Locke heard them and felt the change in the air before he even recognized what they were. "Shit!" They were out in the open, unprotected, unarmed, and the only reason they'd been able to hold off one of those ugly things before was because they'd had their powers back. They were completely vulnerable.

There were only two options Locke could think of: stand and try to fight...somehow, or keep running and hope they could get away with their lives. His first instinct was to protect Tolten, send him on and distract the thing, but that wasn't going to work in this case; the birds didn't want Locke, they only wanted his friend.

His hand tightened around Tolten's, hoping the contact would bring some sort of, small, comfort. "Just...Just keep running, we can't fight them. Don't worry, I won't let it get you!"