the keeper's cottage · day 580 · night

Night watch at the cottage

Night has fallen fully. Kevin sits beside the porch cot where Jenny lies under a light blanket, the storm lantern burning low on the shelf. The generator hums steady from the shed. The barometer reads 997 hPa, steady. The tide is high, surf audible against the dock pilings. Kevin has a tin mug of limpet broth ready; Jenny's ankle is freshly poulticed and wrapped. The shortwave radio sits silent under its tarp.

The rain continues its steady, rhythmic drumming against the cottage roof, filling the water tank to its absolute brim while the tide is receding rapidly, exposing the slick rocks and the sandy floor near the dock. Inside, the air is thick with the scent of the sea-beet poultice and the steam from boiling limpets.

🔧 Kevin00:54

(quietly, not waking her) Broth's ready when you wake.

sip limpet broth from tin mug, keep watch on the radio and the barometer

💭 peek at the thought

She's sleeping finally. Fever's down a degree from this afternoon. The streaks held at mid-calf. Good. Radio's been quiet on Tom's frequency for three days now. Might be nothing. Might be everything. Barometer holding steady at 997 — storm's either passing south or dying out. Either way, the dock held. The crate held. She held.

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

🌿 Jenny00:55

(A low, strained hum of acknowledgment)

Close eyes, focusing on the rhythm of the rain on the stone roof.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever is a physical weight, but the red lines have stopped moving today. If I can just make it to the boat, the seeds still have a chance.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:55

(after a long pause, barely above the rain) Sleep now. I've got the watch.

set mug down on the porch floor, adjust the storm lantern wick lower to save fuel, settle back against the cottage wall with eyes on the radio and the dark water

💭 peek at the thought

She heard me. Good. Means she's not as deep under as I thought. Rain's steady on the roof — tank's full, no leaks showing. Generator purring along. Dock pilings took the high tide surge without shifting; oak wedges in the mooring ring mortise are holding. Everything's holding.

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

🌿 Jenny00:57

Jenny — drift into a heavy, feverish sleep.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is still in my bones, but the mint is the only thing keeping me grounded. I have to survive for the garden.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:57

Kevin — pull the blanket up over her shoulder, check the ankle wrapping one more time by lantern light — clean, no seepage — then settle back with the radio log in reach, pen ready

💭 peek at the thought

Out cold. Fever heat radiating off her even through the blanket. The antibiotics are in her — doxycycline course done, metronidazole still going. Five tablets left. Need to wake her for the next dose in four hours. Rain's easing off. Barometer still 997. Steady. That's the third check tonight. Storm's not coming for us. Dock's quiet. Radio's quiet. Just the generator and the surf.

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

🌿 Jenny00:59

(A soft, ragged exhale)

Tighten grip on the seed tin in my pocket.

💭 peek at the thought

The red streaks haven't moved past the knee. If I can hold four more days until the boat...

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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