the keeper's cottage · day 393 · evening

Evening before the storm

Kevin returns to the cottage as the light fades, and the atmospheric pressure begins to drop.

The air in the cottage is thick with the heat and the smell of boiling sea-beet. Jenny sits at the table, her leg propped up, her face pale as she watches Kevin work with the radio equipment. The barometer sits at 979 hPa, a slow but steady drop that confirms the storm is coming, regardless of the supply boat's schedule.

🔧 Kevin02:22

Back. Stove lit?

walk up to the cottage porch and push the door open

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer's dropping faster now. Rain's got teeth in it. Need to get the stove going and check Jenny's ankle before the pressure bottoms out.

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

🌿 Jenny02:23

It's on. The limpets are almost done.

Wince as she shifts her weight, pressing a hand against the swollen heat of her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm going to run out of antibiotics for this.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:24

Let me see it.

set the rag down on the table and move to where she's sitting

💭 peek at the thought

She's hiding how bad it is. That wince wasn't from shifting weight.

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

🌿 Jenny02:25

It's fine. I just caught it on a rock.

way the leg away slightly, tightening the wrap over the poultice.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to see how red it actually is and start hovering again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:26

You don't catch rocks in a cottage. Show me.

crouch down beside her chair and reach for her ankle, not taking no for an answer

💭 peek at the thought

She's protecting it. Won't let me near. Pride or fear, same result.

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

🌿 Jenny02:27

It's just a scratch, Kevin. I've handled it.

hiss through gritted teeth as she lets him touch the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

way's going to see the swelling and start worrying about the medevac forms.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:28

When'd you change the poultice last?

carefully peel back the edge of the wrap to see the wound underneath

💭 peek at the thought

Heat radiating through the cloth. Infection's spreading. She knows it. We both do.

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

🌿 Jenny02:29

A while ago. It's still working, isn't it?

pull her foot back instinctively, wincing as the fabric sticks to the skin.

💭 peek at the thought

This morning, before the heat became too much to handle.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:31

It's tracking. Red lines. We're out of time.

hold her ankle steady and pull the bandage off fully to see the full extent

💭 peek at the thought

Red streaks tracking up from the wound. Lymphangitis. The antibiotics we have left won't touch this if it's in the lymph. She needs the boat. She needs off this rock.

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

🌿 Jenny02:31

Don't be dramatic. The boat is coming tomorrow morning.

go quiet, staring at the red lines as the heat pulses in her leg.

💭 peek at the thought

If he sees the tracking, he'll never let me go back to the garden.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:32

Boat comes if the weather holds. That barometer says it won't. We need the radio — coast guard, medevac, anything with a helicopter.

stand up and walk to the radio shelf, already turning the power knob

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the boat window. Supply boat's due tomorrow. But the barometer's dropping and that sky's got teeth. Boat won't come in a blow. And if it does, she can't climb a ladder with a leg like this.

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

🌿 Jenny02:33

Wait. Let me try until the morning first.

reach out to catch his arm, her fingers trembling slightly from the throbbing pain.

💭 peek at the thought

If I call them, I'm leaving the island. The seeds will rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:34

This isn't pride, Jen. It's your leg. Maybe your life.

pause with my hand on the radio knob, not turning it yet, looking down at her hand on my arm

💭 peek at the thought

She's scared of the radio. Scared of what it means to call for help — that we failed, that this place beat us. Or maybe she's scared of what happens if nobody answers.

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

🌿 Jenny02:35

I just need one night. Please.

tighten her grip on his sleeve, eyes fixed on the radio dial.

💭 peek at the thought

If he calls them, the contract is over. I was so close to finishing the survey.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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