He studied her a moment. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Yes, you do. Look how simple it would be. All you have to do is let me out of here one night when everyone’s asleep, and we’ll be on our way.” She looked over at him and said softly, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
He nodded. “Let me think about it.”
“You do that,” Toni said confidently.
When Toni returned to the room, she said to Alette, “We’re getting out of this place.”
The following morning, Ashley was escorted into Dr. Keller’s office.
“Good morning, Ashley.”
“Good morning, Gilbert.”
“We’re going to try some Sodium Amytal this morning. Have you ever had it?”
“No.”
“Well, you’ll find it’s very relaxing.”
Ashley nodded. “All right. I’m ready.”
Five minutes later, Dr. Keller was talking to Toni. “Good morning, Toni.”
“Hi, Dockie.”
“Are you happy here, Toni?”
“It’s funny you should ask that. To tell you the truth, I’m really beginning to like this place. I feel at home here.”
“Then why do you want to escape?”
Toni’s voice hardened. “What?”
“Bill tells me that you asked him to help you escape from here.”
“That son of a bitch!” There was fury in her voice. She flew out of the chair, ran over to the desk, picked up a paperweight and flung it at Dr. Keller’s head.
He ducked.
“I’ll kill you, and I’ll kill him!”
Dr. Keller grabbed her. “Toni—”
He watched the expression on Ashley’s face change. Toni had gone. He found that his heart was pounding.
“Ashley!”
When Ashley awakened, she opened her eyes, looked around, puzzled, and said, “Is everything all right?”
“Toni attacked me. She was angry because I found out she was trying to escape.”
“I—I’m sorry. I had a feeling that something bad was happening.”
“It’s all right. I want to bring you and Toni and Alette together.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I’m afraid. I—I don’t want to meet them. Don’t you understand? They’re not real. They’re my imagination.”
“Sooner or later, you’re going to have to meet them, Ashley. You have to get to know one another. It’s the only way you’re going to be cured.”
Ashley stood up. “I want to go back to my room.”
When she was returned to her room, Ashley watched the attendant leave. She was filled with a deep sense of despair. She thought, I’m never going to get out of here. They’re lying to me. They can’t cure me. She could not face the reality that other personalities were living inside of her… Because of them, people had been murdered, families destroyed. Why me, God? She began to weep. What did I ever do to you? She sat down on the bed and thought, I can’t go on like this. There’s only one way to end it. I have to do it now.
She got up and walked around the small room, looking for something sharp. There was nothing. The rooms had been carefully designed so that there was nothing in them that would allow the patients to harm themselves.
As her eyes darted around the room, she saw the paints and canvas and paintbrushes and walked over to them. The handles of the paintbrushes were wooden. Ashley snapped one in half, exposing sharp, jagged edges. Slowly, she took the sharp edge and placed it on her wrist. In one fast, deep movement, she cut into her veins and her blood began to pour out. Ashley placed the jagged edge on her other wrist and repeated the movement. She stood there, watching the blood stain the carpet. She began to feel cold. She dropped to the floor and curled up into a fetal position.
And then the room went dark.
When Dr. Gilbert Keller heard the news, he was shocked. He went to visit Ashley in the infirmary. Her wrists were heavily bandaged. Watching her lying there, Dr. Keller thought, I can’t ever let this happen again.
“We almost lost you,” he said. “It would have made me look bad.”
Ashley managed a wry smile. “I’m sorry. But everything seems so—so hopeless.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Dr. Keller assured her. “Do you want to be helped, Ashley?”