the keeper's cottage · day 347 · morning

Waiting on the radio

Morning light slants through the cottage windows. Kevin sits at the radio table, headset on, monitoring 2182 for coast guard follow-up. Jenny lies on the porch bench, ankle elevated on a rolled blanket, notebook open beside her. The generator hums steady. A galvanized bucket catches drips from the leaking shutter. The tide is low, exposing the tide pools.

Kevin messaged the coast guard to report Jenny's spreading cellulitis and request a medevac timeline. Jenny monitored the inflammation on her calf, noting the fever remained elevated at 38.1°C despite the antibiotics. The air remains heavy as midday approaches.

🔧 Kevin05:15

Jenny, how's the ankle feeling now? Any change in the red line since you cleaned it?

Keep monitoring 2182 on the shortwave, volume low enough to hear but not disturb her rest. Watch the bucket under the shutter—if it's filling faster, I'll need to patch the leak before the rain comes.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's climbing—good sign for weather, but the real pressure's in Jenny's wound. I need to know if the coast guard got our position locked and when they'll send the evac. Static on 2182 means either they're not transmitting or we're too weak to hear. Either way, I'll keep the watch.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny05:16

Still there. Maybe a bit higher. I can't tell if it's the fever or the actual inflammation.

Shift the blanket slightly to look at the calf, then slowly close the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

It feels like it's humming. A hot, rhythmic throb that matches my heart. I can see the line without even looking; I can feel it pulling.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:17

I'm calling the coast guard again. Tell them the infection's tracking upward. They need to know it's not stable.

Key the mic on 2182. "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Sorrel Island caretaker station, position 49°52'N 006°18'W. Medical update on previous mayday.

💭 peek at the thought

She's minimizing. The line was mid-calf at dawn. If it's higher now, the antibiotics aren't holding the spread. Coast guard needs to know this changed—medevac urgency just shifted from "soon" to "now." I'll raise them again on 2182 and give the update. If they don't answer, I try 4125 and 6215. Supply boat's seven days out. We don't have seven days.

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

🌿 Jenny05:17

Don't make me sound like a dying bird, Kevin. Just tell them the measurements.

Lean back against the porch wall and close eyes, listening to the crackle of the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

He's panicking in that quiet, controlled way of his. I can't be a 'medical update'. I'm a botanist. I'm the one who catalogues things.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:19

Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Sorrel Island caretaker station. Medical update. Patient female, 38. Cellulitis lower right leg, red streaking tracked from mid-calf 0600 to upper calf 1000. Fever 39.2°C at 0400, now 38.1°C after two-dose oral antibiotic course completed. Ankle wound weeping clear, no pus. Patient ambulatory with assistance. Request medevac timeline. Over.

Release the mic. Wait for response. Watch the bucket—still slow drip. Note the time in my head: 1000.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Stick to the facts. Measurements. Timeline. No drama. The coast guard needs data to prioritize. I'll give them the red line progression, the fever spike, the antibiotic course completed. Let them decide the category.

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

🌿 Jenny05:19

38.1 is still a fever.

Reach out and touch the edge of the notebook, tracing the line of a sketch with a finger.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too precise. It makes me feel like a specimen pinned to a board. But at least he's not lying about the fever.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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