Chapter Text
The street lamps cast a dim orange glow over the darkened streets of Echo Creek on a quiet Sunday evening. A chill wind blew the dried up leaves across the asphalt as residents enjoyed the dwindling calm before the storm that Monday would bring. No cars or people disturbed the tranquility of the night, save for a police cruiser that slowly rolled by the neighborhood park. It’s headlights illuminating a row of hedges as the driver sipped her coffee, continuing on what she guessed would be yet another boring patrol.
As the patrol car passed the hedges shook slightly before a set of brown eyes peered out into the dimly lit streets. They looked left, then right before the shrubbery fully parted and out stepped a young girl no older than 11.
She had lightly tanned skin and dark brown eyes that danced with perpetual mischief as a sneaky grin split her face, her hair was a wavy mess from her shrubbery shenanigans, the locks tucked beneath an olive green cap. She wore a light grey shirt with black skirt as well as black gym shoes. She adjusted her hat as she stood up straight and brushed the leaves from her clothes, she then turned back towards the hedge and frowned.
“You can come out now Diaz, the coast is clear” she whispered into the void she had just emerged from. Her voice slightly hoarse and teasing.
There was a momentary pause before another young form emerged from the increasingly damaged hedges. This time a boy, around the same age as his companion, though he was slightly taller. He wore a red hoodie as well as black skinny jeans and white sneakers. His eyes were a warm hazel and his hair was a wavy brown that he nervously ran a hand through. His most noticeable feature being a beauty mark on his right cheek directly below his eye.
In contrast to his partner in crime, who projected an easy confidence despite the circumstances, the boy was nearly shaking like a leaf and sweating nervously.
“Are you sure we should be doing this Janna? What if we get caught?” The boy asked in a whisper trying to keep his voice low and steady despite his inner panic.
The now named Janna’s expression didn’t change at the boys question, if anything it grew even more nonchalant at his blatant nerves. “You worry too much Diaz, we’ve already come this far, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“We could be caught, driven home by the police and have to explain to our parents why we were out so late” came his frantic reply to the rhetorical question.
“Exactly nothing to worry about.” the girl said nonchalantly.
“That’s everything to worry a-” the hooded boy near shouted before a hand clapped over his mouth. His companion rolled her eyes at his near slip up before releasing his lips.
“You’re being way too loud for someone so worried about being caught, now come on we’re almost there.” With that the girl turned and walked down the street, her footsteps barely making a sound.
The young Diaz took one last nervous look around, before sighing quietly and following his partner in crime in the direction of downtown Echo Creek.
As they walked he found himself staring at his companions back as she lead them further into what would hopefully be his first and last crime.
He did this more to calm his pounding heart rather than any real desire to stare at his oldest ‘friend.’ He’d known Janna Ordonia since kindergarten and to this day she was still an enigma to the red hooded boy. She was the only person who regularly hung out with him since he was little, one of the few people he knew who wasn’t put off by his cautious tendencies or love of Mackie Hand. If anything she found endless amusement in teasing him about his habits and attempting to get him out of his comfort zone. She pranked him regularly and ‘borrowed’ things even more regularly without asking and rarely returned the items she took. Not to mention she had some unsettling hobbies of her own, amateur necromancy and morbid poetry to name a few.
Despite all of this, Marco still considered her his best and only constant companion he’s had since he was five. Sure her tendencies could be abrasive to someone of his disposition but some would say that’s why their friendship worked. When Janna went too far or got in over her head Marco was there to bail her out or reel her in. And in the admittedly mundane and rigid schedule that was Marco’s life Janna brought some refreshing chaos and excitement. It was a balance that had gotten them both through a lot of rough times in their years together. Marco found he really cared for the occult loving girl, eccentricities and all.
And though Janna would deny this with her dying breath and then haunt him as a ghost afterwards, she cared for him as well, in her own way. He could still remember the time Josh Gibbins stole his lunch money in the second grade, Janna had taken one look at her friends black eye and tear tracked face before walking off. Only to come back with burgers purchased from money in Josh’s wallet, which she also took. Unknown to the Hispanic boy at the time Josh had also gotten detention when teachers found a lighter in his locker.
When he got home Marco had asked his mom if he could take karate lessons, so he could be relied on just like Janna if something like that happened again.
