the old shrine · day 373 · evening

The Wait for the Cutter

The tide continues to recede, revealing more of the shore while the temperature drops as the dry season front approaches.

Kevin and Jenny spend the evening at the old shrine as the heat of the dry season begins to fade. They prepare for the supply boat's arrival tomorrow, checking gear and finalizing the state of the dinghy.

🌿 Jenny07:49

Kevin, check the radio again. Just once more.

Wrap the clean cloth more tightly around the ankle to dull the throbbing.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, I won't have the strength to even hold the blade.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:49

Copy that. One more call.

key the shortwave radio on 4075 kHz, thumb on transmit: "Coast Guard Cutter VENTUROUS, this is Sorrel Island, position 42-17 North, 008-34 West. Medevac request logged zero-six-zero-zero.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's dropping fast and the barometer's steady at 1004. That cutter's got four hours on paper but Isaias is jogging west, Cat 4. Radio's been quiet since my last call. Jenny's asking me to key it again — she knows what I know. The silence means weather or distance, neither good.

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

🌿 Jenny07:51

Tell them it's urgent. The streaks are moving fast.

Lean head back against the weathered stone of the shrine and close eyes.

💭 peek at the thought

The static is the only thing louder than the pulse in my leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:51

VENTUROUS, Sorrel Island. Patient deteriorating. Red streaks above knee, fever spiking, antibiotics failing. Need confirmation on helo launch or surface pickup. Over.

hold the mic, eyes on Jenny's face, watching the sweat on her temple, the way her jaw's clamped shut

💭 peek at the thought

She's not asking. She's telling. The red lines past her knee at noon, now hours later — sepsis doesn't wait for weather windows. My thumb's already on the mic.

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

🌿 Jenny07:53

way... tell them I'm running out of time.

Reach for the seed tin in my bag, fingers tracing the cold metal.

💭 peek at the thought

If they don't come now, the seeds stay in the tin forever.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:53

VENTUROUS, Sorrel Island. Say again — patient critical. Sepsis advancing. Request immediate surface asset if helo grounded. Over.

keep the mic keyed, other hand finding her wrist, pulse thready and fast under my fingers

💭 peek at the thought

Her fingers on that tin — Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Green Zebra, forty-two varieties she made me promise to plant. The promise I didn't answer. Static hisses back. No cutter. No helo. Isaias swallowing the horizon.

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

🌿 Jenny07:55

Don't let the seeds go to, Kevin.

Grip the edge of the seed tin until my knuckles turn white.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't feel my toes anymore, just the heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:55

They're not going anywhere. I'll plant every damn one.

close my hand over hers on the tin, thumb pressing the transmit one last time — "VENTUROUS, Sorrel Island. Standing by. Out." — then clip the mic, pull the dry bag close, the ditch bag, the handheld VHF

💭 peek at the thought

The static doesn't break. No cutter. No helo. Isaias out there chewing up the Gulf Stream. Her knuckles white on the tin — forty-two varieties, the promise I couldn't speak. The shrine stones wear names softer than this.

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

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