The Dragonfly Door

First 25 pages

The Dragonfly Door 

by 

Margaret A. Millmore

Copyright 2013 by Margaret A. Millmore 

ISBN: 978-0-9899702-0-4 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents or places are either the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

Cover Design: BookGraphics 2013 

Edited by: Louanne Wheeler 2013

Author's Note: 

It is important to note that the characters and events reflected in this story are purely fictional and the imagination of the author. No employee, volunteer or patient of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (and specifically the San Francisco VA Medical Center) would have the unauthorized access to personal and\/or medical records of any patient at the center; records are kept in the strictest confidence in accordance with the law. It is also important to note that the SFVAMC does not have a rec room or a secured ward.

Acknowledgments:  

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the following people for their invaluable knowledge and assistance: Susan Prudhomme, author; Chief of Police Douglas P. Millmore (retired); individual staff members (who wish to remain anonymous) at the San Francisco VA Medical Center; Marie Stanley and Thomas Stanley. 

Chapter 1 

Sometimes the confines of Bio-1 could be so claustrophobic. Although it was huge, the size of a large city to be exact, just knowing you could not leave, could not venture into the vastness beyond, could feel so confining. Clarisse walked the catwalk that ran around the parameter of the main compound. Its height was sixty feet up from the vastness below, and allowed one to see the great fields, orchards and even jungle-like greenery that blanketed the compound floor. There were lazy rivers and small lakes that fed the lush vegetation and here and there a building. Some housed the equipment that made it all run, some gave them shelter when it rained and privacy when they needed it. But still she longed to leave. Turning away from the beauty below, she stared out at the beauty beyond the compound walls. The gentle plains, the rolling hills, and in the distance, the soaring mountains, all covered in nothing but white. An occasional breeze sent ghostly sheets of snow whipping across the plains; it was beautiful and mesmerizing all at once. However, she knew that to venture into this land outside of the compound was the one thing she could never do. To do so could change everything, and one thing she did not want, was to find her home not her home when she finally returned there.  

A quiet buzzing sound penetrated her reverie. She turned to the source and saw three dragonflies hovering close by, and then as if they were ghosts of her imagination, they quickly dispersed and disappeared. The facility was full of all kinds of insects, so the sighting of a dragonfly wasn't unusual, but they didn't usually venture up this high. She dismissed it; maybe they were also feeling claustrophobic and soared to the top of the dome for relief. Footsteps interrupted her thoughts again and she turned to see Dr. Christian Blare coming her way.  

He smiled at her. As usual it was a confident smile that was as full of white teeth as it was of ego and self-love. She didn't care for him. Yes he was brilliant and remarkably handsome, and yes without him the project wouldn't be a success. However he was only one component of many, not the all-powerful driving force that he so arrogantly thought he was. He was also a womanizer and she cared for that even less than his ego.