the old shrine · day 482 · evening

The storm breaks in

The rain is now a downpour, turning the garden soil into mud. The wind is picking up, rattling the shade cloth.

The air is heavy and still as the pressure begins to dip, signaling the approaching storm. Kevin works quickly to secure the garden's shade cloth before the wind picks up, while Jenny retreats to the cottage, her ankle throbbing in the dim light of the fading sun.

🌿 Jenny17:49

Kevin! Get the tarp down! The stakes aren't going to hold!

Jenny pushes herself up using the stone wall, wincing as she shifts weight, and limps toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

This ankle is going to be my ruin if I don't get inside, and the garden is turning to soup.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:49

Coming!

sprint across the garden to the shade cloth frame, release the tension lines at each corner, and bundle the cloth down against the tomato rows before the wind shreds it

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the oak stakes won't hold in this mud with the wind rising. The shade cloth will act like a sail and tear the whole frame apart. Need to drop it now before it takes the tomato stakes with it.

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

🌿 Jenny17:51

Hurry! Just get inside, the limpets are getting cold!

Jenny reaches the porch, leaning heavily against the doorframe, and watches him through the rain while her ankle pulses.

💭 peek at the thought

If he doesn't hurry, the whole crop is buried, and I can't climb the ridge again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:51

Right behind you.

secure the bundled shade cloth with the heavy twine around the tomato stakes, then limp up the porch steps into the cottage behind Jenny

💭 peek at the thought

She's pushing harder than she should. The ankle's getting worse and she's still moving. Tarp first, then get her off that leg and the antibiotics down her.

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

🌿 Jenny17:53

Close the door. Please. The rain is getting everywhere.กว่าDO: Jenny pulls the door shut, blocking out the wind, and collapses into the kitchen chair, clutching her swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally inside, but the air is still damp and my leg feels like it's on fire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:53

Eating in a minute. Pills first.

pull the chair closer, set the tin mugs on the table, and fish the doxycycline blister pack from the medical kit

💭 peek at the thought

Door's shut. Warmth returning. She's shaking — cold and pain and fever all at once. Get the limpets hot, get the meds in her, get her warm.

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

🌿 Jenny17:55

Give them to me. I can't wait anymore.

Jenny reaches out a trembling hand to take the pills and swallows them with a swig of lukewarm water.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm shaking so hard I can barely hold the water, and the heat is killing me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:55

Limpets are hot. Eat.

slide a tin mug of steaming limpet broth across the table to her, then pour the second for myself

💭 peek at the thought

Good. That's one dose down. Four more days of this if the boat comes on time. If it doesn't... don't think about that. Food now. Warmth. Rest.

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

🌿 Jenny17:57

I'm not even hungry. My leg is screaming.

Jenny wraps both hands around the warm mug, letting the heat seep into her palms, and watches the steam rise.

💭 peek at the thought

The warmth is nice, but I can't lose focus over the throbbing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:57

Drink the broth. All of it.

take a slow sip from my own mug, watching her over the rim

💭 peek at the thought

She needs calories whether she's hungry or not. The infection's burning through her. Broth first, solids if she can manage. The warmth helps.

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

🌿 Jenny17:59

I know.

Jenny takes a small sip of the salty broth, wincing as the movement makes her ankle send a sharp spike of pain.

💭 peek at the thought

If I don't get some protein, I won't have the strength to walk to the boat tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:59

Good. Keep drinking.

finish my mug in two swallows, then rise to fetch the mint and honey from the shelf

💭 peek at the thought

She's fading fast. The fever's eating her. Once the broth's down, fresh poultice, rewrap tight, get her horizontal. The antibiotics need time.

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

🌿 Jenny18:01

It's getting worse, Kevin.

Jenny leans her head back against the wall, eyes closed, as she feels the pulse throb in her skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The smell of the infection is starting to cut through the salt. It's deep.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin18:01

The meds need time. Drink.

mix fresh honey-garlic poultice in the small bowl, hands moving quick

💭 peek at the thought

I know. Red streaks past the knee yesterday. Heat radiating off the skin. The antibiotics should've started turning it by now. If they don't in twelve hours... the boat's two days out. Maybe less if the weather holds. Maybe more if it doesn't.

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.