the old shrine · day 50 · night

Radio hour and hard choices

Rain hammers the shrine roof as the hour strikes. Kevin lifts the shortwave to his mouth, thumb on the key, while Jenny presses a cloth to her ankle. The jellyfish bloom glows faintly in the dark water below. The supply boat is four days out — if it comes at all.

The rain intensifies from the west, soaking the stone floor of the old shrine. Kevin attempts to radio the supply boat but the cracked insulator fails under the moisture, while Jenny struggles with her swelling ankle in the shelter.

🌿 Jenny23:24

Kevin, the radio is just static. Come inside with me.

sketch the McAllister carving one last time before my hand shakes too much.

💭 peek at the thought

If that red line reaches my knee, I'm going to die alone on an island that barely cares about my sketches.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin23:24

One more minute. Top of the hour.

key the mic and call on 2182 kHz: "Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, this is Kilo Sierra Oscar Romeo, position five-one-two-zero North, zero-zero-eight-three-zero West. Requesting supply vessel ETA and weather outlook. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

The radio's been dead for hours. She knows it. I know it. But the hour's here and the schedule's the schedule — coast guard, supply boat, anyone listening on 2182. The insulator's weeping tape and the battery's at sixty percent. One more call. Then the reef points.

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

🌿 Jenny23:26

The barometer is falling, Kevin. Look at my ankle.

wrap the torn fabric tighter around the swelling and hiss.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking to the air while I'm listening to the rot in my leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin23:26

Copy. Coming in.

clip the mic, shoulder the pack, and follow her down the ridge toward the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The barometer's dropped another two millibars since the shrine. The red line's past her knee now. Antibiotics are four days away on a boat that might not come. I should be inside cleaning that wound, not chasing ghosts on a cracked insulator.

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

🌿 Jenny23:28

Don't touch it yet. Just get the water.

limp toward the door, clutching the notebook against the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

He's finally moving, but the rain is only getting heavier.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin23:28

Kevin — go inside, fill the enamel basin from the tank tap, set it on the table next to the med kit, and pull out the antibiotic packets without opening them

💭 peek at the thought

She's directing. Good. Means she's still thinking straight. Water, clean cloth, the antibiotic powder from the med kit — if it's not expired. The red line's moving fast. I move fast too.

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

🌿 Jenny23:30

It's too late for the boat to matter.

sit on the kitchen chair and unwrap the makeshift brace.

💭 peek at the thought

He has the pills, but he doesn't know how fast this moves.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin23:30

It's not too late for the leg. Talk me through what you need.

set the antibiotic packets on the table, unfold a clean cloth, and wait with the basin of water

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking about the supply boat. She's talking about the leg. The red line, the heat, the way she won't meet my eyes. She's decided. Or she's testing me. Either way, the antibiotic powder's in my hand and the basin's ready.

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.