Walter abandoned the idea of keeping the man’s blood off his hands. There was no way to treat the wound without risking exposure to disease. He gently lifted the shirt away from the wound and blood flowed out.
“That...that bitch killed,” the man said, his voice slightly slurred,
“I hit...my head.” Quickly Walter pressed the shirt back against the wound. That much blood meant an organ had been hit. He felt around the man’s abdomen for signs of internal bleeding - swelling, tenderness, but thankfully found none.
His mind couldn’t help but consider that there might be others with internal bleeding, people who didn’t have any real symptoms yet besides minor pain. He was mentally triaging the injured he could see. This man needed sutures to stop the bleeding. That could be simple, or very complex, depending on where the bleeding was coming from. Either way it would take time. There were others who only needed their wounds cleaned and properly bandaged. Though it was a simple thing, if it didn’t get done the risk of infection was great.
He lifted his head to the man’s. A small cut above his eye was slightly raised, already bruising around the edges.
“I’m gonna check your eyes.” He pulled first the right, then the left eye open. The pupils looked even, but he could not test how well they functioned.
The man looked hazy, so Walter tried to keep him alert, “I’m Walter, I’m going to do what I can for you.”
"Here you go, Mr. Sykes."He spun to see the woman returned, not just with clean cloth, but his duffle.
“You’re an angel!” he blurted as took the scarves from her.
They soaked up the blood quickly, but pressed hard in the wound they slowed the bleeding much better than the shirt had. There was nothing more to do short of cut him open enough to find the bleed. In that time people with other, more treatable injuries might progress past the point of saving.
"Oh, is he going to be okay?"He paused only a moment before answering, “We are going to do what we can for him. Now do me another favor if you will,” he stood back, making room for her, “sit with him. Keep really hard pressure on this wound, as firm as you can hold it. And talk to him, keep him alert.” Walter stood and lifted his case out of his duffle. “And you," he looked the man in the eye, "when you're too hurt to move, take that as a sign to stay still."
He nodded to them, then headed further down the beach.