the old shrine · day 421 · evening

Evening Storm Shelter

The rain turns to a torrential downpour as the light fades. You and Jenny retreat inside to the cottage, checking the barometer once more before the evening.

Kevin and Jenny spend the day at the old shrine as the pressure continues to drop. Jenny manages the swelling in her ankle and takes the first dose of antibiotics while Kevin watches the immediate area for the coming storm.

🔧 Kevin05:30

Barometer's dropped three millibars since noon. Wind's backing northeast. We'll want the storm lantern lit and the ditch bag by the door before we turn in.

Walk back to the cottage with Jenny, secure the porch door against the driving rain, check the barometer on the bulkhead, set the storm lantern on the table and trim the wick.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's still falling. 979 steady last I checked but that was hours ago. This rain isn't letting up and the wind's backing northeast — classic setup for a dirty night. Dock held at high tide but the south piling scour worries me. Need to check the oak wedges at first light before the supply boat window.

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

🌿 Jenny05:31

I need to change the gauze. It's soaked through.

Sit on the kitchen chair, unwrap the yellowed bandage, and hiss as the air hits the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

976 hPa. If it keeps dropping, the boat won't even make it past the reef. My ankle is throbbing in time with the rain.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:32

Let me see. I'll get the kit.

Cross to the shelf, pull down the first aid kit, open it and check gauze supply and antibiotic blister packs.

💭 peek at the thought

She's tough. Won't let me see it bad. But that hiss — that's the honest part. Infection's been there days and the doxy's only had twenty-four hours. Need clean gauze, antiseptic if we've got any left, and the metronidazole for the anaerobic load. She'll refuse the metronidazole if I offer it straight. Better to put it in the broth.

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

🌿 Jenny05:33

It's fine. way get the clean water.

Lean back, prop the leg up on the stool, and watch the red line creeping further up the shin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being helpful, which makes me feel small. The skin is too tight, too angry. I can feel the heat radiating off the bone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:34

The line's tracking. That's not fine. I'm putting you on metronidazole too. Two hundred milligrams, three times a day. Starting now.

Fill a clean tin mug from the tank tap, set it on the table beside her with the metronidazole blister pack, pop two tablets out and set them next to the mug.

💭 peek at the thought

That red line wasn't there at noon. Or I missed it in the light. Lymphangitic spread — that's bloodstream territory. Doxy alone won't catch it fast enough. She needs the metronidazole and she needs it now, not "fine." Water's not the problem. The tank's full. She's directing me away from the leg because she knows what it means.

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

🌿 Jenny05:34

I know the protocol, Kevin.

Take the tablets and swallow them with a quick, sharp gulp of water.

💭 peek at the thought

Metronidazole. Broad spectrum. He's terrified, I can tell by the way he's handling the tablets. I'm the one with the fever, but he's the one shaking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:36

Good. Now let me clean it proper. Fresh gauze. Saline if we've got any — if not, boiled water cooled.

Peel back the yellowed gauze fully, expose the wound to the lantern light, assess the abscess site and the angry red streak marching up her shin.

💭 peek at the thought

She took them without argument. That's how bad it is — she's scared enough to comply. The red line's past her ankle now, creeping toward the knee. Twenty-four hours on doxy and it's still advancing. Metronidazole hits the anaerobes but it's not magic. If she spikes a fever tonight, if the line hits the groin, we're past what I can handle here. The medevac forms are in the ditch bag. The supply boat's three days out. The radio's working now — new insulator seated. I can call the trust. I can call the coastguard. But the sea state tonight... the barometer's still falling.

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

🌿 Jenny05:36

Use the boiled water. Don't waste the enough.

Watch him flinch as the cool water touches the inflammation, biting my lip to keep from crying.

💭 peek at the thought

It's hot. The skin is shiny, stretched too thin. If this hits the bone, I'm not making it to the grandmother's seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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