Stomach acid has a pH of 1 or 2, one point above the most acidic liquids like battery acid. By itself, it can corrode some metals over a sufficient period of time and could damage bones and teeth as well. Normally, it takes 30 to 120 minutes for food to be digested and processed to the small intestine, but certain proteins could take up to four hours to slowly break down from a gooey mush into its fundamental components.
All this was to say that Derek's oncoming death wasn't about to be very pleasant.
Far from landing somewhere safe, he hurtled straight down the dark abyss that was Marco's throat. As the moist, pulsating tunnel quickly claimed him, his frail body not even being large enough to require pushing down by Marco's contracting muscles, the last coherent thought Derek could manage before the noxious fumes of the stomach acid claimed him was wondering why he thought any of this was a good idea to begin with.
Then again, he did teleport to his house in the most vulnerable state imaginable without checking whether anyone was going to use it first. Bright ideas weren't always his strong suit.
~~~
Meanwhile, back at the party, Marco had let out a triumphant burp, proudly beaming for having finished the entire bottle in one gulp.
"Grooooosss!" James cried out with a giggle.
"Hey, it's nature's way of telling you about a job well done." Marco retorted. "You need to let it out, be free."
"I still can't believe you actually downed an entire bottle of Fanta without even blinking." Tyson noted, both impressed and terrified in equal measure.
"Why the heck are you surprised?" Adric replied. "It's Marco; that pig will scarf down an entire Thanksgiving feast if you let him!"
"Hey, I'll let you know that I'd ask for seconds!" Marco quickly interjected, always ready to defend his honor.
"Whatever." Adric headed back towards the living room table, taking stock of the rows of chips, gummy worms, cookies, and other assortment of gooey, crunchy, and all-in-all unhealthy snacks and drinks he had gathered from the kitchen. "There's plenty more where that came from, so help yourself. Try not to empty the entire pantry, though, Derek will throw a fit if he doesn't have his precious River City root beer."
"Don't you think it's weird that Derek isn't here?" Tyson couldn't help but ask. "I mean, I figured he'd be here for your birthday at least."
"Nah." Adric replied. "I knew Derek wouldn't show up. Why would he care about his dumb baby bro's birthday?" The birthday boys trailed off for a bit, a tinge of bitterness hanging over the room. "He's probably shut up in his lab doing big boy nerd stuff while the peasants busy with their vulgar affairs."
"Hey, I don't know what you mean by 'vulgar', but don't worry about him." Marco said, laying a reassuring hand on Adric's shoulder. "We've got plenty more we can do without him."
"You're right." Adric replied with a smile. "When he comes back, I'm gonna tell him about all the cool stuff that he missed out on. That'll show him for not bothering to come!"
With that, the four of the cheered, ready to begin the greatest slumber party of their lives. None of them would ever know that Derek had long been claimed as one of the countless nutrients circulating through Marco's cells. They would never find out that his frail little body had been corroded bit by bit by the acid, peeling the flesh straight off of his skin and leaving the bones to rot until they were brown and brittle. The fact that his eyeballs had been left boiling from the overwhelming heat before exploding into piles of white and red, and his organs had been liquefied into a soup of indistinguishable purple mush, would forever be veiled from them.
...perhaps it was for the better that this be the case.
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