To those I couldn't reply to:

BrucasLver92: Thank you very much for adding this story to your story alert list. I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far.

Inu4ever: Ha ha! Okay, sorry for the bit of a wait, but here it is. Hope you like it.

Somewhere Beyond This

Chapter 10: Stranded

Suitcases. Clothes. A handbag. Pieces of metal. An empty bottle.

The debris was endless.

Sango and I watched as the objects drifted through the water before ending up on the shore. They scattered at our feet, broken and burned from the crash. We were silent, as if mourning the death of those lost, and in a way we were.

The survivors behind us had curled up to each other for warmth, too weak and strained to look for firewood in the nearby forest. Who could blame them? The breeze chilled the night air and I shivered in response. We had been standing at the water's edge for a while now. How long? I didn't know. Time was absent to us.

I watched the waves crash against each other in the distance, carrying more garbage towards us. "Sango," I mumbled quietly, not taking my eyes off the ocean. "Do you think-"

"Don't," she cut me off, her voice soft but stern. I peered at her from the corner of my eye. Her gaze never left the water as she wrapped her arms around her shaking frame. "Don't say such things. They're alright, I just know it."

I smiled sadly. "Yeah," I murmured. "You're right." I could understand her pain. Both of our brothers were lost to the ocean depths. The image of Souta's face continued to haunt my every thought. He had looked so terrified when my grip loosened on him. I could still hear his voice as he called out my name. I felt the stinging of tears in my eyes and immediately dismissed the thoughts. I had to keep faith, I had to hold onto hope. Sango was right. The boys were alive, and so was Mr. Totosai, Kouga, and Kikyo.

At the thought of her, I glanced over at Inuyasha. He was quite a distance from us, still looking out into the ocean, but I could see his hands clutched tightly into fists. He was restraining himself from going to the crash site and searching for her body. After all, the plane had long sunk below the water and it would be suicide to go after it. But if he had risked his life to save mine, why wouldn't he do the same for Kikyo? It troubled me.

With a deep breath, I walked over to my ex-boyfriend, empathizing with him. I opened my mouth to call out his name, perhaps comfort him in some way, when I heard Sango cry behind me. "Kagome!" she yelled, her voice laced with relief. I whipped my head around, noting how Inuyasha followed suit, as well as the rest of the survivors. She was walking into the ocean, the water lapping at her knees, as she pointed excitedly towards the distance.

I followed her gaze, squinting to see through the darkness. A black form was floating towards us, but I couldn't make out what it was. Hesitantly, I moved towards her. Why was she so excited? We had each been involved in the crash, so the thought of someone's mentality breaking was always at the back of my mind. There was a strong chance one of us could lose control and break-down. But this was Sango we were talking about. If anyone could survive, it was her.

"Sango," I called, crossing my arms against the cold as the water lapped against my feet. She continued to trudge through the waves towards the object steadily coming closer. "What are you -" I couldn't finish my sentence. My mouth suddenly felt dry and a lump stuck in my throat. For a moment, all I could do was stare at her as she took hold of the dark form, trying to drag it to the shore.

It was a man. He seemed to have been floating on a piece of metal that had been torn from the plane. But to see a body in the middle of the ocean was nothing to smile about. What had my friend so relieved was the three small forms surrounding him. The debris was large enough to hold them all, but they appeared to have fallen unconscious. Without another thought, I raced into the water after her, ignoring the thrust of the waves against my skin.

Survivors. Thats the first word that came to mind. I dared to hope that after all this time, there were others who were still alive. I smiled and ran with all that I was worth, but as I came closer to the group, I realized something. There was a very slim chance that these people were not from our group. And even if they were, they had yet to make any movement to signal life amongst them. "Sango?" I called hesitantly, my steps slower now as I continued to wade to where she stood. The water was up to my waist, but I ignored the cold.

She turned to me, smiling, and if the moonlight hit her face just right, I could see the tears trailing down her cheeks. "They're alive," she mumbled breathlessly.

I strained to hear, but when she repeated the words, I was suddenly racing towards them once more. Who could it be? Sango began to pull the large piece of metal towards the shore just as I reached them. My eyes glanced over the four crumpled forms, but I couldn't tell who it was. The darkness of night and the smoke from the plane's fire had their identities concealed.

