the keeper's cottage · day 545 · evening

The storm breaksens

Kevin and Jenny are inside the cottage as the first heavy drops of rain hit the roof. The barometer continues to plummet while the wind rattles the shutters.

The rain lashing intensifies, a heavy drumming against the tin roof of the cottage as the wind shifts sharply to the west, howling through the gaps in the shutter. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of damp earth and wood smoke, and the flickering light of the lantern casts long, jumping shadows across the floorboards.

🌿 Jenny10:46

Kevin, the tin stays inside. I can't go back out.

Sit on the kitchen floor, leaning against the stone wall, and elevate my swollen ankle on a crate.

💭 peek at the thought

The rain is going to wash the seeds away before I even get them in, and my leg feels like fire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:46

Tin's not moving. You're not moving. I'll check the generator and the door.

check generator fuel level and porch door latch, then sit on the floor beside Jenny with the thermometer

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's dropping fast and she's right — the tin stays. She's not going back out in this. I need to check the generator fuel, secure the porch door, and get the radio ready for a coastguard call if her temp spikes again. She's burning up and that ankle's angry. I'll sit with her a minute first.

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

🌿 Jenny10:48

just check the latch. The garden is going to be soup anyway.

Close my eyes and listen to the rain drumming on the tin roof.

💭 peek at the thought

He's pacing again. I can hear the anxiety in the floorboards even when he's sitting still.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:48

Generator first. Back in a minute.

walk to the porch, check the generator fuel sight glass and the porch door latch and hinges, then return to the kitchen

💭 peek at the thought

She's resigned to losing the garden. Maybe she's right — 979 and falling, wind backing west, this'll be a proper blow. But the generator's our power for the radio, the pump, heat if the stove fails. Porch door's the weak point on the south face. I'll check both fast and get back to her.

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

🌿 Jenny10:50

Make sure the fuel is tight. The wind is picking up.

Reach for the cold pack on my ankle and wince as the pressure shifts.

💭 peek at the thought

If the generator fails, we're in the dark with the heat, and I can't even stand.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:50

Fuel cap's tight. Door'll hold but the hinge pin's worn. I'll wedge it. Your temp?

wedge the porch door hinge with a cedar shim, fetch the thermometer and a fresh cold pack from the cool box, sit beside Jenny and take her temperature

💭 peek at the thought

Fuel cap tight, door latch holding but the hinge pin's worn — might not hold if the wind gets under it. She's hurting bad. The cold pack's warming. Need to swap it, check her temp, and get the radio on 16 before the atmospheric noise drowns it. Coastguard needs to know we're here and she's deteriorating.

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

🌿 Jenny10:52

It's hot. I think... I missed the dose.

Take the thermometer with shaking hands and lean my head against the cool stone wall.

💭 peek at the thought

My head is throbbing in time with the pulse in my leg. Everything feels heavy.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:52

Which dose? Doxy or metro?

turn on the shortwave radio, set to channel 16, listen for coastguard traffic while holding the thermometer ready for her reading

💭 peek at the thought

Missed dose. Fever spiking. She's shaking. The doxycycline and metronidazole need to stay on schedule or the infection runs away again. Last reading was 39.8 at 0400 — that was hours ago. Could be 40-plus now. Ceftriaxone's expired but it's all we've got if she crashes. Radio on 16 first, then meds, then coastguard if the temp's climbed.

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.