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Although nothing about the McGill’s horrible face had changed since he began his tale, Allie could swear he somehow looked different "Why did you tell me this?"

Allie asked

The McGill shrugged "I thought you should know I thought you deserved a little bit of truth in return for all your help"

And although the picture the McGill painted was not a pretty one, it somehow made Allie feel a bit better A bit less in the dark "Thank you," she said

"That was very thoughtful"

The McGill lifted his head "Thoughtful…Do you think maybe it was selfless?"

Allie nodded "Yes, I think it was"

The McGill suotten, just as the fortune cookie said"

"Fortune cookie?" asked Allie "What do you nored her "I’ve achieved the selfless act," the McGill said

"I’h ritings of Mary’s she could find, until she discovered the entry on fortune cookies -- how they were evil, flesh-rotting little pastries, and should be avoided like nuclear waste If Mary was frightened enough of fortune cookies to ban the iht out Pinhead He was down in thetheain They flipped and traded old baseball cards fro in checkers As in Mary’s world, these crew aet into the saain Reuard down Don’t let yourself fall into routine again

When the cre her enter the nored her, or they scowled at her She was not well loved a the crew Mostly they resented the fact that she had found the McGill’s favor, where they had not Still, they had to grudgingly admit that since she had been on board, their situation had i of them now

Pinhead,Allie aboard At first she had thought he’d be resentful the way Vari had been resentful of Nick, but since Pinhead was often the scapegoat for the McGill’s anger when things didn’t go his way, Allie was a bit of a savior to Pinhead She could hardly call hi Allie was certain of: He had est, and was pretty ether around the Sulphur Queen

Pinhead stood in a corner acting as referee for two other young crewaet a free slap if your opponent flinches

"Tell me about fortune cookies," she said He ia doith her at a table where they could talk without being overheard

"What do you want to know?" Pinhead asked

"Mary Hightower says they’re evil Is that true?"

Pinhead laughed "Mary must have had a bad fortune"

"So tell me the truth"

Pinhead looked around as if it was so secret, then said quietly, "Fortune cookies all cross over"

Allie took a moment to process that "What do you le fortune cookie that was everpeople hosts of all those cookies cross over, unbroken, just waiting for so," Allie said, "but why is that such a big deal?"

Pinhead grinned "It’s a very big deal," he said, and then he leaned in close

"Because in Everlost, all fortunes are true"

Allie wasn’t sure whether to believe Pinhead Just as Mary’s infor as well It was just rumor It was just myth There was, however, one way to find out: She had to open one up

Since the McGill had talked about the cookies, she reasoned that he must have a stash so a trap on the coast of Maine, Allie went up to his throne deck, and began the search

They weren’t too hard to find In fact, she would have found the anywhere near the McGill’s spittoon It was only after a pause for thought that she realized the McGill had no reason to actually have a spittoon Since he prided himself on his repulsiveness, he never actually used it Instead, he spat everywhere else That being the case, the spittoon was probably the most mucous-free object on the entire ship

It turned out that she was right She reached into the spittoon and found the McGill’s collection of fortune cookies

She held one in her hand, grit her teeth, and watched what happened, hoping that Mary rong about her hand rotting off Her hand didn’t rot It didn’t wither Allie was not at all surprised

Now there was a sense of anticipation in her as she held the little pastry She had never believed in fortune-tellers, but then, she had never believed in ghosts either She closed her eyes, made a fist around the cookie and squeezed

It cru crunch, then she pulled the little slip of paper out from the remains