Somewhere Beyond This

Chapter 8: Crash and Burn

A jerk of the plane woke me up. My eyes were met with the dark hues of night just outside the window. I lifted my head off the pillow and repositioned myself. "Damn it," I mumbled as I stretched my limbs. I was in a bad mood, to say the least. My legs were cramped, my neck was stiff, and sleep was absent to me. A growl sounded from my stomach. I sighed. No matter how many bags of peanuts I ate, they refused to quench my hunger. "When is the dinner tray coming?" I asked Sango, who occupied the seat next to me.

I turned towards her only to find her sound asleep, as well as the rest of my classmates. I blinked a few times to get rid of the drowziness and turned on one of the dim lights overhead. I guess I would just have to find a stewardess myself. With a yawn, I rose from my seat and struggled to get by Sango to reach the aisle. I stretched my arms above my head and glanced around at our compartment. The only one of my friends who weren't asleep was Rin. Actually, come to think of it, I don't recall her ever going to sleep. "Hey," I whispered to her, but she didn't hear me, too lost in whatever she was reading.

I shrugged and began walking towards the front of the plane, only to hear a loud thump before I could take my first step. I immediately stiffened. Turning around, I tried to pinpoint where the sound came from and heard it again. "Watch it," someone mumbled, barely enough for me to hear. I quirked an eyebrow. Come to think of it, that voice sounded like a kid.

Considering that everyone else was asleep and I didn't see any danger presence, I gathered my nerves and began walking towards the back of the plane where some of the extra luggage had been stored. "Hey, unzip me!" a second voice whispered anxiously. A thump came afterwards as I neared the curtain to the room. "Finally, I can breathe!"

What the hell was going on? I swallowed pass the lump in my throat and grasped the curtain, ready to fling it open. "I'm starving," a third voice complained. How many of them were there? And who were they? What were they doing? A million thoughts raced around in my head as I listened to their mumbled conversation about food and cramped places.

Aggravated by the childish antics and already in a foul mood, I frowned and pulled the curtain away to reveal what was hidden behind it. My eyes widened and my jaw immediately dropped. Kohaku, Souta, and Shippo stopped their actions on my entrance and gazed up at me with fearful eyes. "Uh ... hey sis," my brother said, giving me a nervous smile.

I was absoultely speechless. My brother and his friends were on the plane! I glanced behind them to see the two large suitcases that my mom and Sango's father had packed for us. Could the little brats be that stupid as to stowaway in our suitcases for an eighteen hour flight? "What the hell are you doing here?!" I yelled, no longer caring how loud my voice was. "Are you out of your minds?!"

I heard a wave of murmurs behind me and I knew I had woken up almost the entire plane. "Whats going on, Kags?" I heard Sango say as she jogged up behind me. If they thought my voice was loud, they have yet to hear Sango. "Is everything alright?" Her words trailed off as her eyes landed on her younger brother.

"Mind telling us what you're doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms. Maybe I could buy us some time with asking a few questions. We don't want Sango to go ballistic.

Shippo gulped. "It was their idea, I swear!" he yelled, pointing at our brothers.

Sango placed her hands on her hips. "What is the meaning of this, Kohaku?" she asked a strangely calm voice. Uh-oh. I'd rather have her screaming.

"Well," he stuttered, swallowing hard. "We wanted to come with you guys and mom wouldn't let us-"

"-So we snuck into the suitcases that mom and Mr. Tajiya packed," Souta finished, looking everywhere but us.

I saw Shippo begin backing away out of the corner of my eye. "I bet it was initially you're idea, wasn't it Shippo?" I glared at him.

He stiffened and gave a curt nod. Obviously he didn't want to be the victim of our wrath. Sango shook her head and leaned against the door frame. "Do you know how stupid that was?" she asked. When the boys only looked at her, she continued. "Ms. Higurashi and dad are probably at home worried sick about you."

"We were going to call them when we got there," Souta quickly announced, as if that would solve all of our problems.

"This was utterly pointless," I reasoned. "The moment that we would have found out you did this, we would have sent you on the first plane home. What did you think to accomplish with all of this?"

Shippo bit his lip and appeared as if he was going to cry. "We just wanted to have an adventure. Us little guys never get to do anything."

"You're not old enough to do these things yet," Sango replied. Her voice was softer now, as if she felt sorry for them.

I sighed. "We're going to have to tell the pilots about this. We might even have to turn around."

She shook her head. "Miroku told me we're pass the halfway point. We would have to wait until we land in America to get this all sorted out."

"Great," I moaned. I must say that my brother can be a real pain in the ass. I mean, seriously, how many girls had their brother and his friends crash a college party, sneak onto a plane, and not think about the consequences? Kids these days.

A lurch of the plane stopped our little spat and we glanced at one another. "This is the pilot speaking," a male voice said over the intercom. "We're just hitting a bit of turbulence. If everyone would please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, we'll be through it in no time."

"Now what?" I asked Sango, wondering what we were supposed to do with the three brats.

"We'll have to sit them on our laps, I suppose." We watched as they climbed to their feet and stared at the ground. "Come on, you three, lets go."

Sango and I walked back down the aisle towards our original seats, getting a few stares from random people. Although, my classmates' eyes were wide with disbelief. "What the hell are they doing here, wench?" I heard Inuyasha ask as we passed by him and Kikyo.