Moments like that cemented their friendship in his mind, and if he was being honest he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
His reflections were cut short however when his troublemaking friend stopped suddenly. Marco barely avoided bumping into her back before she got his attention and pointed across the street.
“There it is” She said, excitement at an all time high, for across the street was Britta’s Tacos; Echo Creeks premier Taco stand. Its windows were dark at this late hour and the front counter had its metal shutter closed.
“You ready to get your hands dirty Diaz?”
“If I say no can I go home?” Marco asked only half joking.
“Sure but then you’d have to tell everyone you chickened out on the bet” Janna replied smirking as the boy’s shoulders drooped. “Besides you already snuck out on a school night and halfway around town, what’s little B&E to go with it?”
Before Marco could formulate a response the Filipina-American was already halfway across the street. The Red belt quickly scrambled after her, reaching her as she made her way across the parking lot.
“...So how did you sneak out without your parents knowing?” Marco asked, more so to fill the unsettling quiet around them than to satisfy his curiosity. Though he had met the Ordonias before and found them to be surprisingly ordinary back in contrast to their daughter. Even they would have objections to their daughter being out past two in the morning.
Janna shrugged “Eh, I just told them I was spending the night at your place, it wouldn’t be the first time after all.”
“That’s funny I told my parents I was spending the night at your place, and that we were gonna walk to school together in the morning” Marco said with a small chuckle.
“Wow Diaz, lying to your rents and sneaking out? Maybe you are a misunderstood bad boy. ” Janna said half mocking though Marco could tell she was a little impressed with him. Surprisingly this made him feel a little better about what he was about to do, even if his palms were still sweaty as ever.
“That’s what I keep telling everyone, and after tonight nobody will be calling me safe kid ever again.”
“Except me, of course” Janna said with a wink.
“Well obviously but you’ve called me worse” Marco shrugged and the two friends shared a chuckle over this as they finally reached the building.
“So how are we getting in?” Marco asked as he looked at the clearly locked door and shuttered window.
“How should I know? You’re the one who accepted that bet.” Janna said nonchalantly.
“You’re the one who accepted the bet on my behalf in the first place, in front of the whole class no less! And getting in without getting caught is the whole reason I brought you!” Marco said in a whisper, glaring at the amused look on Janna’s face.
“And here I thought you brought me out this late for other reasons” replied the hatted girl flirtily, while wiggling her eyebrows at her distressed friend.
“Of course, you know I just can’t get enough of you” Marco said sarcastically, more than used to his best friends teasing. “Do you know a way in or not?”
“Yeah, yeah keep you’re hoodie on Diaz I’ve got this” Janna said dismissively as she produced a set of lockpicking tools from her hat. “Usually I’d just slam into the door until it opens, but I thought the subtle approach would be better.”
“Of course, because you’re nothing if not subtle” Marco teased lightly as he watched her work in interest. He had to admit, for how devil may care the girl could be she had skills when it came to this kind of thing.
“You know me so well, now sit back and watch the magic” Janna said her fingers working with practiced dexterity, and quickly enough there was a soft click as the lock turned open. Janna stood and gestured at the door with a flourish, beckoning her friend to proceed.
Marco smiled at his friends’ theatrics, giving her a quiet round of applause as he attempted to open the door. Attempted being the key word as he immediately met resistance, he tried again getting the same result.
“What the heck, why is it still locked?” Marco asked as he tried in vain to get the door open.
Janna scratched her beanie covered hair. “I guess they added some locks since the last time I was here.”
“Whhhaahat!? How many times have you broken in here.” Marco whisper yelled in disbelief.
“At least twice a month since May” Janna said before seeing Marco’s reproachful look “what!? They never give me enough salsa so I help myself.”
Marco shook his head surprised and not all at the same time, he looked around for an alternative entrance, the window was bolted from the inside. So that would leave…
He pointed upwards at service hatch in the roof with a padlock looped through the door “Do you think you could pick that one if we got up there?” He asked hopefully.
Janna nodded “I mean yeah but how’re we gon-” she was cut off as Marco rushed past her at a sprint. She watched as he jumped up from the counter and latched himself onto the Britta’s Tacos sign before he vaulted and landed on the roof in a three point crouch. He deftly hung upside down from the edge of the roof and held a hand out to her.
