The sermon went as well as one expected. The headmaster made everyone recite the good book among everything else and Matt put on a face to get by as it started wearing on him hearing the headmaster repeat the same sentences over and over.

It gave him time to study the headmaster and the teachers as they're in the cafeteria with the students. He subtly looked at their eyes as Ripley told him just before he left that they'd show their unnaturalness under certain lights.

He didn't see the unnatural eyes as the lights in the cafeteria, soft and dim, not bright enough for him to see closely without them noticing.

Ripley also given Matt some details on what they're dealing with and like her and Jenna expressed, he wasn't too fond of what he heard. Most of all, it changed how he would've dealt with them.

Choeras.

They're a wasp-like alien insects and there's something disconcerting about their presence here in Ripley's universe aside from the fact that they're in her universe.

Under normal circumstances, whenever there's a rival hive or perceived threats to their hive, the Choeras take on the pheromones of their enemies and destroy their targets from within, slowly taking over.

From what the TARDIS said, the Choeras weren't big enough to be even a threat for humanoids. They're alien insects from another world that had it's own check and balances to keep them in line with the local ecology. Bigger insects hunted them and so on. No different than what's typical on earth or anywhere else.

This is under normal circumstances.

As stated, the Choeras here weren't the same ones.

Different.

Even the TARDIS' became surprised about it and that's saying something.

As for how they came into Ripley's universe, the TARDIS spotted anomalies that matched with the anomalies from the cemetery. That they came into the universe through a tear, just like the angels, but there's a terrifying difference. The angels didn't have a choice in the matter.

The Choeras, they willingly went through the tear.

Not because of the perceived sight of something shiny or bright, but because they had intelligence.

They knew.

The tear happened in the basement and only last a few seconds, but a few got through.

The TARDIS helped concentrate the number of Choeras in the school and it's only thirteen.

For what the purpose of abducting the teachers and the headmaster, the TARDIS thought it possible the Choeras still operated under their mantra and planned to expand outward once they've finished their primary.

It meant that Matt would've become the next target of the Choeras.

There's only thirteen and that'd mean that the Choeras wouldn't replace Matt, they'd kill him.

Presumably, they got to the workshop teacher and would've done something to replace him, but it happened at the time that the TARDIS showed up.

As for the elephant in the room, Choeras naturally want to expand their reach in their environment. If they're intelligent, they're waiting for the operable time to expand.

On the 18th, the students would've left for the holidays, emptying the school and allowing them to concentrate on efforts to expand without further interference.

This meant in three days, they'll be patiently waiting for every student to file out of their school.

As for the real teachers and the headmaster, by that point, the Choeras wouldn't need them nor their forms, anymore.

For now, they'll operate under their chosen disguises and go from there.

With Lupus and Berkley onto them, there's a good chance they'll try to silence the two students if they caught on, as the headmaster would've known their pasts and know how to deal with them.

The problems arose when Ripley tried to find ways to deal with the Choeras, but since these aren't the normal Choeras, she and the TARDIS didn't come up with much to deal with them that wasn't short of spraying them homemade wasp killer sprays that wouldn't work.

The only solution so far, burn the building down with them trapped, unable to escape, and make sure nothing they brought fell into the wrong hands.

Negotiation didn't seem possible, at least what the TARDIS predicated.

That said a lot about the Choeras.

With the information and working on four hours of sleep, Ripley passed it along to Matt and with that, he's able to keep an eye on everything and everyone.

It formed in his head what happened.

At the final effort, Berkley trapped the insects in the school, and burned with them, ensuring that they didn't escape from the rubbles.

Knowing that Berkley's supposed to die in the fire, it's an uneasy feeling, to say the least.

If it were Matt's choice, he'd ensure the boy survived the fire to live another day and go to Oxford like he'd wanted.

However, as mentioned repeatedly, there's events that needed to happen, even if they're disturbing.

Mulling, Matt envisioned what would've happened if Berkley survived the fire. With the knowledge of insects from another world, it's possible Berkley would've gone mad or thought mad by his peers despite Lupus backing him up.

Berkley locked up in an asylum and forgotten, nobody but Lupus believed him, and dying from unrelated causes.

Worse, Berkley died for nothing and the Choeras escaped the burning rubble to wreck havoc on the world at large.

Classes started as usual and Matt went about teaching the class the art of birdhouses, even basic as they are. When his class finished their assigned project, Matt opted to teach them how to put together other things. He's quite ecstatic to teach them how to put together more than just birdhouses. With the closet filled with things, Matt went through it, and made lessons from what he found.

It turned out his classes became genuinely interested in workshop and he's rather happy to help the boys learn something new and interesting.

Keeping an eye on them, Matt watched closely when the classes changed, standing near the door as he watched the students leave and the arriving students coming through the doorway to their assigned seats.

The teachers, he didn't talk to them much, but he watched as they subtly looked at him, their eyes fixated on him.

Matt kept up appearance as he greeted the students coming into his classroom. When all entered, he quickly entered it, and closed the door.

He began class yet again and helped the class with their projects. His green eyes slowly moved towards the door, expecting someone looking in, but no one's there, and he worked with the students until the bell rang for lunch.

