Strategic retreat is everything against what he feels he should be. There's the feeling that he's supposed to stand strong and go forward. To hold the line against all odds. It bothers him that he has to go back. Away from the fence and away from what he is certain is a person who desperately needs their help. But he also vaguely understands that he's supposed to at least try to listen to this woman. He can't quite put his finger on why, but he can tell she is right because the further back into the woods they get, the better he feels.

Still, he keeps glancing back towards the fence back towards what he was certain had been something important. He feels a small bit of regret that he hadn't been able to tough it out.

"I am feeling much better now. I think I can go back..." At least in going back, they would figure out the precise distance they could be before he started to feel his knees giving out again. "Or maybe if we walk in a line from one end of the forest to the other, we will find the person in trouble." He is still somehow hopeful despite all the evidence otherwise.