal box to get to the prize at the bottom

"We’ll see," the McGill snapped

"And I’ll bet these kids have been pickling for so long," Pinhead said, "that they’ll worship whoever sets theht He stroked his chin, a bulbous thing as rough and unshapely as a potato It was an interesting idea Others feared him, but never was he the subject of worship and complete adoration "You think so?"

"Only one way to find out" And then Pinhead added, "If they’re ingrates, we’ll put ‘em back in the barrels and duht, then," said the McGill, and he gestured to his associates lurking in the shadows "Open theh not even the Haunter knew this, Afterlights were very er a wine is left to age, the better it gets…unless of course soar

Neither Nick nor Lief had turned to vinegar, however Both had adapted in his own unique way to their situation While Lief became like a baby in a womb, and lost any sense of time and space, Nick did the opposite He are of every passing ot exactly where he was--and didn’t even forget WHO he was, so those stupid little pieces of paper he had written his name on weren’t an entire waste of ti an inventory of everything he reh some key h to his earthly existence to rele song he knew, and sang each one He cataloged every , and tried to watch the to reflect on but himself, he ca and worrying If he ever et out of that barrel, he knew he’d be a different person, because nothing--not even sinking into the Earth--could be worse than this And so, both Nick and Lief had been profoundly changed by their pickling experience: Lief had found a bizarre state of spiritual bliss, and Nick beca and fearless

Nick felt the co removed fro hauled off to, but the very fact that there was activity around hi out the seconds in hismomentous to happen