Cole was safe (at least from the wilderness) in a hospital in Ketchikan. Cole had broken ribs, maybe a broken pelvis, a broken arm and leg, and hypothermia. This was all from his two day visit to the island. Cole was airlifted to Minneapolis, where he recovered, then had to face his parents, Peter Driscal, and the Circle Justice. Six months later, Cole’s ribs, leg and arm had healed, although he would never regain full mobility of his arm. Cole was released from the hospital and moved to a detention center. After a week of visits from Garvey and his mother, Cole is attending his first Circle Justice meeting since his return from the island. All the Circle members are convinced that since Cole broke his contract his case should no longer be handled by the Circle. Now Cole has to persuade them that he actually has changed and that they should let him go back to the island.
I believe that Cole really has changed. He used to be like Two-Bit from the Outsiders, always wanting to get the last word. Now, I think he is just a kid that wants to make up for what he’s done to the community. He has been blaming everyone else for everything that has gone wrong and he finally realizes that it was his fault.