in the end ~ d. malfoy

Chapter Twenty-Seven

She's running again. The branches twist and break under her feet, splintering as her heart races in the pitch-blackness around her. Maya can hear the Death Eaters behind her, almost at her heels. She shoots back a curse as a red bolt of light misses her by centimeters, hitting a smoldering tree instead.

It's not enough.

Maya struggles to think as she hears them approaching, voices clear even through the thick underbrush behind her. She discreetly flees behind a tree, not daring to make a sound. Cold metal brushes against the inside of her thigh; Maya realizes, with a jolt, that she has a knife strapped to her leg. She quietly unsheathes the dagger from its hold, twisting the demon-blood-infused Damascus steel in her hand. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up. They're getting closer and closer . . . . she's running out of time . . . .

Her hand throws the knife before her mind has the chance to react.

Suddenly, black infuses the world around her. Maya feels a jerk behind her navel; Her body suddenly flies backward, pulled by an invisible force. Time seems to warp; she's somehow moving faster and slower all at once.

Then, she hits the rain-soaked road with a thud, and the impact is painful enough to make her vision swim with agony.

Maya gasps, raggedly, struggling to breathe. She's lying on her stomach, arms and legs sprawled out on the drenched concrete. The sky is an ominous grey; She can see the mountainous plains of Oxfordshire in the distance. Thunder cracks above her; Maya jerks away as she sees a white bolt of lightning hit something in the distance. Water gets into her nose as she tries to push herself up on her elbows; Maya chokes and falls back down, her nose hitting the ground with a sickening crack.

Arjun is lying still behind her.

Maya would've screamed if she could still use her voice; her "father" looks exactly the way he did over ten years ago. He lies a few feet away from her, still in his auror uniform, bloodied white shirt a horrifying sight as he gasps and chokes for air. He doesn't seem to notice her at all; lying in a pool of his own blood, the shards of glass from the wreckage of the car stuck in his ribcage.

"D-Dad?" Maya croaks this out, voice unsteady as her hand shakily reaches for his. He seems to register her voice; a ragged gasp leaving his lips. His dark brown eyes meet hers, warm and steady, just as she remembers them; Maya resists the urge to bawl from the familiarity in them, "Dad? Dad, can you hear me?" Her tone is hysterical with emotion.

Arjun hisses in pain, his fingers brushing hers by inches; Something in her breaks as he attempts to grab onto her hand, too weak to actually hold on. He settles for just touching the tips of her fingers, and tears freely pour down her cheeks, causing streaks to appear on her dirt and grime-covered face.

"M-Ma-Maya" he chokes out, barely able to form words. His fingers manage to grab onto hers; Maya sobs freely now, her cries echoing eerily in the empty space around them, "M-Maya . . . . "

"I'm here, Dad, " Maya chokes out, between sobs, gripping his hands for dear life, "I'm not going anywhere". The moment feels painfully real, the fading warmth of his hand clasped between both of hers as her heart pounds violently in her chest. The rain starts pouring faster around them, some of the water getting in Maya's nose and mouth,, making her cough and sneeze violently as her father gasps for air.

Arjun's eyes flash in alarm at her words. Maya freezes.

"N-no" he coughs out, the pool of blood around him steadily growing; Maya sees the life draining from his face, "Y-you can't-"