But they were still breathing. So with determination, Sango and I began to trudge back to shore, watching as each of the survivors began to stand up, wondering what was going on. My legs began to ache from the ocean's wrath and the weight of our metal baggage. To take my mind off the pain, I stole a glimpse at the bodies, trying to figure out who they might be. Three of them were smaller than the man, indicating that at least one or two could be children.

My heart dropped to my stomach. None of them aboard the debris was a woman. That meant Kikyo was not among them. I looked back up to see Inuyasha near the shore, shin-deep in water, watching as we waded towards him. He was hoping to find her. I knew he was and it hurt that I would have to witness the look on his face when he realized his girlfriend was not found.

"Come on, Kagome," Sango urged, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're almost there." I continued to push and pull, using all my strength to make sure that these four people got to safety.

It seemed as if an hour had passed before I felt the water sink to my knees and level ground appeared beneath me. We pushed the large piece of metal onto the sand. The group of survivors who were able-bodied began to surround us, each wanting to know the identities of the people we brought in.

My breaths labored as I sunk down onto my knees into the sand, finally feeling the strain I had put on my legs. Sango's chest moved up and down as she greedily sucked in oxygen, but not once did she take her eyes off the unconscious boys. "Who is it?" I finally asked, daring to hope it was someone I knew.

The light in Inuyasha's eyes had faded. I suppose he realized Kikyo was not there. I stole a glimpse at him, pity showing in my eyes. I felt horrible. Of course it wasn't my fault that the plane crashed and only a few of us survived, but I somehow felt responsible for his pain. It wasn't easy losing someone you loved. At least, I think he loved her ...

"I'm not sure," Sango responded, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Rin came over, her steps hesitant and unsure. "Are they hurt?"

Yuka and Ayumi peered at the bodies, noting the way the strangers' chests rose and fell. "They're still alive," Yuka said.

"Well, why the hell are we standin' around?" Inuyasha growled, crossing his arms. "Lets find out who they are and get them off the shore."

Everyone stared at him and it took a moment for his words to sink in. "He's right," I replied, crouching over the group. I leaned over the largest of the bodies and began wiping the smoke and dirt off his face.

He stirred in his sleep, causing me to pull my hand back and my heart to pound in my chest. "Ka ... gome ..." he mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing at my name. So, it had to be someone I knew.

"Hey!" Inuyasha suddenly yelled. "Wake up, stupid!" When the person didn't comply, he kicked him in the ribs, making a gasp escape the man's lips.

"Inuyasha!" I yelled angrily, glaring at him. "Don't do that! He could be hurt!"

"Keh! As if anything could kill that mongrel." He turned away, letting his eyes trail across the ocean's surface once more.

Mongrel? The only person that Inuyasha ever called such names was my boyfriend. Could that mean ... ? My eyes widened at the realization as I turned them back towards the small group. "Kouga?" I mumbled. Sango turned to peer at my curiously, probably wondering how I knew who it was.

His eyes fluttered open, revealing a pair of icy blue orbs, glazed over with sleep. "What ... happened?"

I couldn't help the large smile that spread across my lips or the sting of tears as they threatened to fall. "Oh, Kouga!" I threw my arms around him and laid on top of him, over joyed by the fact that he was still alive. I felt him pat my back softly, whispering words of reassurance in my ears.

I glimpsed Sango out of the corner of my eye and caught a grin on her lips. "Well, if thats Kouga, who are the other three?"

Pushing myself off of him, I turned to look at the three other crumpled forms. Now that we were up close, I could tell that one was definitely a child because of his size. The other two, however, I wasn't too sure. They could be children, but their height threw off the estimated guess. Perhaps they were just very short adults. Whatever the case, the mystery would be solved in mere moments.

Yuka and Ayumi stooped down and began wiping the dirt off of two of the bodies while Sango bent down to the third. "Oh my gosh ... " she mumbled, her eyes widening. "Its Shippo."

"Shippo?" I echoed, jumping up and rushing over to where she knelt. Sure enough, the child had opened his emerald eyes and his shock of red hair could barely be seen through the dirt.

