In his room, in his head, Eddie can hear music. He tries not to listen; he puts his fingers in his ears and moans, but it doesn't help.

At night, they come and put it in his head, he is sure of it. How else would his ears be bleeding in the morning? They come and they wind it up, ready for a new day. He can hear the shrieking of it in his sleep.

Eddie presses his fingers further into his ears, so deep it hurts. His fingernails scratch at the skin, reopening little sores they made yesterday, as they delve toward the ear drum. Sometimes Eddie thinks that he can scratch that drum out, that then the music would go away. His mama taught him all about how ears work. How the little shell shape they were in sucked the sounds down, how the tiny drum inside made it echo through your head. One day Eddie tried to rip his ear off, the right hand one, but only got half way before the nurses stopped him. The nurses at the Facility were very watchful.

It hadn't helped, anyway. Even with only half an ear, the music still floated right on down, just like his mama said it would.

Doctor had told him that the music still came because it came from inside his head, that no matter what he did to his ears he would still hear the music. Eddie had been angry at Doctor when he said this, when Doctor told him his mama had lied. Mama didn't LIE. Mama never lied to Eddie. Mama hated dirty liars, had made sure her sweeeet boy (sweetboysweetboysweeeetieeddie) had never told lies.

Eddie felt bad when he thought about what he had tried to do to Doctor when he told him this. Luckily the nurses had been there, had calmed him down. Had given him his first dose of The Good Stuff, to make him believe.

Over time, Doctor had told him why the music came, and how to make it go away. And after each session, Eddie had received a dose of The Good Stuff, and the music had gone away. Eddie believed Doctor - Doctor wasn't a dirty liar.

Sometimes, though, Doctor forgot to tell the nurses to give Eddie his dose. Sometimes he would forget for days. Eddie would try to tell the nurses- explain that he needed The Good Stuff, that Doctor had forgot. The nurses wouldn't even turn their heads to listen. It seemed almost as if he wasn't there, that they couldn't see him.

Inside his head, the music gets louder. Eddie bashes his head against a wall, to make it stop, but the dull sound is eaten up by the music.

Somewhere inside, Eddie tries to calm down, to do what Doctor has told him to do. He thinks of the songs Doctor has taught him, the Nice Music that will make the music inside his head go away. He sings, softly at first, but raising his voice to a yell when the music doesn't stop.

`Morning has BROKEN

Like the FIRST morning

Blackbird has SPOKEN...'

Eddie sings so loud his voice is ragged, sings while his words are mingled with sobs. Inside his head, his mama is telling him that Doctor is a DIRTY LIAR, that Eddie has been listening to a DIRTY LIAR, that the stain of Doctor, the stain of those dirty, rotten lies, is in him now, and must be taken out. Eddie has been a bad boy, but soon Mama will make him her sweeeet Eddie once more. The music inside his head grows louder (mama'sgonnamakeyouherswwweeeetboymama's gonnamakeyousweeet). Doctor told him not to listen to the music, not to believe in the music, but Doctor hasn't seen Eddie for some days now, and it is hard for Eddie to believe.

Eddie's song is a hoarse roar and his fingers are stained with the blood from his ears as the nurses finally come in to restrain him. The last thing Eddie sees before The Good Stuff takes over is Doctor, standing at the door with his clipboard, smiling.