AN: Oops. Sorry. I wrote this chapter last week, and I never got around to finishing the Corrine and Marshall part, below, so that's why it's taken a while. I just remembered it now. Anyhoo, enjoy, and please review.

CHAPTER THREE

Marshall shook his head. "I just don't get it," He said. "Out of all the things he could do, why did he have to lock us in here?"

"Without an explanation, as always," Corrine scowled, looking around the dank room that belonged to the janitor. Not only was it dark, it was cold. Corrine rubbed her arms together with a frown.

"I have a feeling we'll be stuck here for a while. There's no way Professor Z would let the others come through," Marshall commented. "They won't come with him knowing, anyways."

"I don't want them to come," Corrine admitted. "I mean, I want to get out of here like any normal person would, but it's not like we're in any real danger."

"I guess so," Marshall agreed. He kicked at the strange bed. "I just want to go back home. And what's with all those cryptic messages he gives us? 'You're not supposed to be here, but you can't go back'? I'm getting annoyed with all this."

"He's helped out before, though," Corrine replied. "Maybe the wormhole just won't open up. The janitor always has his reasons. Right now let's focus on the fact that we'll be getting home shortly. We just have to wait until the wormhole opens up again. I'm sure he'll come and get us."

"I don't like this," Marshall muttered. "I don't like this one bit. We don't even know what's going on."

"Marshall, sit down. Stop pacing, you're driving me crazy."

"I will not sit down. I'm supposed to be the man in this relationship, and I will not stand for -."

"Marshall, sit down," Corrine said, holding back a laugh. She caught his wrist and pulled him down next to her. "We'll get out of here. Let's just try and enjoy this while we can, ok?"

Marshall looked up with a frown at the room. "It's too small in here," He stated. "What could he possibly hide in here? What secrets could he possess?"

"Marshall …?"

"I've got it! Corrine, I know how to pass the time!"

"I can't wait to hear this."

"Let's get a good look at some of the stuff the janitor keeps down here. It could possibly tell us what he's up to," Marshall said.

Corrine, although eager to know as well, rolled her eyes. "I doubt that he would keep anything that could tell us what he's up to down here," She replied. She glanced around the room, her eyes taking everything in. After a moment, they darted back to the bookcase. "Wait a minute," She said, frowning. "That's Josie's."

"What is?" Marshall asked with confusion, following Corrine's gaze. She stood and picked up the strange object. "Corrine, that's a rock."

"I know, but it's the same rock that Josie had the other day. She said Durst thought it was hers – something she'd made in the lab."

"You can't be sure it's the same rock," Marshall pointed out.

"Yes it is," Corrine said after a moment of looking it over. "Josie scratched her name into it." She showed it to Marshall.

"Well … this is an interesting discovery."

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Now Blake Holsey Prep had long been a school of establishment. It was always seen as a proper place for teenagers to be turned into respectable men and women of the world. So when rumors begin to spread about a prestigious boarding school, well, people get nervous. And who's to deny such rumors when they turn out to be fact? Is it possible that after a place is completely destroyed, it is able to rebuild? When the truth is revealed to the world, trials will follow, partnerships will form, and things will change. The question is: will it be enough to handle?

The students were awake with whispers of gossip, words of what was going on. The noise of excited voice had reached dorm rooms of students sleeping in. Josie stirred, finally waking up after a long night of troubled sleeping. She kept having nightmares of Corrine and Marshall being trapped endlessly in the wormhole.

She slowly climbed out of bed, stretching out. There had been no sign of the wormhole opening up at all yesterday, and seeing as how Corrine's bed was empty, Josie knew she still hadn't returned. Hopefully the gravity device may show some sign of wormhole activity over the night. As for Ms. Sletzki, well, neither she nor Vaughn, both pretending to be Pearadyne Industries, could get in touch with her. Josie was praying that perhaps today they would be more successful.

She moved her stuff out of the way and turned on the radio, hoping it would get her in a better mood. With the rush of music flooding through her, she felt almost ready to face another day of Blake Holsey. She threw open the window shade, and then started for her closet.

She paused a moment, and then ran back to the window, looking outside where tons of television reporters were standing around. Her jaw dropped in disbelief, and then she turned, stalking out of the room, hardly caring if she was only in her pajamas and her feet being bare. She flew down the stairs, ignoring the strange looks. She was stalking down the hall when someone grabbed onto her arm and jerked her in a room.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, only to be quieted by Lucas' "Shh!"

"What's going on?" She demanded.

Lucas frowned, stepping away and over to the windows, lifting a shade and looking out. "A ton of television stations and news reporters are out there," He said softly.

"Why?" Josie demanded, her hands on her hips. "What are they looking for?"

"You obviously haven't heard the news," Lucas said, looking back.

"What's wrong?" Josie asked, hurrying to his side.

"Our close friend Ms. Sletzki showed the video tape of yesterday's events to several news channels across the country. Now everyone wants to know about what really goes on at Blake Holsey. They're especially interested in your comment about how you've been through the wormhole before," Lucas explained.

"She didn't even have that stupid camera out!" Josie protested.

"It was still on, though," Lucas explained.

"This is bad," Josie said, shaking her head.

"This is worst than bad, this is a disaster. And there's still no sign of Corrine and Marshall, so we can't exactly pass it off as one big joke."

"Nothing from the gravity device?" Josie asked, slightly depressed. Lucas shook his head. "That's it; I'm going to make that stupid wormhole open up."

"How do you plan to do that?" Lucas asked, seeming amused.

"I haven't figured it out yet," Josie said. She shook her head. "I had so many nightmares last night; I hardly got any sleep until after five."

Lucas took her hand sympathetically. "Me too. It was weird. Stuff like Corrine and Marshall getting stuck in the accident at Pearadyne."

