He did it when he heard on TV about the killing of the four students at Kent State. The attendants locked him up.

When Arthur discovered that Jason was locked away whenever he exploded, he decided to take action. It was no different here from home. Showing anger was not permitted; if one did, all of them got punished. So Arthur forced Jason from consciousness, designated him “an undesirable” and informed him that he was never again to hold the consciousness. He would stay in the shadows beyond the spot.

The others kept themselves busy with art therapy. When Tommy wasn’t unlocking doors, he painted landscapes. Danny painted still lifes. Allen painted portraits. Even Ragen tried his hand at artwork but limited himself to sketching in black and white. That was when Arthur discovered that Ragen was colorblind, and recalling the unmatched socks, deduced that it had been Ragen who put them on. Christene drew pictures of flowers and butterflies for her brother, Christopher.

The attendants reported that Billy Milligan seemed calmer and more cooperative. He was given privileges, and when the weather turned warm, he was allowed to go outside to walk and sketch.

Some of the others came out, looked around, didn’t like what they saw and left. Only Ragen, impressed with Dr. Raulj’s Slavic name and accent, took the Thorazine and obeyed his instructions. Danny and David, being obedient children, took the antipsychotic medication as well. But Tommy would keep it in his mouth and spit it out. So would Arthur and the others.

Danny made friends with a little black boy, and the two of them talked and played together. They would sit up late describing for hours the things they’d like to do when they grew up. It was the first time Danny ever laughed.

One day Dr. Raulj moved Danny from RB-3 to RB-4, where all the boys were bigger. Danny didn’t know anyone or have anyone to talk to, so he went into his room, crying because he was lonely.

Then Danny heard a voice say, “Why’re you crying?”

“Go away and don’t bother me,” Danny said.

“Where can I go?”

Danny looked around quickly and saw that there was no one else in the room. “Who said that?”

“I said that. My names David.”

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know. I think I’m right where you are.”

Danny looked under the bed, in the closet, but the speaker was nowhere to be found. “I can hear your voice,” he said, “but where are you?”

“I’m right here.”

“Well, I can’t see you. Where are you?”

“Close your eyes,” David said. “I can see you now.”

They spent long hours talking privately about things that had happened in the past, getting acquainted with each other, never realizing that Arthur was listening all the while.

(5)

Philip met a fourteen-year-old blond-haired patient so lovely that everyone admired her beauty. She would walk and talk with him, trying to arouse him sexually, though he never made a pass at her. She watched him sitting with a sketch pad at a picnic table near the pond. Usually there would be no one else around.