A/N: Hey guys! Ready for another exciting chapter! Sorry for the long wait! In this chapter, I just wanted to show what's been going on with Durst,the janitor and also Josie. There are a few more exciting chapters and then the end! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed! That means a lot to me! So read and enjoy!

Back at Blake Holsey, life continued on as usual…so it seemed. It had been approximatelyfour weeks since the whole science club had disappeared. Principal Durst was not the only one who'd noticed their extensive absence. Other teachers and administrators in the school were speculating about the missing students' whereabouts. To put more stress on the situation, students were spreading more outrageous rumors about what could have happened to them. Some students believed that Professor Z kidnapped them and took them to a remote island in the Pacific. Other rational minded students believed that Professor Z quit and as a result, his science club followed him. Little did they know, Professor Z, the science club, and now Victor Pearson were worlds away fighting for their lives…

Principal Durst tried her best to ignore the rumors and avoid everyone's questions, but as always, she had to give in. Lucas's father, along with Marshall's mother and Corrine's parents were calling frantically for their children. Durst wouldn't dare tell them that they were missing. She devised a clever, yet deceptive plan by making three students pretend to be Corrine, Lucas, or Marshall whenever their parents would call. When Josie's mother came for an unexpected visit, Durst had to literally stop her from entering the school. She lied to Kelly Trent that the school was being fumigated and that no one was allowed inside. She felt awful about deceiving them, but drastic times calls for drastic measures and she had to do everything in her power to keep everything under control.

She had been up in arms ever since her last talk with Victor about the whereabouts of Professor Z and his students. She knew in her heart that all was not well, but she had to keep telling herself the same lie that nothing was wrong with Blake Holsey…when in reality, it was. She wondered about Victor's whereabouts. She hadn't seen him since their brief, awkward meeting approximately a week ago. She remembered the horrific expression in his eyes when she asked him if everything was alright. "Just pray for us." He said to her just before he'd left.

"What on earth is going on here? I have a teacher and five of my best students missing. And now the school chancellor has gone missing, too! I've got to find out what is going on!" She thought as she sat at her desk. After a few agonizing minutes, she got up and walked over to the window. She spotted the janitor sitting alone at a bench a few yards away. His demeanor seemed more awkward than usual. He appeared to be anxious, as if he was guilty about something. It finally occurred to Durst at that moment that the janitor was hiding something, and she knew it had to do with what was happening at the school.

"Ah ha! I think I know who I can ask about what's going on here!" She said as she quickly made her way over to the door and left her office.

"What are you?" Josie asked the dark figure standing in the doorway. It did not answer her.

"Tell me what you are and why you kidnapped me and Vaughn!" It still didn't answer her.

Josie was growing angry. Her head was slightly pounding from getting hit on the head by a wrench. To make matters worse, she still didn't have any answers to what was going on. She kept her eyes on the figure. She took one step closer to see if it was real. It didn't move when she approached it. Just then, it extended its arm back, pointing down the hall. Josie was startled for a moment, but then realized that it was pointing to something.

"What are you pointing to?"

The figure slowly backed out of the door and into the hallway. Josie carefully followed it and looked both ways before stepping out of the room and into the hallway.

"You want me to follow you don't you?" She asked. It took a few steps backwards with its arm still extended. Josie walked closer but then stepped back, for she had a feeling that all was not right.

"Wait a minute. Why do you want me to follow you? You could be leading me into a trap!"

The figure shook its head, answering "no". It then stepped back a few steps. Josie kept her eyes fixated on the creature, studying its demeanor. Thoughts were running through her conflicted mind as she tried to decide if she should take a risk and let the phantom lead her to what it was pointing to. "Maybe it's leading me to Vaughn…or trying to lead me to safety?" She thought. At that moment, she made her decision.

"Okay, I'll follow you…but you'd better be taking me either to Vaughn or to someone who can help us get out of here." She said as she carefully followed the phantom down the hall…

As Principal Durst made her way through the busy halls to the front door, something stopped her. She overheard two students discussing the day when Josie and Vaughn disappeared.

"But I thought you said you didn't see anything?" One voice said, slightly confused.

"I did see something…a bright white light. But before that, I saw Josie and Vaughn walk inside the library like an hour before the light came." The other voice said.

Durst's heart stopped beating. She recognized the two students talking to be Neil McAllister and Max Tipton. She was shocked and confused by what she was hearing.

A light? Could that have something to do with why the science club and Victor Pearson left? She thought. She quietly stood in the hall and continued to listen to the two student's conversation.

"Why didn't you tell Marsh everything that you saw?" Neil asked.

"I did tell him what I'd seen. I just didn't tell him that I saw someone else in the room with them before they disappeared." Max replied somberly.

Neil looked at his friend in bewilderment. "What? Who did you see?"

"It's hard to explain, but I saw someone standing in the book aisle watching them. I couldn't really tell who it was because I was standing in the hallway and the door wasn't open all the way." Max replied.

"So you didn't see where they went?" Neil asked.

"No. I left about two minutes later to come back and play chess with you. But before I left, the janitor walked to the door. He was acting weird…even weirder than he normally is."

