Maybe! He didn't know about the last one till it was happening!
The point is, the world, ALL the world, is full of unknown dangers. And if you have no place else you NEED to be, why not stick together.
But wouldn't have if Eris hadn't been there.
Her crying moved the girl, and the girl convinced Orstead.
Is every threat in the world a binary "Weak enough for Rudy to solo" and "too strong for all of Dead End"? Or might there be things in between?