Marked creature

A murder of crows circled something near the route, making the canyon seem strange as he rode his horse onto the path into it. Crawford pulled the rope to bring his horse to a stop and led it to a neighboring shade. Crawford grabbed some sand and threw it at the birds as he moved toward the area where the prey birds had surrounded themselves.

When he waved for them to stop eating, he saw a body covered in a black, tattered fabric that was full of holes created by crows. After removing the hood, Crawford discovered a bruised, wounded, hole-filled, and pus-filled youngster with blonde hair and slit eyebrows who was severely hurt.

Before he could inspect him, James awoke and stared at Crawford with sleepy eyes, "Sheriff...." Stupidly, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm glad you're awake," Crawford remarked as he assisted James in standing and led him to a little alcove created by the rocks.

"How are you feeling?" questioned Crawford

James uttered the words "broken sir" with weakness.

Crawford laughed and added, "Good now you can feel this" as he raised his hand and slapped James' cheeks.

Crawford remarked, "That's for running away with a girl," as he massaged his palm following the blow.

"Come on, Sheriff, I was trying to show her something," James said, soothing his face.

"Now that you've shown her, where is she?" Crawford questioned.

James swallowed his saliva, rubbed his slapped cheek, and pointed to a certain direction, saying, "She is near the crack next to the Gnome hat stone statue"

Crawford pulled out his rifle and said, "Tell me something, boy, did she turn?" with a sad expression on his face.

"She almost turned, but I was able to stabilize the transformation using the daylight light," James stated, giving him a worried look.

Crawford smiled and said, "Good job, boy; I'll take it from here." As he said that, he stepped on the horse and told it using the bridle to march to the statue.

***

After a spell of riding in the sweltering midday sun, Crawford came to a spot of shade created by the canyon's structural rocks. He picked a boulder and tied the horse and patted out of goodwill.

Walking at his own pace over the dense sand, he turned into a corner. There stood the canyon's monument, the entrance and exit. So, believe it is both an exit and an entrance to this the natural world.

Crawford approached carefully to the Gnome hat stone statue, holding his pistol guardedly. The stone statue was a natural phenomena in which a chunk of rock resembled a hat; he bent over to see what was hidden on the other side while pointing his gun.

On the canyon's hot sand slept a girl with a petite build and long raven hair weighed down by sand. Crawford grinned slightly as he breathed in relief, and he swiftly examined the body with a racing mind.

'She appears to be dehydrated, possibly from the heat. dry mouth, cracked lips, and biting marks on the neck. The tooth structure suggests that she was bitten once, but by whom? Crawford realized what was going on when he heard a heavy bang behind him.

Crawford instantly used his jacket and body to protect large pieces of granite from the falling debris, causing the monument to be destroyed.

After taking off his jacket and covering the unconscious female, Crawford remarked, "What took you so long to reveal yourself, James?" with a melancholic smile.

James hides in the shade to avoid being seen by the cowboy and claps his hands mockingly. "Bravo, when did I mess up?" James questioned, his voice changing to a deep ominous voice and a deep chuckle.

Crawford raised his weapon and unexpectedly used his left shoulder as a stand to aim at the shadowy James and shoot four bullets. "It was when you called me Sheriff?"

James tried to avoid the gunfire, but it was too late; one shot hit his right shoulder, the second hit his right lung, the third hit his stomach, and the final shot hit the rock behind him.

James held his stomach in agony while grinning darkly and angrily at Crawford. "Why wouldn't I call you Sheriff, aren't you the Sheriff?"

Putting his pistol down right away, Crawford grinned and said, "Simply put, you called me Sheriff and James call me by my nickname."

"That being?" James questioned.

Crawford pointed the weapon at Wounded James and said, "You used to call me Raven, not Sheriff. So, you are a Marked creature, which category I wonder."