Marie gradually snapped back to consciousness, taking note of her surroundings. She was in a big room that looked just like the one she had just dreamt about. She exhaled and struggled to catch her breath.
"You're awake!" Gabe exclaimed and rushed towards her from a corner of the room.
"Gabe?" She questioned, her hoarse voice barely audible.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He said, taking a seat beside her.
"I had a bad dream about this strange woman trying to kill me."
"What?"
Before they could both talk further Nakaira walked in.
"You're awake." She flashed a fake smile and walked closer to Marie.
Marie's eyes widened. She had dreamt of this exact woman trying to kill her and It felt so real.
"Gabe, it was her." She muttered.
"Yes. It was her. She was the one who saved our lives Marie. Wait until i tell you the craziest thing about how we got here and where we are from." Gabe said in excitement.
Marie sighed softly. She didn't understand what was going on but her dream and intuition seemed too powerful for her to ignore. She decided to keep quiet until she understood exactly what was going on.
"I'm Nakaira."
Marie remained silent and looked at her then back at Gabe, hoping he would do some explanation.
"Gabe, what happened at the hotel?"
"You were shot. I lost my powers and you tried using yours to hold them off but they were so many and you got shot. We would both have been dead if it wasn't for her. She suddenly appeared and with just one word they all fell asleep."
"What?" Marie questioned.
"She's just like us, Marie. But even better." He looked at Nakaira, "She also healed you."
Marie who was certain Nakaira had an ulterior motive remained silent and unimpressed. Gabe noticed but assumed it was because she had just woken up.
"So, where are we?"
"Her house, in Marseille."
"What? That's still in France, Gabe. What if they find us. If they could trail us across countries how about now that they are within the same place." Marie tried getting up from the bed.
"Relax. I have taken care of that already. They will never find us until their deaths. I made sure of that." Nakaira responded and smiled.
Marie ignored her. Her rage increasing with every moment she spent around her. She wondered how Gabe couldn't see through her pretence.
Gabe sensing the tension between them intervened. "Sorry, Nakaira could you give us a moment."
"Yes. I'll see you later." She smiled at Gabe.
"Marie, what's wrong?" Gabe asked as soon as Nakaira walked out of the room.
"I- I don't trust her, Gabe." "I had a dr—"
"You can't always do this Marie. You need to learn to take the hand that's reaching out to you. You were so close to getting.. who knows, killed? Because you refused to just accept that i had good intentions. She is a good person and i can assure you that she doesn't work with them because i watched her help us fight them."
Marie felt a stinging lump in her throat and remained silent. Arguing with him wouldn't make sense. She had to find out more about Nakaira and expose her by herself.
"Okay. You're right. I will apologize to her later."
"Great. It's good to have you back alive."
Marie smiled slightly.
______
Marie didn't believe any of the things she had just heard even though she had heard them directly from Nakaira. How was it possible that they were all from some other world but somehow were born here on earth? None of it made sense. To her this was all a bad dream and wherever Nakaira was from she hoped she would go back there.
"So, have you ever been to this other world?" She asked Nakaira from across the dining table.
"No, I haven't but my grandma told me tales about it. I am still trying to find how to get there."
"Your grandma? Was she also like us?"
Nakaira hesitated before speaking, "Not quite. She didn't have any special abilities but she was a seer."
"Mm," Marie nodded, putting a fork carrying a potato in her mouth. "So, what about your parents then?"
Gabe cleared his throat. Trying to give Marie a warning to not cross boundaries.
"Dead. Same as my grandma. Though grandma died only recently, leaving me behind to all of this." She gestured at the mansion.
"So sorry, for your loss." Gabe said.
"Oh, it's fine. I have all these maids and some pretty good friends." Nakaira smiled.
Marie was still certain she wasn't a good person. She hated that Gabe wouldn't even give her a chance to prove she was right. "Thank you for helping us, Nakaira."
"Oh, it's okay. I am happy you guys are safe."
"So— how did you know where we were and if we had powers like you?"
Nakaira glared at Marie and immediately recollected herself, forcing a smile.
"I sensed it. My powers are different from yours. I feel people and for years i have been trying to find people like me, so i was on the lookout and could immediately feel when you used your powers."
Marie had so many questions. If truly she could feel them use their powers why didn't she feel it the first time they used their powers? She was probably going to lie she did and had been searching for them since then, if she asked her. She held back her doubts and acknowledged Nakaira's words. Thanking her for saving them.