Wearily, Matt watched his students leave the classroom as they left papers on his desk. When the last student left, he began grading the papers. After he finished, he put them in the filing cabinet before standing up. Pushing up his glasses, Matt stepped out of the classroom and made his way to the cafeteria where he had the urge to stop by the drama teacher's classroom.

Ripley told him about the teacher going missing first and cautiously entered the classroom. Nobody's inside and he went towards the desk. Opening it, he looked through the stuff that's left in the desk to find books of Shakespeare's greatest works and if he didn't know any better, it almost looked like Shakespeare himself autographed one of the books!

Staring at the book in awe, Matt wasn't sure what to think about it, and assumed that it's just something the teacher used to get his class under control.

Rummaging through, Matt found hidden logs the teacher wrote and stow them away in his tweed jacket.

Hearing someone coming, Matt fled into the closet and hid behind tall props.

Hearing someone opened the door, Matt lowered his head as he heard someone walking around the classroom. The chair rolled from under the desk and someone sat down.

Matt hid behind the tree props for what felt like hours until he heard someone walking around the classroom yet again and went towards the closet.

Panicking internally, Matt gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out the plan to get out of this. He spotted a trunk and crawled towards it. It opened and he pushed himself inside and closed it.

As he crouched inside the wooden trunk, Matt heard the door open and someone stepping inside the closet. Footfall as someone walked around the closet, moving things around, and it felt like an eternity until the person left the closet, closing the door.

Feeling relieved, Matt attempted to push open the trunk, only to find that whoever entered the closet stacked stuff on top, effectively locking him inside the trunk.

"Oh, bloody hell," Matt realized his situation.

Struggling, Matt tried to push the trunk open, but it's weighed down and no amount of force moved the lid.

Matt lamented that he'll be like the woman in the short story that Ripley told him one day. Only he wasn't getting married and he wasn't playing a game.

Struggling, Matt felt the trunk warm as he tried to push the lid open, but all he's doing, running out of oxygen.

Thankfully, Matt wasn't going to end up like the woman in the story and he heard someone coming inside the closet. They came towards the trunk and started moving things on top and Matt took the initiative to open the trunk and exhaled sharply.

Standing in front of him, holding the boxes, Berkley, looking confused as he sat the boxes down near him.

"Oh, thank you," Matt coughed as he breathed deeply before exhaling. "I rather not be found like a mummy."

Berkley asked why he's in the drama teacher's classroom and Matt replied, "Well, I took a wrong turn."

He borrowed that from Ripley.

Pushing himself out of the trunk, Matt stretched out his long arms and legs, popping his joints, before asking Berkley why he's in the classroom.

"I was looking for something," Berkley told him.

He told Matt he's searching for something and heard something stirring in the trunk. "Why're you in that anyway?" Berkley inquired as he watched Matt look around the closet.

Blinking, Matt replied, "Hiding."

He walked out of the closet with Berkley and closed the door.

"Wait, weren't you working at the library?" Matt realized as he stepped out of the classroom with Berkley.

Berkley rubbed his hazel eyes before saying that he took a break from putting books back on the shelf. So, he came back to the school and looked for something.

"In the drama room?" Matt pointed out.

Berkley sighed as he said that he didn't find it anyway and Matt asked what he's looking for.

Just before the original drama teacher went missing, he said he'd lost something and tried looking for it every lunch. He only told about it to Berkley because he trusted him to bring it back to him if he found it.

"It's a screwdriver for his glasses," Berkley told Matt.

Matt blinked as he echoed, "A screwdriver?"

Berkley nodded.

"I didn't see any glasses in his desk," Matt noted.

Berkley told him, "Can't wear them until he gets his screwdriver back."

The drama teacher, Mr. Smith, had a pair of glasses that had loose screws that made it impossible to wear. He lost his screwdriver and tried to find it. He never found it when he went missing.

"Couldn't he buy another one?" Matt scratched the side of his head as he walked with Berkley.

Matt has a set of different screwdrivers that he used for whatever he's working with at the shop. Small heads for even the smallest of screws and they've served him well.

"That's what we said, but he said his glasses are imported and they don't use the same screws as we do here," Berkley noted his teacher insisted on finding his missing screwdriver. He claimed that none of the screwdrivers available for sale in Britain worked with his glasses and he didn't want to risk stripping the screws.

"Weird," Matt mused.

Berkley agreed, he even commented that the drama teacher wore an odd jacket made of leather. It's weird. He claimed it's imported too.

"What a strange man, him," Berkley admitted.

However, he was a good drama teacher and Berkley worried about him since he was the first one replaced.

"We'll figure this out, come on, before someone catches us," Matt gestured for him to follow.

Matt walked with Berkley back to the library.

It's a cool breeze, but otherwise pleasant and the smell of fall hit Matt's nose as he walked with Berkley next to him.

Arriving at the library, Matt took the time to talk to Jenna and Ripley.

Jenna worked the bottom floor putting books back in their proper places as Matt walked towards her.

"Everything quiet?" Matt asked her.