“You coming?” he asked with a small smirk, when no response came he looked at his friend only to see her staring at him with her mouth slightly open.
“Umm Janna? You okay over there?” He asked slightly worried, she had a far off look on her face that usually meant scheming.
The Occult girl quickly shook her head, a small flush on her cheeks as she looked anywhere but at her friend. “Y-yeah totally, I was just a little surprised, guess those dance lessons have been paying off, eh Diaz?”
“Karate lesson thank you very much, although I have been considering ballet, now are you coming or not? The bloods starting to rush to my head” said the dangling boy, forgetting his friends momentarily out of character behavior.
Janna let out a quiet sigh before walking up and taking the boys warm hand, letting him help her up onto the roof as well. As she scrambled on she gave a look around, the coast was still clear and she once again made short work of the lock. She opened the hatch and was greeted by a ladder attached to the wall of the restaurants storage area.
“All right we’re in, you ready to ditch the whole safe kid thing?” she asked three quarters sarcastic and a quarter sincere. She teased, but there’s always been things she saw in Marco that no one else did, maybe that would change tonight. The cynical part of her brain said probably not but she considered tonight a win either way.
Before she could climb down the latter Marco grabbed her hand “wait just a sec” he said his tone softer now. Janna fondly rolled her eyes with a smile he couldn’t see, expecting him to back out at the last moment.
“You’re not getting cold feet are you? If you are you owe me like ten plates of Marcos super awesome nachos for wasting my night” Janna said with an almost too serious face.
Marco chuckled. “No I’m good to go, but you’re right, I do owe you a lot” at her slightly raised eyebrow he continued “I-i mean you came out here with me tonight when you really didn’t have to, you helped me not get caught, getting past these locks and most of all you really helped me by just being you, I was a nervous wreck all night but you really know how to get me out of my own head, what I’m trying to say is thanks Janna, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
There were a lot of things she wanted to say in response to that, unfortunately what came out was “without me you’d probably sit alone at lunch and cry or something” Janna said, a blush adorning her tanned cheeks that she tried to hide. She immediately wanted to execute her mouth for high treason, thankfully Marco laughed good naturedly at her slip up.
“Yeah probably, so I guess I owe you for that too, anyway we should get, moving, we’re kind of sitting ducks up here.”
Janna nodded, glad for the change in topic “True, I’ll go down first, for obvious reasons” she gestured at her skirt, which caused Marco to flush bright red in embarrassment. Janna mentally tallied one more point for herself before she started to climb down the ladder, she paused for a moment at the top.
“Hey Marco?” He looked at her startled, she couldn’t blame him, she could count on one hand the number of times she’s called him by his first name. “About what you said before, I just wanted to say you’re welcome, and I’m glad I have you around too.” With that she quickly ducked into the restaurant before the boy could respond.
Marco sat there for a second, then he smiled and followed the girl into the slightly smelly depths of Britta’s tacos.
Before he even reached the bottom he felt a hand grab his ankle in the inky darkness of the closed taco stand. He jerked and let out a small squeak before hearing the tell tale laugh of his best friend. He aimed a playful kick at her which she dodged even in the dark. Marco finished his descent just as Janna flipped on the lights, bathing the area around them in its fluorescent glow. As expected they were in the dry storage area of the restaurant, the kitchen and mangers office just ahead, the walk in cooler and freezer behind them.
Janna nodded, satisfied with their progress “so far so good, you remember what you’re supposed to grab Diaz?” The Filipina asked with a in faux seriousness, to which Marco merely rolled his eyes.
“I’m supposed find the Britta the Burrito costume and bring it to school tomorrow so I can prove I broke in here, and so nobody will ever call me safe kid again.” Marco recited, fist clenched in determination by the end, a genuinely serious scrunch on his face.
“And so you can impress Jackie Lynn Thomas” Janna said emphasizing the name with her teasing tone just a little sharper than usual.
“I m-mean, m-aybe, that is to say…” Marco stuttered face red and head bowed at the mention of his crush, missing the small frown that crossed his friends’ face.
The aspiring necromancers face was neutral again when he looked up and she shrugged. “Well whatever, while you do that I’m gonna get into the managers office and switch around the inventory orders.” She gave a sly smirk as she walked in the direction of the office giving her friend a wink as she went.
