"Oh my God," Imani muttered, her chest rising and falling rapidly, as she rushed over to the circle and knelt next to Tabia, trying to shake her awake. "Tabia... Tabia." She moved over to Kyle's side and tried to shake him awake too but he didn't respond either and she glanced at her surroundings again, wondering how she got here, wondering what was happening here.
The both of them had an 'X' draw in a small circle on the sides of their head and Imani couldn't tell if it was drawn with black paint or if it was carved into their skin. She tried to shake them awake again, this time forcefully, but they still didn't respond and her heart dropped as she thought they were dead.
"Oh God, no. No, no, no," she said in a rush as she moved to the space between the both of them and placed her fingers to their neck to feel for a pulse. Her shoulders sagged and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she felt one.