the dock · day 558 · afternoon

The Squall Breaks

The sky has turned a bruised purple, and the wind is now a roar. The tide is high, threatening the shrine's stones, as the rain opens up in earnest.

Kevin secured the shortwave radio inside the cottage and logged the Coast Guard broadcast confirming the supply boat is delayed until at least Sunday or Monday due to gale-force conditions. Jenny tended to her infected ankle, unwrapping the bandage and preparing a fresh poultice with sea beet, mint, and honey while inventorying the remaining antibiotic doses.

🌿 Jenny22:24

Kevin! Get inside! Now!

Lean heavily against the dock piling and limp toward the cottage, clutching the notebook to my chest.

💭 peek at the thought

This isn't just a squall; it's a full-blown blow. I can feel the pressure change in my joints.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:24

Right behind you. Dinghy first.

cast off the dinghy's bow line, pull it tight to the dock cleat with extra slack for surge, double the stern spring around the north piling, then grab the shortwave and battery box from under the tarp and head for the cottage porch

💭 peek at the thought

The squall's here early and mean. Tide's already licking the shrine stones. She's favouring that ankle hard — infection's not done with her yet. Dock lines are holding but the south piling won't take another beating like the last one. Need to secure the dinghy warp and get the radio gear under cover before the aerial goes completely.

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

🌿 Jenny22:26

Focus on the radio! The tide is already too high!

Burst through the door, slam it shut against the wind, and collapse into a chair, clutching my throbbing ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If that wayhy goes, I'm stuck here until the seeds rot. The water is rising too fast.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:26

Copy that. Setting up inside.

carry the shortwave and battery box to the kitchen table, run the coax through the window grommet to the mast base, fire up the set and spin the dial to the Coast Guard working frequency

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Tide's up past the shrine base already. Wind's northeast — wrong direction for the usual fetch but it's piling water against the shore. Radio's the only link out. Aerial's held together with tape and prayer. If it goes, we're blind.

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

🌿 Jenny22:28

Are you getting anything? The barometer is at 974!

Unwrap the bandage from my ankle, wincing as the cold air hits the inflamed skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The static is louder than the rain. If I can't get a signal, I'm a ghost on this island.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:28

Got a voice on 2182. Coast Guard. Gale force 8, veering northwest later. Seas six metres and building. Supply boat standing by in harbour — not crossing until it drops below force 6. Could be Sunday. Maybe Monday.

adjust the squelch, pull the notebook closer and log the broadcast: time, frequency, wind, sea state, boat status

💭 peek at the thought

974 and still falling. That's a proper low digging in. Coast Guard should be broadcasting on 2182 and 4375. Static's thick but there's a voice under it. Need to catch the schedule — gale warning, sea state, any word on the supply boat. Her ankle looks angry, purple tracking up the calf. Antibiotics should've bitten by now. Might need the metronidazole too if it's anaerobic.

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

🌿 Jenny22:31

Six days? I only have four doses left, Kevin.

Trace the swollen line on my ankle with a trembling finger, the heat radiating off the skin.

💭 peek at the thought

Six days? If the boat doesn't come, I'm out of antibiotics before the fever breaks.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:31

Two days on what's left. Then we improvise. Honey in the pantry — medical grade if the seal held. Garlic, wild mint, sea beet for poultice. Boil the lot down to paste. It'll hold the line.

pull the first aid kit, count the metronidazole blister pack, check the honey jar seal, set water to boil for a fresh poultice

💭 peek at the thought

Four doses. Doxycycline's done. Metronidazole's four tablets left. That's two days if she takes both. Infection's tracking — lymphangitic spread, hot to touch. She needs IV antibiotics, not pills. Medevac form's filled out. Radio'd it in three days ago. Coast Guard said helicopter can't launch in anything above force 6. Force 8 now. Sunday at earliest. Her fever broke last night but that line hasn't retreated. If it hits the bloodstream... Don't think about that. Think about what's here. Poultice helped the swelling. Salt soaks. Clean gauze. Rest. The metronidazole hits anaerobes. Give it with the last doxy. Two days. Then nothing.

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.