The Battle Within An Angel

Twelve | Maddox & Claire & Wesley

"Well, I heard the motorcycles and car engines, but I don't see either."

Maddox looked out with squinted eyes into the dunes that engulfed Sedona. The Red Giant of a sun had destroyed nearly everything, turning the moist clay of the Earth into endless dunes of dry sand.

Arizona, much like most of the rest of the world, had been turned into a mere desert.

I'd hate to see the Sahara, Maddox thought to himself.

"I don't either, but we have to keep moving." Claire looked up at the top of the old apartment building that she once stood on aside her mother and Maddox, only to see that her mother had vanished, leaving the roof as void of movement as it were before they stood on it moments ago. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't-"

"Hello? Excuse me, Mister?" A burly man climbed over the dunes. His brown hair, streaked in grey, was soaking wet, along with the rest of his body. The tribal tattoos on his muscular arms shimmered with sweat in the heat of the sun.

Maddox positioned himself in front of Claire as the man neared him. Once close enough to speak to, the man, panting, nearly doubled-over on the ground.

"Hi," he began through heavy breaths. "I'm Wesley. I haven't seen anyone else in days! Goodness, you must be..." Wesley pointed toward Claire.

Maddox, as if by instinct, moved closer to Claire, ushering her away from Wesley. He was close enough to her now to latch onto her hands, ensuring her protection. Claire blushed at the thought of it but was also filled with embarrassment.

"The girl from the posters I've seen! You know, the ones saying you're magic or something?" Wesley pushed enthusiasm out of his throat and onto his tongue as he spoke, but each push became more difficult than the last.

Enthusiasm wasn't exactly his specialty.

Claire rolled her eyes as she moved away from Maddox. She jerked her hands away from him. "I can hold my own," she snarled. "I don't need to be protected."

Her words came to Maddox as a shock as he lifted his hands in defeat, though refraining from saying another word to her. Pushing a curl behind her ear, she sighed, "Yeah. That's me."

"That's... amazing! Are you really magical?"

"No! They're crazy!"

Maddox looked down at his feet, hiding a smirk as he remembered what had happened earlier when they both fell to the ground without truly falling.

"What are you laughing at?"

Maddox looked up at her with red, blushing cheeks and a wide grin on his face. He was no longer able to hide his amusement.

"Nothing."

"Something, obviously."

Man, if she were a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of her ears right about now. Maddox chuckled to himself as he imagined Claire- an angry mouse with balled fists with smoke coming out of her ears and nose.

"Nope, nothing at all." Maddox smiled, turning away from Claire and taking a deep breath, trying to stifle his laughter.

Brushing off the easily amused boy, Wesley walked toward Claire, extending his hand to her. With a bit of hesitation, she reached for a handshake.

"Wesley."

"Claire."

Once Maddox had gotten himself together, he turned around to see Claire and Wesley inches apart as Wesley took the astonished girl's hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles.

"Pleasure."

"Hey, hey, woah." Maddox shook his hands and placed himself between the two. "Look, buddy, it's nothing personal, but we just met you. Frankly, I don't trust you."

Wesley put a hand to his chest, seemingly offended by Maddox's remark. The boy looked at him in a simple tone that spoke for him, daring Wesley to come near Claire again. All of the amusement from seconds ago drained from his face, leaving him with a cold stare at the stranger.

"Maddox, chill out, will you?" Claire pushed him away once again, brushing off his behavior as she focused her attention on Wesley.

"Excuse him, Wesley."

"Please, call me Wes," he winked at the girl, watching as Maddox crossed his arms, steadily keeping watch on the two.

Claire blushed slightly as she admired Wesley's tattoos and muscular build, though completely ignoring the fact that she had just met the man. After growing up in an orphanage, she'd grown to be a natural at introductions and making new friends.

"Don't trust him," Anaia's voice invaded his ears like the booming of a megaphone, though no one else could hear the undeniable voice. "He's with Chaos. Claire, she's always been easily deceived."

Without visibly acknowledging Anaia's presence ringing inside of his head, Maddox nodded, staring even harder at Wesley and Claire as they got acquainted with one another.

"Aren't you a little too old to be flirting with seventeen-year-olds, Wesley?" Maddox cocked his head to the side, keeping his arms crossed as he stood still. Wesley lifted his head, quickly turning his smile at Claire into a firm grimace as he glanced at Maddox.

"What? Aren't you in your thirties, old man?"

Keep your cool, Wes. You can't afford to blow it... Just get close to her and then take them both back to Chaos. Keep your mind on the prize... Mind on the prize...

Wesley's cheeks reddened with rage as he balled his fists, but soon he took a deep breath and forced a smile toward Maddox.

"I'm 31, Maddox. 31."

"And? She's seventeen. Back off, old man."

"That's it."

Unable to control his anger, Wesley brought up a forceful fist to Maddox's jawline, smashing the teeth in the side of his head until Maddox was sure that he had swallowed a tooth.

Though in pain, Maddox laughed as he looked up at Wesley. Crimson blood ran down his mouth as he spat teeth onto the ground. Maddox's blood glistened in the light, and even brighter so as it turned into a golden liquid, the same liquid that Claire had drunk from him when they first met.

The blood dried, and unexpecting to Maddox, returned to his body through his mouth, making him shudder. He certainly wasn't expecting to unwillingly drink his own blood. Though cringing in disgust, Maddox stood straight, allowing Wesley and Claire to see what was happening.

Smiling a wide smile, even though missing a few teeth, Wesley and Claire watched in both awe and disgust as Maddox's teeth grew back in seconds, creeping into his mouth.

Soon, his smile had returned to normal, and the blood had gone from his mouth. He was surprised by the sudden change. His powers, if that is what they should be called, were... evolving. They were stronger than they were before.

He was stronger.

With a devilish smile and cold eyes, Maddox glared at Wesley.

"You gonna try that again, bud?"