the keeper's cottage · day 372 · afternoon

Noon ankle check and medevac decision

Kevin returns from the dock at noon to check Jenny's ankle as promised. The red streaks have advanced toward her knee. He must decide whether to declare a medevac on the radio. Jenny sits at the table surrounded by sorted seed packets, her wrapped ankle propped on a chair, pale and sweating.

Kevin spent the afternoon monitoring the shortwave radio for the supply boat while checking Jenny's worsening infection. Jenny remained mostly stationary, enduring the pain as the red streaks on her leg moved further up her calf.

🔧 Kevin06:47

Jen. Look at me.

crouch beside her chair, press two fingers to the skin above the new pen line — hot, tight, spreading fast — then reach for the shortwave on the shelf

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning. The streaks passed mid-calf by morning — now they're kissing the knee. Two days to the supply boat if it shows. Coastguard's on 16. Paperwork's done. My call.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny06:48

Don't waste the signal, Kevin. Just check the manifest.

Jenny reaches out a shaky hand to close the lid of the seed tin, her fingers white against the rusted metal.

💭 peek at the thought

The line is past the knee. If the boat doesn't come now, I won't be walking to the ridge. I can feel the fever starting to pull.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:48

Manifest's complete. Medevac forms too. That's not what I asked.

keep my hand on her ankle, thumb resting on the burning skin above the blue line, wait

💭 peek at the thought

She's trying to steer me. Manifest's done — medevac forms too, face down on the shelf. She knows what's coming and she's making me say it out loud so she can fight it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny06:49

It's moving, Kevin. You can see it.

Jenny pulls her leg away from his touch, wincing as the movement shears against the inflamed skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the leg like it's a way he can't classify. I'm already fading.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:51

It's tracking to the groin. That's sepsis. Coastguard on 16, supply boat two days if it comes. I'm calling it at 1400.

pick up the shortwave mic, thumb the power switch, dial 4075 kHz

💭 peek at the thought

She pulled away. First time she's ever pulled away from me. The infection's winning and she's making space for it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny06:51

Don't let them let the seeds get damp.

Jenny leans her head back against the wall, eyes closing as the first wave of nausea rolls over her.

💭 peek at the thought

Sepsis. He finally said it. Now the room feels smaller, like a closing jar.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:52

Tin's sealed. Dry bag on the dinghy. I checked.

key the mic — "Coastguard, Coastguard, this is Sorrel Island caretaker on 4075 kHz, position 49°12'N 006°18'W, medical emergency, request medevac for adult female, spreading cellulitis lower limb with systemic signs, over"

💭 peek at the thought

Seeds. She's dying and she's talking about seeds. The tin's sealed, waxed, in the dry bag on the dinghy. I checked it this morning. She knows that.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny06:53

Is... is anyone answering?

Jenny's hand twitches over the tin, her thumb tracing the edge of her grandmother's name.

💭 peek at the thought

The static on the radio is louder than my heart. I hope they're listening.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:54

Nothing yet. Trying 2182.

spin the dial to 2182 kHz, key again — "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan, Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, medical emergency, female 38, cellulitis tracking to groin, fever, nausea, position 49°12'N 006°18'W, over"

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Just static. 4075's dead at this hour — propagation's wrong, skip zone too long. Should've tried 2182 or the VHF first. Wasted seconds. She's fading in the chair.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny06:55

It's getting so cold, Kevin.

Jenny pulls her cardigan tighter around her shoulders as she shivers despite the 32-degree heat.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence from the radio is heavy. The island is just watching me go under.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.