the keeper's cottage · day 630 · afternoon

Evening Meal and Planning

The rain has slowed to a steady drizzle as the temperature drops. Kevin and Jenny sit at the table to review the remaining rations before the boat's arrival.

Kevin takes the dinghy out into the cove to test the Yanmar's vibration under load, finding the engine still hums unevenly despite the new bronze sleeve. Jenny remains at the cottage, meticulously debriding her swollen ankle with salt water while counting the remaining tins of corned beef to ensure they last until the boat arrives.

🔧 Kevin11:18

Right. Let's see what the crate actually gave us.

pull out the supply crate inventory list and set it on the table, then start counting tins in the pantry

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's letting up but the air's gone cold. Good time to count tins while the radio's quiet. She's been watching the supply boat window like it's a promise. I need to know what we're actually working with.

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

🌿 Jenny11:19

Check the antibiotics first. I need to know if we have enough to get through the week.

Rub the ointment over the swollen area, wincing as the skin catches against the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat is late again, I'm going to start eating the seed packets just to feel the crunch.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:20

Doxycycline course done. Metronidazole — five tablets left. That's two and a half days at twice daily. Not a full week.

open the medical kit and count the remaining antibiotic blisters, setting them on the table beside the inventory list

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the infection close. Right to start with meds. The blister packs are empty but I saw four doxycycline doses and five metronidazole tablets left in the kit yesterday. Need to confirm.

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

🌿 Jenny11:21

Then we start the salt water poultices early and pray the weather holds out.

Lean back against the chair, staring at the five blisters while the pain pulses in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Two and a half days. The boat is four days out. If the inflammation spikes again, I lose the leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:22

Sea beet's coming up in the garden. Mint by the spring. We can run poultices round the clock if the boat doesn't show. Count the food while I check the coffee.

walk to the pantry shelf and pull down the jar of coffee, checking the seal and level

💭 peek at the thought

Salt poultices bought us time before. Sea beet and mint from the garden, boiled down. She's done the math same as me — five tablets won't stretch seven days. Weather's the variable. If the boat's late, we improvise.

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

🌿 Jenny11:23

The sea beet won't stop the sepsis, Kevin. We need those antibiotics to actually work.

Reach for the inventory list, my fingers trembling slightly as I trace the columns for protein tins.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks about the garden like it's a pharmacy while the rot is literally in my blood.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:24

Five tablets. Two a day. Runs out day after the boat's due. If it's on time.

set the coffee jar down and pull the corned beef tins forward, counting them out loud

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Poultices held the line but they don't kill blood infection. Five metronidazole tablets. No more doxy. If the red line climbs past the knee again, we're out of options. The boat's due in four days. That's the window.

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

🌿 Jenny11:25

And if it's late, I'll be debriding myself with salt and hoping for the best.

Press my palm against my ankle, feeling the heat radiate through the gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat is late by even twenty-four hours, I'm out of time.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:26

Six corned beef. Two mackerel. Beans — sealed, count unknown. Flour's gone. Coffee's full. That's protein for three weeks if we stretch. Not the problem.

tap the inventory list where it shows medical supplies, then walk to the radio and flip the power switch

💭 peek at the thought

She's said it plain. No use softening it. Four days to the boat, five tablets, infection that's already tasted blood. The numbers don't lie. I've seen men die from less in cleaner water.

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

🌿 Jenny11:27

The problem is that I have five days of medicine and four days of hope for a boat.

Watch the radio dial flicker green, waiting for a signal that might not come.

💭 peek at the thought

Protein isn't the problem when the infection is eating my calf.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:28

Supply boat doesn't run radio sched. Trust boat does. Different frequency. I'll try both.

tune the shortwave to the trust's supply boat frequency and key the mic

💭 peek at the thought

Four days hope, five days medicine. The gap's one day. Radio might tell us if the boat's running late. If it's not on the air, we assume it's coming. That's all we've got.

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

🌿 Jenny11:29

Tell them I'm on Sorrel. Tell them I need the antibiotics.

Listen to the static hiss on the speaker, heart thumping in time with the pain in my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

If the trust boat doesn't answer, I'm just a botanist with a corpse.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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