"Raven" by Nuayma Jeggels

After they had vanished so abruptly, they returned many years later with a reign of violence; of Fire, Wind, Earth, Water and Lightning...

Her eyes were closed, but her cracked lips slowly parted, her fingers twitched, and sounds vibrated from her chest to her throat. Dried and encrusted blood covered her torn flesh and rags barely hid her body from their eyes. They would have described his observation as being-too-hopeful, but it took a mere moment to hear what the man had heard.

“H ...”

They leaned forward.

“Help.”

One jumped back, wide-eyed. The other wiped a hand across his face, but the man who had found the woman looked around and shouted, “Who has the herbs, the bandages?”

While the rest exchanged looks and rushed off to join the group around the woman, two men turned to their bags and pulled out every length of cloth and jar of medicine they could find. They joined the group, which had quickly increased in number, and handed over the supplies. The woman’s body had been covered by someone’s robe, but she still didn’t move or open her eyes to acknowledge them.

“She was dead,” someone said. “I saw her, she was dead.”

“Water!” the young man demanded before turning to his friend. “Well, she was dead, but now she’s breathing and she needs our help.”