Marco shook his head once again, if there was ever a person who represented chaotic neutral it was her. Putting that out of mind Marco went on to his own task, searching the kitchen, the walk ins and finally back tracking to the storage area in search of his prize. Unfortunately he didn’t see it anywhere, he was just about to head to the office to ask Janna if she’d found it when he spotted something.
A hinge, sticking out of the floor underneath a cardboard box filled with Britta brand cups, moving the box Marco saw that it hid another hatch. Seeing no lock on this one he opened it up to reveal a ladder leading into a cavernous space under the restaurant.
Marco considered going to Janna with this discovery but decided against it, she was having her own fun. Besides he wasn’t a safe kid anymore he could explore dark caves under Mexican restaurants all by himself. With that thought he climbed cautiously down the ladder, feeling his foot hit solid earth after fifteen steps.
With the little light coming from above Marco could scarcely make out a slim string that he hoped was attached to a light. Marco gave it a small pull and was rewarded when the space was made clear to him. The beauty marked boy stared amazed, the subterranean space was far larger than he assumed.
“There’s no way this building is zoned for this, OSHA would have a field day” Marco thought as he observed the various items scattered along the rocky interior. Including buckets of Britta sauce and boxes of ‘good’ grade meat that just sat open in the dank expanse… and just like that the hooded boy lost any desire to eat here ever again.
Moving on he could see employee shirts, sacks of rice and beans as well as a few derelict fryers and hot wells sitting abandoned in the corner of the cavern. Finally in the opposite corner he spotted his goal, the mascot costume that would secure his future bad boy status at school. It was hanging over some kind of sewer entrance or well, its vacant costume eyes were more than a little unsettling in the dimly lit cave.
Pumping his fist in excitement Marco hopped up onto the wooden cover of the well and grabbed the costume. Only to pause as he spotted some carvings on the wall behind it, he set aside the six foot burrito to get a better look.
The carvings prominently featured a bald pointy eared entity with a large beard and what seemed to be a type of gem in its forehead. There seemed to be liquid pouring out of the creature’s mouth and right hand, flowing through a hole into a kind of lake and river that covered most of the bottom and right side of the mural. Around the entity were depictions of people kneeling and seemingly worshiping it. There were also boats that floated along the liquid towards the lake, that was filled with what looked to be unicorns? There were large stones at the base of the lake as well. Strangest of all was the writing along the edges of the entire mural, Marco had never seen anything like it before.
He was ready to write it off as bad abstract art, but something about the carvings felt important to him. And if nothing else Janna would get a kick out of looking into it later.
He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the mural, as he did so he noticed something odd. The gem in the creatures forehead was slightly more raised than the rest of the stonework, out of curiosity he ran his fingers over it. Only to watch as the gem sunk into the entities forehead, the eyes beginning to glow followed by the rivers and lake in the carvings as well.
Marco watched mouth agape as the entire room was bathed in a bright golden light, he was ready to take the costume and run when he noticed something else. The well he had set the suit on top of had begun to glow as well, light spilling from the cracks in the wooden cover. More importantly the lid was beginning to tilt from the weight of the costume, it was going to fall in!
“Oh no you don’t!” Marco said as he dashed back towards the burrito, face screwed up in determination. He didn’t understand anything that was happening down here but he knew one thing, he wasn’t leaving without that suit. It was half submerged into the well by the time he grabbed hold of it with one hand and he sighed in relief. At least he did until he felt the costume continue to be pulled down, the force dragging him off his feet.
The boy dropped his phone and grabbed the fake tortilla with his other hand, planting his feet on the stone well for leverage. It seemed like he was gaining ground, until the pull doubled and he was flung forward, his arms were now elbow deep in a glowing golden colored liquid. No matter how hard he pulled he couldn’t free himself, as the liquid reached his upper arms and chin he yelled out in pure desperation.
“JANNA!-” was all he managed to say before the rest of his body was dragged beneath the glowing liquid.
All was silent in the cavern for but a moment before the well the boy had fallen into collapsed on itself, the stone leaving no trace of what had transpired. The mural on the wall ceased its glowing before following the lead of the well and crumbling to dust, not a single other worldly rune or image left in the cavern.
