the keeper's cottage · day 466 · midday

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

The rain has transitioned from a steadying to a heavy, rhythmic drumming against the cottage roof. Inside, the air is humid with the smell of damp wood and medicinal herbs. Jenny's ankle is visibly throbbing, the red line she marked with pen having migrated further toward her calf as the skin remains taut with heat.

🔧 Kevin01:29

Kettle's on. You want the broth or just water with the tablets?

walk to the wood stove and fill the kettle from the tank tap

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's hammering the roof now, proper west wind driving it sideways. Jenny's ankle needs checking again — that red line was tracking up past the brace when she showed me. And the mooring ring... those oak wedges held at high tide but the storm surge'll test them different. Need to get the generator running for the 0600 schedule tomorrow regardless.

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

🌿 Jenny01:29

Just water. I don't have the stomach for broth yet.

way on the kitchen chair, prop my leg up on a stool, and peel back the ankle brace to inspect the redness.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing in time with the rain hitting the roof. I need to check the heat again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:31

Let me see.

crouch beside her chair and pull the LED lamp closer, tilting the head to wash light over her ankle

💭 peek at the thought

She's pale under the lamp light. That tracking line's angry — darker than this morning, and the skin's hot even from here. The metronidazole course finished yesterday. Only doxycycline left. If this isn't turning by dawn, the radio's not just for Tom or the supply boat anymore.

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

🌿 Jenny01:31

It's tighter than it was yesterday. Look at the line.

trace the edge of the inflammation with a ballpoint pen, marking the current boundary on my skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The red is moving. I can feel the heatradi off the skin like a sun-baked stone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:33

It's moved. Two centimetres since morning.

pull the first aid kit from the shelf and set it on the table, popping the latch

💭 peek at the thought

The ink line sits a good two centimetres above where I marked it this morning. Spreading fast. Heat radiating off it. She's not eating, not keeping broth down, and the antibiotics we have left are one class only. The notebook said if the barometer drops below 1005 with southwest swell, secure the seed tin and check seacocks twice — the supply boat won't come on schedule. Barometer's 999 and falling. Eight days till the boat's due. She won't make eight days at this rate.

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

🌿 Jenny01:33

I know. The skin feels like it's about to split.

press the back of my hand against the swollen area, checking for the intensity of the heat.

💭 peek at the thought

Two centimetres? The infection is aggressive. If it hits the bone, I'm never walking the ridge again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:35

I'm changing the dressing. Clean gauze, antibiotic cream, re-wrap looser — give the swelling room.

pull out the antibiotic cream tube, clean gauze pads, and a fresh roll of gauze from the first aid kit

💭 peek at the thought

Skin taut, shiny, burning hot. That's not just cellulitis spreading anymore — could be tracking into the deep fascia. No pus point yet, but the tension's building. She's right: it'll split. Or it'll go systemic. The doxycycline's broad spectrum but if this is a resistant strain or anaerobic deeper... I've got the metronidazole blister empty, doxy five tabs left. No IV access, no fluids, no evacuation unless I call it in on the radio. She refused the medevac form. The letter from the trust is still in the radio box. Eight days to supply boat. She doesn't have eight days.

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

🌿 Jenny01:35

Don't wrap it tight. It's already throbbing.

flinch as he removes the old, damp bandage, watching the red ink line on my skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being careful, but the gauze won't stop the tide. I need those seeds dry before the mold gets them.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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