Jenna nodded.

She said Lupus managed to locate a couple of books to send out to other libraries in the county and hadn't caused any problems.

"Nothing out of place?" Matt continued.

Jenna shook her head.

Matt asked if Ripley's on the second floor, but Jenna's miffed.

"I thought you'd bump into her," she told him. "She'd gone out to get us something to eat."

Ripley, knowing where everything is, went to grab food for them while Jenna worked with the boys.

"Well, maybe she's taking the scenic route," Matt suggested.

It's been a long time since she's been here and even though it's not her time proper, Ripley might've decided to take a stroll down memory lane. It's something she'd do.

Noticing Berkley next to him, Jenna asked him to help Lupus put up books and Berkley nods. He left to help while Jenna privately talked to Matt.

"I think they're onto me," Matt frowns. "Giving me the side eyes."

It's evident that his presence put a crinkle in their plan.

"You think they're going to come after you?" Jenna worried about Matt.

Matt shrugged as he stated, "I don't think they're going to come after me, it's too dangerous, and they can't risk someone noticing."

Since they can't replace Matt easily, it's evident that they'll just kill him on the 18th and go from there. It's as straightforward a plan that one can think up at this time.

"Oh, but I found some notes from the drama teacher," Matt remembered as he pulled them out and showed Jenna.

Looking through the notes, the two read the teacher noticing the oddities as well, going far as delving far from the standard Shakespearean.

"Okay, they started coming 'round last week," Matt read. "So, that'd mean they've been doing this the moment they came here."

Saturday, the students went on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History and the teachers who stayed back became the first ones taken. The drama teacher noticed this change when he returned from the trip with the students.

It seemed from the notes that the drama teacher became the first one to notice the strange occurrence and even referenced something going on in the basement.

"What kind of drama teacher is he?" Jenna asked Matt as she read the notes with him.

For a drama teacher, he seemed to know a lot of things that weren't Shakespearean or other and it made Matt curious.

"I don't know," Matt frowned as he didn't know the answers.

He told Jenna that he'll find out as he noticed the time.

Going towards the door, he stopped and asked Jenna.

"When Rip comes by, have her a glance at the notes," he pointed at the notes he gave Jenna.

Nodding, Jenna watched him depart the library and return to the school.

Classes came and went, with the day finally ending.

Matt returned to the library and expected Jenna and Ripley waiting for him.

Jenna looked worried as he walked towards her.

"Where's Ripley?" Matt asked her.

Jenna replied, "I don't know. I thought she'd be with you."

Ripley never returned from getting food.

Jenna couldn't leave and look for her so she spent the entire time working in the library with Lupus and Berkley.

"You sure she went to get food?" Matt asked.

Knowing Ripley, it wouldn't pass Matt that she tried to sneak into the school.

It surprised him when Jenna affirmed that she went to get food from the Lovely Café.

"She said that they're serving miniature lemon meringue pies, seemed really happy about it," Jenna said.

Noticing it's Tuesday, Ripley grew excited as the café's serving the aforementioned pies. She asked Jenna if she wanted some and Jenna agreed.

Matt went with Jenna to the café to ask Gretchen.

She's setting down pies in front of hungry patrons when the two entered the café.

"Oh hi, sweetie, back for more?" Gretchen asked Jenna.

She asked how Jenna liked the pies. Seeing Ripley nearly drool at the sight of the pies, Gretchen made sure to double the order to make sure Jenna got some.

Jenna shook her head as she told Gretchen, "Um, she didn't come back to the library."

Gretchen blinked as Jenna said that Ripley never returned to the library with the pies.

"Well, I thought that was where they were heading," Gretchen mentioned as she went and grabbed more pies from the case to give to the next waiting customers.

Jenna noticed it and echoed, "They?"

Gretchen nodded as she sat pies down to four construction workers. She said as she turned around to face Jenna and Matt, "Well, the headmaster was in here little before she came in. He was hankering for a sweet roll and I guess the two talked to each other after I gave her the box and I went to get orders for another customer."

Gretchen told that the headmaster came for a sweet roll and Ripley came in after. Gretchen gave them their orders and went to take care of the other customers. When she turned her head, the two weren't there.

A look came over Matt as he thanked her and left with Jenna.

Jenna worryingly tugged on his arm as she asked him, "She's okay, right?"

The two only talked, at least what Gretchen seen, and Matt frowned as he wasn't sure.

"I don't know," he shook his head.

He didn't even know why the headmaster wanted her.

Ripley's back in her universe, she should've fit in like a brand-new glove but fitted with an old pair.

If anything, Matt, and Jenna would've been prime targets since this wasn't their universe.

"We only have two days," Jenna realized.

Two school days until the fire and now, Ripley's missing.

"Did the headmaster come by the library at all?" Matt asked her.

Jenna told him that he did, but only once, and it's when Lupus and Berkley snuck into the library. Ripley convinced him that they worked for the library during third period.

"Okay, but he didn't come back since?" Matt's curious as he expected the headmaster to drop by to keep an eye on his troublesome students.

Jenna shook her head.

Worry and fear came over Matt's face.