~Janna POV~
“Just add a couple zeroes and they’ll be getting five hundred pounds of jalapeños come tuesday morning” she thought to herself with a smirk as she finished altering the delivery manifest. It was the little things in life that really made it worth living in her opinion. She was just about to stand up to stretch and check on her partner in crime when she heard a scream that sent a chill through her cold dead heart.
“JANNA!L-” came Marco’s voice from the direction of the stock room before it suddenly cut out.
The dark haired girl sprung up from her chair so fast she nearly tripped over herself in her effort to make sure her only best friend was ok. She made it to the back room in no time at all, but she didn’t see any sign of karate loving boy she came with. That is until she spotted the ladder leading downwards between a couple of shelves. She slid down and landed with a soft grunt before scanning the entirety of the cavern. Still she saw no sign of red hoodies or cute beauty marks anywhere, just a lot of junk and rocks.
She was about to head back up when she spotted a prussian blue colored object on the ground near a sizeable pile of rocks. She picked it up and saw it was Marco’s phone, lighting it up revealed the now cracked screen and the Mackie Hand wallpaper, it was also currently three in the morning.
Putting the phone away in her skirt pocket she gave one more look around for her missing companion before deciding to check outside. She wasn’t worried, chances were he got spooked by something and just ran home, hopefully with the costume in hand, she would just catch up with him tomorrow. She told herself all of this, she was well versed in lying and to herself most of all. But a sinking feeling in her gut told her she wouldn’t see Marco again any time soon.
At that time she didn’t know how right she was.
~Marco POV~
He felt the pain before he even realized he was awake again, his head felt heavy, his body felt sore as if he had just done twelve hours of karate practice. His entire person was wet, including his clothes and worst of all his socks. He willed himself to open his eyes and immediately had to close them again due to how bright everything was. He let the spots fade from his vision before he tried again and what he saw made him want to close his eyes again.
Before him, a sea of golden water, the same kind he saw in that well, broken up occasionally by purple crystal like structures and islands. The ‘water’ flowed in all directions at different points, with some of the waterfalls even flowing upwards and disappearing in the purple/blue sky and above the clouds. There were animals here as well he noted but none of them familiar to him, as he watched jellyfish like creatures drift through the sky.
Marco took all of this in and could feel his panic start to rise at the unfamiliar nature of everything around him. His breath was coming in shallow and his vision started to blur but he managed to steady himself with a breathing technique sensei had shown him. After a moment he felt at least partially ready to process the place he had found himself in and start to think on how to get out of it. He had four theories so far none of which he particularly liked and each one less appealing than the last.
1 He had hit his head when he fell down that well and was currently hallucinating all of this. An enticing idea in the face of the alternative, unfortunately he was feeling a lot of pain for a hallucination to be feasible
2 He was currently in the Echo Creek sewer system and it looked way different than his sixth grade field trip to the water treatment plant led him to believe. Going by the lack of a smell that was the least likely answer and was just his panic induced brain trying to rationalize his situation.
3 Janna was pulling the mother of all pranks on him after finding him unconscious from his fall. Another really inviting theory but once again unrealistic, as clever as his friend could be with pranks this was a bit too elaborate.
4 He was dead and this was the afterlife, not really what he would have expected but a lot better than what it could have been. Considering he was committing a crime right before all of this happened. Again, probably not considering how sore his body currently felt.
The sopping wet boy shook his head, theorizing wasn’t going to get him anywhere, it would be better to take a look around and find his way home. The thought that he wouldn’t be able to find a way out was promptly karate chopped and politely asked to leave his brain. With effort he stood up in the ankle deep ‘water’ and set himself to the task of finding his way back.
He took another look around noting just how many upward flowing waterfalls there were and figured he had fallen down one of them. He wondered how that was possible, both how the ‘water’ flowed upwards and how he had fallen down o-
Marco stilled as he spotted the burrito costume sitting on one of the crystal islands, it was soaking wet but mostly undamaged. The Hispanic boy let a small smile cross his face at the first welcome sight since he had woken up. He began to make his way over, stepping carefully in case the golden liquid got any deeper as he went. Luckily he made it over with no problems and was soon making his way across the reflective crystal.
In short order he reached the six foot burrito, there was some kind of reptilian creature with a horn sniffing at it but it quickly fled at his approach. Marco reached down and hefted up his prize that he had gone so far for. After all he may be lost now but when he got back he’d need this to… need this to…
Wait, what why did he need this again?