The Winchburgh Chronicles. Part 2.

Paul parked the hack in the lay-by at Cairnpapple Hill and made his way up the wooden steps to the ancient burial site. When he reached the plateau at the top, the whole of the west side of West Lothian spread out before him. He stopped for a moment to admire the view, before continuing on and into the Council reception area for visitors to the site. 

 

In here was a hidden door that gave access to the Bathgate mating pool. Once inside, he opened the door and stepped into the elevator. The doors at the bottom slid quietly open. Paul found the switch and a long line of fluorescent bulbs, lit up the narrow corridor. The walls were granite with rough-hewn chisel marks and scratched drawings depicting lizard’s heads, and some strangely, of naked men with the heads of lizards. The floor had been chiselled flat and led beneath Knock Hill and down to the mating pool.

 

At the end of the long corridor, a large bow shaped arch covered in amethyst quartz, framed a twenty-foot wide waterfall. The falls complained loudly as they were pulled from the top of the one hundred foot cliff, and dashed to oblivion on the surface of the lagoon. A white mist rose from the surface and spray rolled out from the falls. Waves washed continuously on all sides of the lake, like a rushing tide. 

 

Secluded beaches of sand and shingle surrounded the lagoon at intervals. Behind these had been raised, grassy mounds with trees and shrubs, intermixed with exotic flowers of every hue. Tropical birds and symbiotic insects had been introduced; their whistles and clicks could be heard beneath the sound of the roaring water. 

 

The whole place gave the impression of a tropical paradise. Fans in the cave ceiling blew hot air, and the discreet lighting, added to the illusion. The pool was warmed by hot springs on the lakebed, making it ideal for newly laid human eggs.

 

Several couples were here with their partners. They were swimming and paddling naked in the pool. Building up courage prior to drinking the water. The amniotic fluid, released into the pool by generations of mothers helped the couples, by making metamorphosis easier and quicker to achieve. 

 

One clearly pregnant woman held by her partner, dipped her cupped hand into the pool. She raised it to her mouth, her partner held her tightly as she drank. She began to shake. Her head went back and she screamed in agony. Bright red globules of blood began to appear on her body as her lizard scales pushed through her human skin. Her partner gripped her tighter round the waist as she changed. The procedure escalated and she soon became a full lizard. The male released her and dipped his head into the pool. He drank, after lifting his head; he shook the excess water from his hair and began to change, he dived after his mate.

 

The female, assisted by her long tail and broad webbed feet, had swum very quickly away. There was a short period where the human brain retained awareness of self. During this interval, it was possible to enjoy the experience of swimming virtually unrestricted in this beautiful setting. The male lizard soon caught up with her and the mating ritual instinctively began. 

 

The male circled the female. The orange colouring on his thorax glowing brightly indicated his arousal. She had turned a vivid yellow on her underbelly, also showing her to be in a similar state. He swam towards her and rubbed his body along her side, wriggling as he went. This triggered her response. She turned quickly and swam very close to him. They wrapped their bodies tightly around each other, and began to contract rhythmically, squeezing the egg out and into the water. The male disengaged and scooped up the egg with his mouth, he quickly headed for the large bubble nest, where he carefully placed it. The sticky green substance enveloped the egg and held it securely in the nest, to await the alpha male’s attention.

 

Paul turned left and made his way into the control building. The well-lit and tiled corridor had doors to left and right. The first double door to the right was the incubation room. He opened the door and entered, inside, incubators lined the walls. These were linked to a bank of electronic devices whose bleeps and flashes were being observed and recorded on a tablet by a tall fat guy wearing a white coat. He nodded to Paul as he entered.

 

“ Awright Paul? Ya reptile.”

 

“ Aye, yirsell ya snake? How’s things noo? Whit’s been happenin?” 

 

“ Uptie noo there’s only been two women that haven’t reverted back tae human form. They’re hingin aboot the east end of the lake. Doon near the ventilation shafts, there’s a wee deep pool there where the fish like to go and hide. That’ll keep them there. Easy pickins yie see.”

 

He walked over to an incubator containing two large eggs. He pointed with his stylus.

 

“ These are their eggs, I’ve catalogued them, and I’m keeping a close eye, but they seem normal uptae noo. Thye’re no far fae hatchin.”

 

“ Aye, okay Harry, keep yir eye oan them and let me know if there’s any significant changes.”

 

“ Aye, A will Paul. A take it you’re away tae make a significant change yirsell?”

 

“ Aye very good Harry. Catch yie later maybe. Dae yie no fancy a wee swim in the lagoon? “

 

Ten minutes later Paul was standing naked in what he called his changing room. He opened a large fridge; inside was a test tube rack containing six phials of concentrated lagoon water. Paul selected a phial and removed the seal. He drank the water in one. The familiar pain struck him. His body began to shake uncontrollably. A rush flowed through his brain making him dizzy. 

 

He dropped to the floor and lay on his stomach. His body, being used to the changes stretched out fully to accept the metamorphosis. The human Komodo dragon like lizard slithered quickly towards the flume leading to the mating pool and slipped silently, and with long tail swishing, into the water.

 

He swam quickly towards the nest. The two females sensing his presence came to meet him. Aroused by his pheromone release and brightly blazing orange thorax. They began the mating ritual. They swam in opposite directions and in ever decreasing circles around him, with their scales glowing bright yellow. 

 

The alpha male, a complete lizard now, swam at speed for the nest. He took up a position directly below the eggs. The females followed. Now, completely intoxicated by the pheromone release, they rubbed their bodies against his. As they did, his seed burst forth covering the base of the nest. 

 

He snapped now at the two females driving them away from the vicinity of the nest. When he returned, he waved his powerful tail creating a wave beneath the bubbles and forcing his seed onto the eggs. When this was complete, he created more bubbles from a gland in his throat and sealed the floor of the nest. The alpha male left the pool and returned to the changing rooms.