Josie looked at him, surprised. "Me too," She said. "At least they're together, though. Lucas, we need to come up with a plan. And we're going to have to fix … this."

"What are you going to do? Give the reporters a knuckle sandwich?" Lucas asked.

"To get them off our backs? Yes. This whole thing is such a disaster," Josie said.

Lucas sighed. "It's been worst. Take last week, for instance. When you got stuck with Blake Holsey. You're lucky we managed to find you – and that nobody got trapped in the process."

"Vaughn almost did," Josie pointed out. "If he'd been a second later, he would have."

"Yeah, but we got out of it. Now we just need a way to get out of this," Lucas explained.

"While getting Corrine and Marshall back," Josie added. "Next time the wormhole opens up, I'm going through."

"No, you're not."

Both looked over to see that Professor Z had entered the room, neither having noticed.

"Professor Z, can you believe what's going on out there?" Josie demanded. Z flipped on the lights and sat down, rubbing his eyes.

"It is unfortunate," He admitted. "I figured Ms. Sletzki to be much more reliable than that. However, she did have quite a scare, it's understandable."

"What are we going to do?" Josie asked; she and Lucas taking a seat next to Z.

"I don't know," Professor Z replied. "One can hope all this will blow over shortly. Anyone can accuse it of being a fake tape."

"Have you seen it, yet?" Lucas asked.

"No, not yet," Professor Z admitted.

"The kids were watching it in the foyer," Lucas said, licking his lips. "If those could pass for special effects, then they are pretty convincing special effects."

"Then it's worst than I thought," Z said with a frown. "Any news on Corrine and Marshall?"

"No," Josie said. "And if there isn't any soon, I'm going to find them myself."

"Now Josie, we can't just jump into this. We have to be reasonable about it."

"They could be in danger," Josie replied.

"Josie, I want you to promise me you won't do anything rash," Professor Z said. "We don't need another student lost in time and space, especially not now."

"He's right. The press will be suspicious," Lucas agreed. "Right now, we have to lay low and hope that they'll return on their own."

"Yes," Professor Z agreed. "This could be like the time you went to the future."

"Maybe," Josie said, sounding reluctant. "Still, I'm going to check some old history books on Blake Holsey, maybe I'll find them in a picture, or something."

"What will we do about they press?" Lucas asked.

"We could try scaring them away for now," Josie said, a grin beginning to spread across her face. "That will earn us enough time to do some research without them on our backs."

"Do you have anything in mind?" Lucas asked.

"Not yet," Josie said. "But maybe if we set off something, they'd be forced to go away for a bit. Any word on how Durst is handling this?"

"I heard she's been calling Mr. Pearson's office all morning," Lucas said.

Josie sighed. "This would be so much easier if Corrine and Marshall were here."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed quietly.

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Molly Sletzki had been up for at least five minutes before the news hit her. She was in the middle of making some coffee when she turned on the TV to check the news, and the first thing she saw was Blake Holsey Prep. Her jaw dropped in surprise, and she practically fainted right in the kitchen, fortunately managing to catch onto the nearest chair. She sunk into it, staring at the television screen in practical horror.

"And the reports are still coming in about this boarding school behind me, which has apparently been responsible for some strange occurrences, if we've learned correctly. While the school refuses to allow any spokespersons or interviews, we have learned through some phone calls that the strange vortex seen in earlier footage is not the only unusual thing that has happened. Reports of things out of the ordinary ranging from sponges – a sea life form – growing entirely throughout the school, students were becoming almost zombie-like after eating a certain nutrient bar, and much more. Apparently, this is a school for the strange as news keeps coming in, we will keep you updated."

"Oh no," Ms. Sletzki said. She quickly turned off the television and climbed to her feet. After snatching up her keys and sliding on a jacket and shoes she left the apartment.

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Needless to say, when Ms. Sletzki came into the science lab after sneaking in through the side door, everyone was pretty much shocked. They all stared at each other, Ms. Sletzki shocked that she'd walked right into them, and they were shocked that she was even there. Finally, Josie jumped up, pointing an accusing finger in Ms. Sletzki's direction.

"You!" She exclaimed. "How dare you show up here!"

"Now Josie-."

"Cut it, Professor Z. She sold us out," Josie snapped.

"Why did you do that?" Lucas demanded. "I thought you said you wouldn't tell anyone."

"I didn't," Ms. Sletzki snapped. Then she sighed, walking further into the room. "The only person I told was my cousin, Christian. He works with me at the magazine. I just needed to tell someone, and I thought I could trust him."

"So … your cousin told? How did you not know?" Josie inquired.

"I don't even know if it was Christian. I'd trust him with my life, and I just can't understand why he would go to the press about this." She slumped into a chair. "After I showed him the footage, I told him not to tell anyone. I just wanted to forget about that whole scene yesterday. But when I woke up and saw that report on the television … I knew I couldn't just let it go. It's my fault you're in this mess, and while I may not understand your reasoning, I want to help."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Josie asked.

"The fact that I'm willing to try and help you despite yesterday should be enough," Ms. Sletzki snapped.

Josie crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like this," She said.

"She's only trying to help," Professor Z replied.

"How did your cousin get your camera?" Lucas demanded.

Ms. Sletzki suddenly frowned. After a moment she groaned and rested her head on the table. She muttered a reply, to which the group leaned in closer, hoping to get a better grip on what she had said.

"Huh?" Josie asked.

"I left it in my office," Ms. Sletzki admitted.

No one noticed as the door opened and someone slipped inside.

"Well right now we have to worry about the press, so there's no reason in pointing the blame anywhere," Professor Z said. "We need to come up with a plan."

"And fast," The figure spoke. Everyone looked to see Vaughn leaning against the doorway. "My Dad's on his way here."