I glared at him. "That is none of your concern." He only glowered at me as I turned around and continued down the aisle. I reached our seats and sat down; Souta and Kohaku sat on our laps while I managed to get Kouga to take Shippo behind us.

"Hey, Kagome," my boyfriend called as we all buckled our seatbelts. "What are the runts doing here?"

I sighed. Really, did I always have to explain myself? "They snuck on," I called back. "I'll fill you in later."

That seemed to quell his curiousity for the moment, but I doubt he would leave me be once we were allowed to take our seatbelts off. We hit another bump of turbulance and it almost pushed us out of our seats. I looked outside, but it didn't do any good to see where we were at. It was pitch black out and no city lights could be seen. I presumed we were over the ocean.

And then that foreboding feeling returned. Personally, I've never been afraid of airplanes. It was usually a smooth flight and took half the time it would by car. But as the plane swayed back and forth, I couldn't help the fear rising within me. "This is your pilot speaking," a voice said over the intercom. "We are having slight problems. Please, do not panic."

I glanced over at Sango and Kohaku. The color had drained from their faces and a mumble of concern rang through our compartment. I heard Kouga swearing behind me and Rin was glancing around fervently for Sesshomaru. I peered up near the front row of seats to see Totosai shaking his head and Inuyasha's older brother was stotic as ever.

Another bump. Suddenly, a strange whirring sound echoed through the plane and oxygen masks dropped from their compartments. "What the hell?!" Inuyasha yelled from far behind me. It was complete chaos. Everyone began screaming and yelling, grasping frantically for the yellow masks. Sango, Kouga, and I put the masks around the kids' mouths.

"Whats going on, Kagome?" Souta shouted. I could detect the fear in his voice as the plane continued to sway.

"I don't know," I yelled over the commotion. My eyes drifted over the people around me, everyone panicing and screaming, some were praying.

Suddenly, I felt our seats thrust forward as the plane began to nosedive. I couldn't scream. I couldn't speak. All I could do was watch the other passengers shriek to the heavens. Static took over the intercom and the whirring sound from earlier increased ten fold. I tightened my arms around my younger brother and desperately tried to find Sango's hand.

Without warning, our seatbelts released, allowing passengers to fly forward and hit the front of the compartment. All of the lights went off as everyone tried to hold onto their seats or else be thrown forward. "Don't let go!" I yelled to Souta, finally able to find my voice.

This was it. The end was drawing near. I saw my life flash before my eyes and couldn't help but feel regret for things I never did. I wanted to run over to Inuyasha and make amends before our time was through, but he was behind me. The sheer velocity of the plane wouldn't allow me to turn my head.

I felt air rush at us as the doors were ripped open while the pilots tried to steady the plane. I squinted my eyes against the wind, keeping my eyes trained on Souta's face. My fingers slipped. My arms could no longer hold onto my brother. "Kagome," he said desperately, his eyes wide with fear as gravity tried to pull him away from me.

Our arms released on their own accord and nothing but our hands were linking. I held onto my seat in desperation, turning my head to glance at my classmates. I saw Sango tumbled forward with Kohaku teld tight in her arms, her eyes pinched shut, waiting for the pain of impact. Eri screamed as she flew towards the front of the plane before being sucked out of the door into the darkness beyond.

"Kikyo!" I heard Inuyasha yell behind me. In only a few seconds I saw her fly over me, her form tumbling with the air currents before disappearing into the first class compartment through the curtain-less arch.

I finally turned my eyes back to my brother, feeling my grip loosen with each passing moment. "Don't let go," I tried to yell, but found my voice was lost with the wind. Our hands slipped as our fingers held on to one another. The next few seconds went by in slow motion. Our fingers released and my eyes widened. I watched Souta fall backwards towards the front of the plane, his hand reaching towards mine before he hit the mounted television.

All rational thoughts escaped me as I clung to the seat in front of me. "Souta!" I screamed above the noise, slowly moving towards the aisle. I had to reach him. He was my little brother. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him. Before I could stop myself, I fell forward, slamming into the wall just beside him. I reached out my hand, trying to touch his unconscious form, when suddenly the plane pulled upwards. We were no longer nose-diving, but instead we were almost level with the ground.

The aircraft jerked forward as we impacted into the ocean, causing me to fly out the door and into the water below. I screamed, watching Souta fade from my vision. The cold ocean silenced me as I plumeted deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, watching the plane burst into flames as it disappeared behind the haze of water. I despearately flung my hands about, trying to reach the surface, but the currents dragged me farther down and I found myself struggling for breath.

I knew death was peaceful. That when you died, all of your worries were gone and happiness was the only thing you felt. But I was still young. I had my whole life to live. Was this how it was all going to end? I gulped for air, my lungs burning with the desire for breath. I knew it was hopeless.

As I began to close my eyes to give into Death's wish, I saw a silouhette against the burning fire above the surface. The person seemed to trudge the water with ease and wrapped his arms around me. My consciousness wavered and a flash of silver caught my eyes before I gave into the darkness.

A/N: How was that? Now the story will really take off. Sorry for taking so long, but relationships had to develop. Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review to let me know how you like it. Thanks!