Grandma Rose Treats Olive and the Other Wounded

Grandma Rose Treats Olive and the Other Wounded is a pause in the fugitives’ flight in which an improvised woodland clinic becomes a place of painful but practical care. Olive’s corrosive wound has overcome her usual rapid healing, while Lock and Sid also need treatment. As Grandma Rose attends to them, Ava moves from guilt and helplessness toward the small, concrete work of helping.

Detour to Grandma Rose

The group is already hurt and exhausted when Lock directs them toward Bradbury Mountain. Ikka points out that Duncan’s cabin lies elsewhere, but Lock asks the others to trust him. The diversion leads them to a small clearing encircled by old-growth trees. Lock stops there and waits, addressing someone who has not yet appeared. A voice answers from the underbrush with an old complaint about humans always hurrying; Lock replies that a human lifespan leaves less time for lingering. Their exchange has the ease of a familiar argument, and a young-looking woman soon steps out from behind a tree.

Lock identifies her to the group as Rose MacArthur, whom they call Grandma Rose. He introduces Sid, Ikka, Ava, Ezra, and Olive, and explains that they have been hurt in a recent scrape and need help. Rose ushers them into her house. Her familiarity with Lock reaches back to his childhood: she recalls him hiding in a cupboard and sweeping her floor afterward. The scene establishes that her home is not simply shelter but a place where Lock has an old connection and where injured travelers can receive skilled attention.

Olive’s treatment

Rose has the remaining Dryads leave, apart from Lock’s mother, then has Lock lay Olive on a padded, vinyl-covered medical table. Olive is a member of the Were-hares, whose rapid healing would ordinarily help her recover. This time, however, the group’s Vodyanoy attackers have left a corrosive wound; their poison or acid is interfering with that natural ability. Rose examines Olive, checks her pulse and heartbeat, and has Lock help her drink a thick liquid for pain. Olive chokes on what remains, and Lock gently lays her back down.

Rose explains that the corrosive material must be removed before Olive’s healing can work properly. She expects that, once she has cleaned and salved the wound, Olive will be much better by morning. Ava’s first response is alarm at the delay. Cade remains her urgent concern, and she knows time is passing. But there is nothing she can do for him at that moment: the drove is searching for him, their message has been delivered, and the group expects to hear if Venus comes to Ava’s home. Ava sets aside her fear and accepts that Olive’s care comes first.

The cleaning is agonizing. Olive screams and twists beneath Lock and Ikka as they hold her steady; Ezra pins her ankles, while Sid takes one of her hands and murmurs reassurance close to her ear. Ava wants to contribute but hesitates, unsure what use she can be around an injured child. Rose takes Ava’s hand and places it on Olive’s, telling her that the contact helps. The gesture gives Ava a specific way to participate: she cannot undo the injury or hasten the journey to Cade, but she can stay with Olive through the pain.

After the wound is clean, Rose applies a thick ointment to Olive’s face. Sid notices that it resembles ordinary antibiotic ointment, though with additional ingredients; Rose says it will keep the skin pliant while it heals. She sends Olive to rest in a small guest room furnished with several cots, clean sheets, and quilts. Its lilac paint and homelike bedding soften the room’s appearance, but Ava recognizes its practical, hospital-like purpose. Ikka promises to remain with Olive until she falls asleep.

Care for the rest of the group

Only after Olive is settled does Rose turn to the other injuries. She cleans and sutures Lock’s wound, then bandages Sid’s. Her instructions are spare and practical, directed at stopping movement or getting a needed item. Ava dislikes being ordered around, yet fetching things and assisting with the work feels good to her. In a journey defined by pursuit and the danger surrounding Cade, the treatment gives her an immediate task whose benefit is visible: for once, she can help someone heal.

The difference between the patients’ injuries underscores the attack’s uneven cost. Sid’s shoulder has bled through the shirt Ava duct-taped over it, and Lock requires stitches; Ikka and Ezra have only scratches and bruises. Olive, usually capable of fast recovery, is in distress because the Vodyanoy’s corrosive substance has blocked that protection. Ava herself is unharmed, a fact that sharpens her guilt: Olive and others have suffered while protecting her. The treatment does not erase that burden, but it turns guilt into attention to the people in front of her.

Aftermath and significance

The group stays at Grandma Rose’s house for the night. Once Rose has finished, Sid goes outside to report to Les and explain that they will not reach Ava’s home until the following day. He also hopes Venus will not rush toward the bait they have set. Lock goes to bring in their belongings, but when he returns, Ezra has disappeared, prompting his anger because he had specifically told Ezra not to leave.

The episode therefore offers care without resolving the danger that brought the fugitives there. Olive is expected to improve by morning, and Lock and Sid have been treated, but Cade is still missing, Venus remains part of the threat, and Ezra’s absence creates a fresh immediate worry. Its emotional turn lies less in escape than in the work that escape makes necessary: Rose insists on attending to the wounded, and Ava learns that a hand held through pain can be useful even when the larger crisis cannot yet be fixed.