"Souta and Kohaku, too!" Ayumi declared. Sango immediately left my side and stumbled to where her brother was just regaining consciousness.

I copied her actions, sitting at my brother's side and bringing him into my arms. "Oh kami, Souta," I mumbled into his hair, biting my lip to hold back my tears. "I thought I lost you."

"Hey," he said, struggling against my grip. "Let go. I can't breathe." I immediately listened to his complaints, holding him at arms length. He was dirty and a few scratches could be seen on his skin, but otherwise he appeared to be okay.

"Are you alright?" I asked to confirm my suspicions. "Does anything hurt?"

He shook his head. "What happened? Last I remembered, the plane was goin' crazy and I hit something."

I peered over at Kohaku, who was clutched in his sister's arms. "We were in a crash," I said, turning my gaze back to Souta.

"You can thank Kouga," Shippo said, coughing as he sat up and glanced over at us. "If it weren't for him, we would be gonners."

Everyone turned their heads (except for Inuyasha) to look at my boyfriend. "Is that true?" Sango asked.

He sat up and placed his forearms on his knees. "Yeah," he replied solemnly. "Grabbed the kids before they went under. No big deal."

I choked back the tears of happiness. "Thank you," I replied, holding my brother close once more. "Thank you so much."

He shrugged and accepted my gratitude. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent clinging to Souta's body. Smoke and sea water mixed together infiltrated my nose and caused my head to spin. They were alive. Kouga, Souta, Kohaku, and Shippo were all alive. And they seemed to be okay. Things were looking brighter already.

X.x.X.x.X.x.X

I watched the fire burn in front of me, the flames flickering up into the midnight sky. It was strange. The things I saw within the fire's dance mesmerized me, causing every emotion to fade away.

I wasn't sure what time it was, but the moon still showed vibrantly in the sky and the stars were sprinkled like diamonds. It was about a half hour ago that Kouga felt well enough to be up and moving around and volunteered to go into the forest for firewood. Thankfully, Miroku had taken a survival class back in high school. It had been a prank amongst friends, but in the end it proved to be useful. He had the fire up and roaring within minutes.

"Now what?" Sango whispered beside me, snapping me out of my trance.

I glanced over at her, seeing her eyes trained on the flames. I let my gaze travel over the small group of people that had survived the crash. Most of them had taken place near the fire. Except for Sesshomaru, who was leaning up against a tree with Rin close by, and Inuyasha, who was still at the ocean's edge, everyone else had fallen asleep. "I'm not sure," I finally whispered back. I folded my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around me.

My best friend sighed beside me. It was apparent that now that the initial shock had wavered and most of those close to us had survived, everyone's thoughts revolved around what was to happen to us or where we were. "Do you think anyone's looking for us?"

I chose not to respond, feeling the tears run down my cheeks. I stiffled my sobs, not wanting to let her see me cry. Someone had to be the strong one, someone had to keep it all together when everything went wrong. I felt her shift beside me and suddenly I felt arms around me, pulling me into her chest. And suddenly the dam burst. I wrapped my fist into her shirt, sobbing uncontrollably, and closing my eyes against the heartache.

"Shh ... " she soothed, rubbing circles on my back. "I was wondering when you were going to break down."

"I c-couldn't c-c-cause Souta-a wasn't h-here and e-everyone w-was so s-scared ... " I found I could no longer speak and a breath escaped my lips. I continued to cry, listening to Sango's humming tunes as the tempest within me quietly lulled to sleep.

"I don't see any lights," Inuyasha suddenly spoke, coming to stand beside us. I peered up at him, noticing how he had stuffed his hands into his jeans and kept his eyes averted. "No civilization. No roads or towns. Nothing but forest and sand." He sighed, frustrated by everything. I was surprised how calm he appeared after no news of Kikyo.

I turned my face back into Sango's shirt. If what he said was true, and I'll bet anything that it was, than that meant only one thing.

We were stranded.

A/N: Alright, hopefully this will make-up for last chapter. It seemed as though some people thought the last chapter was too short. I tried to make this one a bit longer. Now that we'll get full fledged into the story, I'll be able to make it longer. If you have any ideas about what should happen on the island, let me know. I'll see if I can work it in there. Please review!