After waking up feeling vulnerable on the beach, after being ignored and stepped on, after the reliable things failed to work--that brief kindness meant so much. Izzy barely heard the words he said before she launched her arms around him in a quick hug.
Any other day, she would not be hugging a stranger. But he could hear her. He had, after all, kept the wildlife from eating her in the jungle. Offering that brief moment of protection made her feel much less alone.
She let him go and turned to wipe at her eyes, tears she couldn't help as her frustration mounted, and gestured toward the door. "I should tell my friends that no one is coming to help us."