It may have been the traumatic experience that caused a delay in response. He didn’t miss the way she clutched her arm but had seen humans do this when frightened- grabbing at themselves for comfort. It didn’t seem to be enough though. She was in shock and there was a slight tremble to her form as she curled in on herself. Her fear wasn’t unreasonable and he felt a small twang of worry of his own. Would she turn into one of the infected now? He bat away the thought and lowered his bag to the pavement. From within it he removed cleanly packaged antibacterial wipes, cotton pads and a rolled length of gauze. He put these aside for a moment and took her wrist, removing her hands from her ears. “Hey, look at me. You’re not a zombie yet so let’s not assume the worse. We’re going to clean that up and keep on going.”

He didn’t know if his assurances gave her any comfort but moved on to clean the bite and bandage it neatly, cutting away the excess tape and returning the roll to his bag which he shouldered once more. He looked at her a moment longer and then stood peering towards the exit ramp- wondering if that armored squad had seen the smoke. “When I was getting gas I encountered some of the aliens. They didn’t see me but I overheard them and they are looking for the two of us.” He made to help her up, while he understood she was shaken it was clear that he would be the same if they were found out by anything other than zombies. “We have to keep moving.”