Neil was speechless and horrified. He realized that there was something going on.

"I feel bad, man. It's my entire fault. I didn't think anything of it. I should have told someone." Max said somberly.

"Don't worry it's not your fault. We have to do something…"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Durst spoke up as she walked over to them.

"Oh hello Principal Durst." Neil and Max said simultaneously.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Did you witness something happening to Mr. Pearson and Ms. Trent?" Durst asked Max.

"I didn't technically see something happen to them…I left when I saw the janitor standing at the door. Actually, when I came back down the hall, a few minutes later, that's when I saw the bright light." Max replied.

Durst was taken aback. Her mind was reeling from what she'd discovered. So the janitor does know about what's going on. He must have something to do with this! She thought. At that moment, she knew she had to confront the janitor before more people began to disappear from the school.

"Mr. McAllister and Mr. Tipton, I do not want you mentioning anything we've just discussed. I don't want the students or faculty members knowing that there's something going on here. Bad enough, they keep asking me about the whereabouts of the science club. I do not want either of you doing anything about this. I will handle everything. Is that understood?" Durst ordered sternly.

"Yes Ms. Durst." The frightened freshmen replied.

Durst smiled smugly. "Very well then, off to class." She said as she began to walk away.

She walked outside of the front double doors of the school. She immediately spotted the janitor walking towards the back of the school. She quickly walked over to him, making sure he wouldn't get away.

"Excuse me! Gene! I must speak with you for a moment!"

The janitor stopped in his tracks. His heart skipped a beat as more anxiety welled up in his body. As Durst approached him, he wondered what she wanted.

"Gene, I must speak with you about something very important." Durst replied breathlessly.

"Sure Ms. Durst what is it?"

"I was informed that approximately four weeks ago you witnessed something happening in the library."

The janitor widened his eyes. He was shocked and knew in his heart that he was caught. Who could have told her? He thought. Then he remembered seeing one freshman boy in the hallway with him, and he knew who told. He tried his best to remain calm, but the unrelenting weight of guilt and remorse overcame him.

"I'm sorry Principal Durst…I couldn't do anything to save them…he wanted them. They were…"

Ms. Durst looked at him confusedly. "What? What are you talking about, Gene?"

"Josie and Vaughn…they were taken. I was ordered to make sure that they were rid of. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He sobbed.

Durst was horrified. She was not sure about what was going on, but whatever it was, she knew if the parents or faculty found out about it, the doors of Blake Holsey would be forced to close.

"Who could have kidnapped them? Why?" She asked.

The janitor was hesitant at first, and then answered her. "Professor Middleton..."

Durst's eyes widened with surprise. "Middleton? What would he…? But why Josie and Vaughn?"

"I can't tell you Ms. Durst. Just know that Professor Zachary and his science club are searching for them." He replied bluntly.

"Where are they? Is Victor Pearson with them, too?"

"They are somewhere you can't go. Victor Pearson has gone, too."

"Well we can't just stand here and do nothing! We must do something!" Durst shouted.

"We can't do anything but wait. I'm sure they will be successful."

Durst looked at him with disbelief and annoyance. "Now you listen to me, something will be done to get them back! I am at my wit's end lying to these parents and everyone else here at the school! I will not let Blake Holsey be shut down because you refuse to do nothing about this! This is a serious matter, Gene! Either you do something or else…"

Gene kept his eyes fixated on Durst the whole time she yelled at him. He knew that something could be done to bring them back, but that would mean that he would have to risk his life and betray Middleton even more than what he'd already done. He was the only one who knew how to permanently stop Middleton, but he hoped Victor would find out before it was too late. The fact is, it was now too late, and he knew that he would have to go through the wormhole and stop Middleton himself.

"…Did I make myself clear, Gene?" Durst asked threateningly.

Gene snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Durst blankly. "Everything's clear Principal Durst…crystal clear."

Durst looked at him one last time and turned around, heading back to the front doors of the school. Gene watched as she walked inside. His head was spinning from his conflicting mind. Should he risk his life and stop Middleton? Or should he just sit and wait anxiously for them to return? Either way, he knew that he was in a no-win situation and his life, as well as the others, were in serious peril…

Josie and the phantom finally reached the end of the long, dimly lit hallway. She looked at the creature and realized that it was pointing to a sign on the door.

"What are you trying to show me?" She asked as she stepped closer to the door.

It remained silent and kept pointing to the sign.

"Are you trying to show me who is behind all of this craziness?"

The phantom nodded it head "yes".

Josie shifted her gaze between the phantom and the door, making sure it wouldn't do anything deceptive and trap her. The lack of enough light in the hall made it difficult to make out the words on the door. She stepped closer, and to her horror, finally learned the identity of her and Vaughn's captor.

"Professor Middleton…"

A/N: So how did you like it? If you guys remember from chapter 10, I brought two characters back. I know chapter 10 was like last year, but I thought it would be nice to bring back those two boys so that Durst will finally know what was going on. So do you think the janitor will go through the wormhole? What else will Josie discover as she's lead by the phantom? Stay tuned! There's more to come! Thanks again for reading!