Fallen (Part II)

------------- Continued from "Fallen" -------------------

Simon is driving, it's day time now. Max is eating the food that he got from the restaurant, his stomach is being helped but his mind isn't because other than how great the food is, he's wondering about the war that's coming. He's getting frustrated but as far as he knows, maybe this is the best thing for him to do since he has to stop wondering about Karen so he asks Simon about the war.

"What else did that half breed tell you?" asked Max.

"Nothing else, mate, that's all he told me," replied Simon.

"Figured you'd ask about it and I'd listen for it," added Azriel as he appears in the backseat.

Max and Simon are startled by this, Max drops one of his fries but he barely catches it before it hits the floor, "Shit! I hate it when you guys do that! At least the demons will give us a warning to know their coming," said Max.

"Oh, stop it, you're just exaggerating. Look, I only told Simon enough because I knew he'd tell you," said Azriel.

"Really, angel? You only told me half just so you can tell Max more?" asked Simon.

"Yeah, you guys call it 'setting up bait', right?" replied Azriel.

"You may be a pain in the ass but even I gotta give you credit over the fact that you learn," said Max.

"Well, not all angels are bad," said Azriel.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're all nothing but a bunch of dicks riding your high horses," snapped Max.

"Maybe you'll change your mind over time," said Azriel calmly.

Azriel disappears while Max finishes his food, he puts down the takeout box and goes into the glove compartment to get a cigarette. There are 3 brand new packs but he grabs the fourth pack with only one more cigarette left. He takes the stick from the pack, rolls the window down, and throws the pack out before rolling the window back up. Simon occasionally steals glances at him, like he's judging him while Max uses a spare lighter from the console to light his cigarette.

"I hate it when you do that shit," said Simon.

"And I hate it when you're not focusing on driving," replied Max.

Max and Simon sit in silence that's uncomfortable while Max continues to smoke his cigarette. Simon spontaneously pulls into a nearby gas station, he gets out of the car after he parks to take a walk. Max, still unfazed by this, is still smoking so he kicks his feet up on the dashboard to relax more. He fiddles with his magic for a bit by waving his hand in the air and snapping his fingers, a card appears with the back facing him. He closes his eyes and sighs, "I say to this card that I allow it to show me the truth of my deep feelings, reveal what my truth is before me," said Max.

He turns the card and it reveals a picture of Karen so he lets the card flop on to his palm, he sets it on fire while he takes one last puff of his cigarette. He goes into the glove compartment and opens a new pack to get another but he doesn't smoke it. He puts it in his pocket and gets out of the car, he heads into the store. There's one customer at the register, a woman who's getting a banana with some Naked juice, strawberry banana. She takes a glance at Max but Max doesn't notice her when he walks in so he goes straight to the refrigerated drinks.

"One more store-branded drink should do tonight, if not, then maybe an Arizona," said Max to himself. He remembers another moment he had with Karen during the summer two years ago, they went to a beach. He still can't believe he went to a beach at all but while she was having fun running along the shore, a demon tried to kill her. A fun moment was ruined but it reminded him of why he is the way he is. He comes to when a voice filled the air, "Are you alright, sir?"

Max turns around but he's not fully out of it yet, "Are you alright? You need help?" asked the cashier.

Max snaps out of it almost immediately, "Oh! No, I'm fine. I'm just getting a drink or something." Simon walks in the store with fire in his steps, he goes to Max and grabs him. He drags him out of the store and they head to the car but they don't get in, Simon slightly flings Max to the hood of the car. Max catches himself and leans on the hood so he pulls out his cigarette from his pocket, "You got a light?" asked Max.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" exclaimed Simon.

Max is puzzled but he has a feeling where this is coming from so he'll bite anyway, "Okay? What's gotten into you?" asked Max.

"You, goddamn it! How can you act like this knowing what happened and what's about to happen?" replied Simon.

"Easy, like this," said Max as he leans back a little while he puts the cigarette to his lips.

Simon slaps the cigarette from his lips, "Stop it, man! The world is about to go to shit and you're over here putting up a front like you're a fucking robot!" said Simon.

"The world is always ending, that's because I'm in it and I'm the only one who's able to protect it. We'll be fine, Simon, I always find a way to get out of dumb shit like this," replied Max.

"You know that's not what I meant! You don't at least want to go see someone before the world ends?" asked Simon.

"Who do I have to see? I don't have anyone but you," replied Max.

"Karen, you fuckstick! Don't you want to see Karen?!" asked Simon.

Max breaks his facade, "No! I don't want to see Karen! She made her choice after she left and went back to a normal life! She left, okay? She did, not me! I'm the one that's burdened with protecting this sodding world and I tried to get Karen back for us but she wants to die. There weren't enough demons in the world to convince her to come back and to answer your last question, I don't want to see Mom! I don't want to see Dad and I'm seeing my sister eventually! Do you think I'm not scared? I don't sleep because I have nightmares over this shit so next time, you want to smack a cigarette out of my mouth and say some bullshit to me, think twice about it because I might snap one of these days!" yelled Max.

"There it is! Finally! We got some feeling from you," said Simon with a sigh of relief.

Max looks at Simon with a stern look since he can't believe Simon goaded him to admit his feelings, "I'm hungry," said Max before he heads back into the store.

"You just ate your chicken strips and french fries a while ago," said Simon.

"Sod off!" exclaimed Max as he enters the store.

Simon gets in the car and sits in the driver's seat while Max is getting food in the store. Max grabs a hot dog and a few snacks like candy, cookies, and two sandwiches with a few drinks that include Arizona, Naked, and two different flavors of store-branded juice, strawberry lemonade, and fruit punch. He puts his food up to the counter at the cashier, the cashier starts to ring everything up and he starts small talk with him.

"Long night?" asked the cashier.

"More like short life," replied Max.

"You must be going all out," said the cashier.

"Something like that, yeah," said Max.

The cashier bags everything up and Max pays for everything by conjuring up two $20 bills without the cashier seeing him.

"Keep the change," added Max as he gets the bags. When he has everything, he leaves the store and goes to the car. He tosses everything in the backseat and sits in the passenger's seat. Simon tries to put a cap on everything after what happened earlier, "I love you, Max," said Simon.

"Fuck you, Simon. Drive the damn car already, let's save the bloody world," snapped Max.

Simon pulls out of the parking lot and they go on a drive to the long road back home. Max grabs a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment but he doesn't put the pack back, he puts it in the console before he lights his cigarette with the spare lighter. He rolls the window down this time and he grabs an Arizona to take a drink from it while he waits for the next thing he knows about before the war starts.