The Atonement of a Writer

20. Stranger Strangers

She was the first to fall. Out of rage, she started the Inferno, and now, she paid the price.

Her screams echoed through the halls. This was a truly historic moment--the moment the infamous Inferno started.

Hundreds of years later, when people walked past the abandoned building, they would swear that they still heard the screams.

~*~

"What the hell?"

If possible, the man looked even more offended, snatching the mask out of her grasp.

She just stared at him. How was he here? What did that imply?

As she'd noticed before, he had a mop of windswept black, short hair that fell to his eyes. His eyes were a deep cerulean blue, and while he wasn't bad looking, what shocked her to the core was the familiarity of it all.

He waved his hand across her face. "Hello? You there?"

Snapping out of her stupor, Lili opened and closed her mouth again, unable to make a sound. They spent the next few seconds just staring at each other in confusion for different reasons, until she finally found her voice. What came out sounded weak even to her ears. "...Julien Baudhuin?"

It was his turn to gape at her like a fish. "How--you're not supposed to--"

She frowned when Julien clammed up. There was something about the way he phrased it--"Not supposed to?"

He was right, she supposed. Arielle was not supposed to know him, because he was not someone from Arielle's world.

Julien was someone Lili knew.

To Lili's surprise, he just groaned and sank to his knees. Putting his head in his hands, he mumbled something.

"What was that?" She looked down at him.

"I said," he raised his head so she heard him clearly, "How do you know me, Arielle?"

Lili's brain short-circuited. Wait, he knew her? As in, Arielle? How? No--everyone knew Arielle.

...Right?

At her silence, he continued, "Actually, how do you know about English? As far as I know, that's not what it's called here..."

"How did you know my name?" She stared down at him. There was something very, very wrong about his presence in this world.

A flash of panic appeared in his eyes before he calmed down and asked, "Who doesn't?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. She flashed back to the memories she had of him, which, admittedly, wasn't a lot. Slowly, she kneeled down beside him. Maybe she should just tell him the truth--that she was not Arielle.

Julien would understand, Lili thought. As a matter of fact, he seemed to know too much for another person in this world. She carefully went over the puzzle pieces in her head. He had no reason to be here, in this town. He always evaded her. He never appeared in the original story--at least, she had no plans for someone like him. He knew Arielle, at least by face. He all but confirmed he was Julien--if he really was the Julien Baudhuin she knew, then he knew her, Lili, too.

She had enough pieces to suspect, but not enough to get a clear picture. It would be a risk--what if this wasn't the Julien she knew? She knew by now that anything could happen. Still, her instincts told her to try.

Quietly, so only he would be able to hear her--not that she expected someone to be eavesdropping on them, but one could never be too careful--she said, "My name is not Arielle Dumont."