the keeper's cottage · day 544 · night

Waiting for the Signal

They wait in the silence of the cottage, the only sound the static of the radio and Jenny's shallow breathing.

The air is heavy and still as the flat sky thickens with incoming bruise-colored clouds. The tide is rising steadily against the dock pilings, the rhythmic lap of water signaling the coming shift in weather.

🔧 Kevin09:26

Kevin — check the ditch bag on the dock — verify the dry bag with the seed tin is lashed to the dinghy, confirm the VHF's in there even if it won't transmit, make sure the flares are dry.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's steady but the sky's wrong. Flat cloud cover at 28°C means this isn't breaking. Coast Guard said twelve hours if conditions hold. Conditions aren't holding.

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

🌿 Jenny09:28

Kevin... don't leave. Just stay here.

Reach for the water glass on the nightstand with trembling fingers, taking a bitter gulp to wash down the pill.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever is moving faster than the medicine. If that line hits my heart, I won't be able to plant a single one of those seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:28

I'm not leaving. Just checking the lines from the porch. Drink the rest.

Step onto the porch, scan the dock and dinghy in the rising tide, verify the ditch bag lashing and dry bag attachment without leaving the cottage threshold.

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking me to stay and I will. But the ditch bag needs to be ready if the helicopter comes for her alone. I can check it from the porch.

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

🌿 Jenny09:30

It's hot. The whole room is spinning.

Pull the heavy wool blanket up to my chin despite the heat, and watch the red line creep another inch closer to my knee.

💭 peek at the thought

way skin feels too small for my body. I can feel the infection pulsing like a slow, rhythmic vine I can't sketch away.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:30

Kick it off. I'll get the cool cloth.

Move to the water basin, wring out a clean cloth in the remaining cool water, return and lay it across her forehead and neck, then sit on the edge of the bed and watch her face.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever's spiking again. Blanket's making it worse but she's shivering underneath it. Need to cool her without triggering rigors. The metronidazole dose she just took needs to stay down.

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

🌿 Jenny09:32

Is the boat... did you check the radio again?

Reach out a shaky hand to catch the hem of his shirt, squeezing the fabric tight.

💭 peek at the thought

The cool water is a lie; the fire is still burning under the skin. I'm so tired of fighting to stay awake.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:32

Checked at first light. Nothing since. They said they'd call when airborne. I'll check again now.

Reach for the shortwave on the shelf, power it up, tune to Channel 16, listen with the handset pressed tight to my ear.

💭 peek at the thought

She's holding on. The radio's been static for hours — Coast Guard said they'd call on 16 when the helicopter's wheels-up. I haven't heard a thing since the 0600 check-in. The supply boat's not coming in this swell.

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

🌿 Jenny09:34

It's so loud. In my head.

Close my eyes as the throb in my calf syncs with the static of the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

The static is the only thing talking to me. If they don't come in ten days, the seeds will rot in the tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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