The Chase Page 0,64

whispered. "That's it."

She had to shout to make them hear her. "Tom. Tom, come here-everybody come here. I've got it. I know how to get out."

They crowded around her. "What?" "You're kidding!" "Tell us."

Jenny laughed for the sheer pleasure of laughing, feeling crystal clear and brilliant. Like a sphere filled with moonlight. She lifted her arms joyfully, shook back her hair, and laughed again.

The others exchanged glances, their expressions changing from excitement to consternation.

"No, it's okay," Jenny assured them. "I know how we get out-we just walk. Don't you see? The fire isn't real! It's a model our brains are making."

They didn't look nearly as happy as she would have thought. They blinked at her, then at one another. Michael opened his mouth and then shut it again, looking nervously at Audrey. Audrey sighed.

"Ah." Dee glanced at the others, then patted Jenny's shoulder. "Okay, Sunshine. You go back to sleep, and later we'll talk about it."

"What, you think I'm joking? I'm not. I'm telling you-we can walk right out of here."

"Uh, Tiger-" Dee looked over her shoulder at the fire, then back at Jenny. "I hate to tell you, but that fire is not a model in my brain. It's hot. I've got blisters." She showed Jenny several fluid-filled bumps on her hand.

Jenny looked at them, briefly shaken. Then she recovered. "That's because you let it happen. You believed in the heat, and it gave you blisters," she said. "No, Dee, don't humor me, damn it!" she added. "I'm serious. You know how hypnotized people can get a blister if you tell them that you're touching them with something hot-even if it isn't hot. It's like that."

Michael ran his hands through his hair. "No, but Jenny, it's really hot. You can't even get near it."

"That's because you believe it's hot. You were the one who said it, Michael: If a model is good enough, you can't tell the difference between it and reality." She looked from one face to another. The glorious lightness had disappeared; now she felt crushing disappointment. "You think I'm crazy, don't you? All of you."

"Jenny, you've been through so much-"

"I don't want sympathy, Audrey! I want you to listen. Will you listen, Zach?" She turned to him desperately. "Remember Magritte? You told me that the image is not the reality, and I said, 'Unless you have somebody who can make an image into reality.' But what if that's not what Julian does? What if he doesn't make an image into reality, but he makes us think it's reality? If he shows our senses something so convincing that our brains make a model of it and believe it-even though it's just an illusion? Like a dream."

'"What if?'" Zach quoted back to her. "That's a pretty big if, Jenny. What if you're wrong?"

"Then we're toast," Michael muttered.

"But it's the only thing that makes sense," Jenny said. "Remember, Julian said he wouldn't actually cheat. If the fire's real and there's no way to get through it, then that's cheating. Right? Don't you think?"

"I think your faith in him is charming," Audrey said acidly, her copper-colored eyebrows raised. She looked at Tom, but Tom looked away. Refusing to side against Jenny-but not looking at Jenny, either.

"It's not just faith in him. It's sense," Jenny said. "Don't you see: Aba had a dream almost exactly like this. And the girl in that story came through all right. Her will was strong enough."

"But the fire burned her," Michael pointed out.

"But it didn't kill her. I'm not saying it won't hurt-I'm sure it will, from the look of Dee's blisters. But I don't think it will kill unless we let it. If our will is strong enough, we can get through." But she could see by their faces that they were still unconvinced.

Despair clutched at Jenny's chest. "Dee?" she said, almost pleading.

Dee shifted uncomfortably. "Sunshine-if it were anything else... but I've been there. It sure felt like a real fire to me. And even if I could convince myself to walk in-what happens if I get into the middle of it and my will suddenly isn't strong enough?"

"... toast," Michael said.

Audrey spoke decisively. "It's too big a risk."

"When an illusion is that good," Zach said, "it might as well be real. It can still kill us."

Jenny stood.

"Okay," she said. "I understand-if it wasn't my own idea, I'd probably think it was crazy, too. And I'm the one who got you all into this, so it's only fair I get you out. I'm going