the keeper's cottage · day 959 · night

The Approaching Storm

They reach the cottage just as the first heavy drops of the wet season rain hit the parched earth roof.

The air in the cottage is thick with humidity and the smell of sea-beet poultice. Jenny sits at the kitchen table, her skin flushed and tight as the fever climbs to 39.5°C. Kevin has applied the cooling poultice to her swollen ankle and wrapped it in fresh gauze, watching the throbbing line of cellulitis while the world outside remains heavy with the weight of the coming storm.

🌿 Jenny13:45

Kevin... help me get to the table. I need to sit.

Slumps heavily into the kitchen chair, way the edge as she wanes through a wave of nausea.

💭 peek at the thought

My leg is on fire and the world is turning grey; I can't even feel my toes anymore.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:45

Sit. I'll get the meds and water.

fetch the antibiotic blister packs from my jacket pocket, the tin mug from the stove shelf, and bring them to the table; pour warm water from the kettle into the mug

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning up. The infection's past her knee now. Need to get the next antibiotic dose in her, check the wound again, and keep her hydrated. The rain's here — tank will fill, but humidity will make everything harder.

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

🌿 Jenny13:47

Thank you. Just... don't let the rain get in the garden yet. Check the tarp.

Grips the table edge, knuckles white, watching the water swirl in the mug while another wave of heat rolls through her.

💭 peek at the thought

The water's warm, but I can taste salt in my mouth anyway—whatever's left of my body is leaking out. The infection's moving faster than those tablets can catch up.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin13:47

Tarp's battened. Corners staked. Drink this.

press the mug into her hands; pop two doxycycline tablets from the blister pack and set them on the table beside her; pull out the chair opposite and sit, watching her swallow

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking about the garden while her leg rots. Stubborn. The tarp held through worse — I checked the corners this morning. But she needs something to hold onto, so I'll check it again. First, get the dose down her.

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

🌿 Jenny13:49

It's so hot, Kevin. My skin feels... too tight.

Swallows the pills with a grimace, leaning back against the whitewashed stone as she closes her eyes against the flickering light.

💭 peek at the thought

My hands are shaking so hard I can barely hold the ceramic. If this fever doesn't break, I'm just going to rot in this chair along with the weeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:49

I'll check the ankle. Then more broth.

set the mug aside; peel back the gauze wrap on her ankle slowly, angling the LED headlamp beam down to see the marked infection line in the dim kitchen light

💭 peek at the thought

Fever's climbing. Skin tight means swelling's spreading. Need to check the wound boundary — see if the red line's moved past where I marked it. And get more fluids in her. Broth on the stove still warm.

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

🌿 Jenny13:51

Be careful. It hurts when you move.

Winces through gritted teeth, watching his hand move over the swollen cellulitis.

💭 peek at the thought

The red is higher. I can see the heat radiating off the skin. If it hits the joint, I'm done for this island.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:51

Spread past the mark. Two centimeters. Hot. I'll put fresh poultice on — cool it down.

mix sea beet leaves, mint, and honey in the small bowl; spread it gentle over the angry red skin; rewrap with clean gauze, not too tight; set the cold damp cloth from the basin on top

💭 peek at the thought

Red line's crept past the pen mark by two centimeters. Heat radiating off it. Pus weeping at the center. The antibiotics haven't caught up yet. Need to lance again — drain the new pocket — but she's barely holding on. Wait for the metronidazole dose in four hours. Pack fresh poultice now, keep it cool.

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.