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She's still scared. I hope they're not far, she answered, looking over Derek's shoulder and back towards the path they'd been walking.

There were no roads around this part of the cliff, so they would have to walk out to find them here. She really hoped that they would have understood Derek's directions. She worried her bottom lip, wondering what would happen to Joan if the marine rescue team didn't find them there.

Derek took her hand in his.

"She's going to be okay. They'll find us," Derek reassured her. She nodded, leaning her head to the side so she could look at Joan's face.

She didn't know much about the way that turtles displayed their emotions, but the eyes she gazed into were a depth of darkness and pain, and she couldn't help but feel saddened by the predicament Joan had found herself in. Joan blinked. If turtles could have wept, Ashlyn had no doubt that she would have been crying a stream of tears.

By the time Ashlyn noticed the flashing lights that approached signaling