Thank shells the didn't see him! Having made it through the door the handler staggered upright and moved away from the infirmary as quickly as he could.
**********
[Carltis]
Carltis winced in sympathy at Aleck's halting motions, but once the shirt was off he didn't waste time. Opening up the numbweed he spread a layer of the stuff over the wounds on Aleck's shoulder, and then as an afterthought wiped the rest off his hands where he thought the other Weyrbrat had been kicked around by the crazy woman earlier.
With this done he had a quick glance over at the door to the room with the wher in it, and seeing no movement he got on with binding Aleck's cuts up as best he could given the slim man was moving around. "We'll beat them back," he growled, "no question. I'm not going to give my home up to these shaffing invading, vicious, murdering crowd of psychos.... After this all the stupid old ways are only going to be more set in stone, aren't they? The bad bad handlers talked about colour equality, so let's have none of that s**t here." If Carltis sounded bitter, it was because he was. Paths in life closed to him because of who he was attracted to. Dragons that might have been perfect that would die before they would look to him. He liked the ideals of the revolutionaries. If he hadn't punched one of them in the face at the start maybe he would be with them now, excusing his actions like Anise had. It was amazing the things people would do when they were just part of a crowd.
Tying off Aleck's bandages he straightened up. "I'll close the door to that room," he said as he moved towards it, "and shove a bed back in front of it." Even if the wher had the strength to move the bed and break through the door, they would have warning....
Oh.
In the doorway Carltis stopped. The wher was lying motionless, and so was that girl. He didn't feel like he should shut her in there with the brown; if it woke up it might start eating her and that... that wasn't right. Taking a steadying breath he walked towards the body and picked it up. She'd been a small girl, and very slim; she weighed barely anything.
She had hazel eyes.
They were still open.
Squeezing his own eyes shut for a moment Calrtis moved quickly out of the room again and laid the dead girl down on a nearby bed. After studying her face for a few moments more, struggling not to look at her neck, he covered her over with a sheet and went to close and block the door.
