Summer would be coming to an end soon, and Solomon's time on Honey Island would be narrowed down to just weekends. Solomon was determined to help Dr. Lancaster as much as he could, and make the rest of the summer before he entered 8th grade worth it. Lancaster told him constantly how grateful he was to have such a wonderful assistant, but there were still some things that bothered him. What Sam had said to him weeks and weeks before still lingered in the back of his mind, but now, he knew about cryptids inhabiting the swamp and he wouldn't let his brother's joke get to him. Although, he noticed Sam still seemed uneasy when he would leave for Honey Island in the morning, even after he tried to explain as much as he could without giving away their existence.
"Ah Solomon, I fear it's nearly 6," said Lancaster, looking up from the microscope to glance at his watch. "Will you be coming back tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow's Sam's Birthday... Believe me, I'd love to come back tomorrow, but I can't," said Solomon. "I will the day afterwards though, I promise."
"Ah, well see you then."
Solomon headed down to the dull dock. Despite the lack of sunlight in many parts of the swamp, plantlife seemed to grow at a decent rate, and weeds were already creeping through the cracks between the wood. As he waited for the steamboat, he could have sworn he had heard something. Although he knew of the cryptids, he had never actually seen himself. He heard the noise again, and his head whipped around to the edge of the lot. For just a moment, he thought he had seen a shadow running through the trees, accompanied by the sounds of sharp, light splashing, like someone-or something-was running through the shallow waters of the swamp. There it was again. Solomon found himself running towards the noise, and he saw the shadow yet again. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by swamp, and now there was no sight of the shadow he had seen, and no unusual noises. He hurried back the way he came, glancing at his watch repeatedly. It was 6:10, and the boat was no doubt already there, waiting for him. He emerged by one of the other buildings, and began to make his way towards the docks, when he heard something else. It wasn't a cryptid this time, he knew that. They were people, three scientists who worked for Lancaster, and Martin was one of them. He could see the boat already at the dock, and men impatiently waiting for him, but he backed up a few steps and began to listen to them. They were standing behind the small houses, and Solomon was standing next to the side of one of them, a house away. They were practically whispering, but he could just make out what they were saying.
"Are you sure about this?" one of them asked. She was the only woman with them. She had dark blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail, glasses, and was wearing a lab coat like the other two.
"You saw what they did to Joesph," whispered Martin. "It's all based off of Lancaster's own work. We know it's possible, but we're just going to take a different approach."
"But he was in pain!" her voice almost broke out of a whisper.
"But it might be different our way," Martin whispered back.
"Might. We can't be sure of anything... Besides if Lancaster knew we'd be using his research this way he'd kill us."
"You don't have to if you don't want to," the other man whispered. He was pale with black hair, and he had glasses as well. "We're not forcing you to do anything, we just thought you'd maybe like a part in this."
"Did you guys figure out what you're going to use yet?" she finally asked.
"Not yet. We checked the list for the new deliveries and Lancaster has some samples we might be able to get to though," the man with black hair explained.
Solomon looked back at the boat and checked his watch. It was nearly 6:20. He quietly made his way around to Lancaster's private lab, and came out from there.
"What took you so long?" one of them asked as he got into the boat.
"We didn't realize how late it was, sorry."
"Yeah, well pay more attention next time," said the other one. "We don't have all day."