the keeper's cottage · day 584 · evening

Lancing the Ankle

Kevin has the scalpel sterilized on the stove, clean gauze and saline ready. Jenny sits on the porch bench with her leg extended, the infected ankle swollen and hot. The light is fading. Kevin kneels beside her with the blade.

Kevin lanced Jenny's infected ankle, draining pus and flushing the wound with saline before packing and bandaging it. He gave her the last metronidazole tablet and monitored her fever at 39.2°C, cooling her with damp cloths while she rested on the cot.

🔧 Kevin04:51

Going to open it. Let the pressure off. You'll want to bite down on something.

Kneel beside Jenny on the porch, scalpel ready, clean gauze and saline at hand. Position the blade at the darkest point of swelling on her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The red line's tracked two inches past where it was this morning. Antibiotics didn't hold. This has to come out now.

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

🌿 Jenny04:53

Just do it. Don't be slow.

Bite down on a clean leather glove and grip the edge of the wooden bench bench until my knuckles turn white.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is radiating off the skin, I can feel it in my teeth. If this hits the bone, I won't be able to walk to the ridge.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:53

Breath out when I cut.

Make a precise incision at the point of maximum fluctuance on the swollen ankle, allowing pus to drain. Immediately apply sterile gauze to catch the discharge.

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She's ready. One clean cut, let it drain, pack it, wrap it. Done.

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

🌿 Jenny04:59

(Muffled groan through the glove)

Exhale sharply and lean my head back against the cottage wall, eyes closing.

💭 peek at the thought

The relief is almost as sharp as the blade. God, I can feel the pressure dropping.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin04:59

Draining well. Going to press the edges — tell me.

Gently compress the wound edges to express remaining pus, then flush the cavity thoroughly with saline from the squeeze bottle. Pack lightly with saline-moistened gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

Good drainage. Thick, yellow-green. Smells foul. Need to squeeze the pocket gently to get it all out, then irrigate with saline and pack.

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

🌿 Jenny05:01

(Spits out the glove) It's... it's cold. The saline feels like ice.

Shudder violently from the cold flush and let out a long, shaky breath, my body sagging into the bench.

💭 peek at the thought

It's a sickening, wet feeling, but the throbbing is finally changing frequency. It's moving from a scream to a hum.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:01

Done. The worst's out. Wrapping it now.

Wrap the packed wound with dry sterile gauze, secure with a cohesive bandage, then help Jenny stand and guide her inside to the cot with a blanket.

💭 peek at the thought

She's cold, shaking. Shock response or just the temperature drop. Get her warm and the ankle dressed.

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

🌿 Jenny05:05

...Thank you.

Lean heavily into his shoulder, hobbling slowly across the threshold into the cottage and sinking into the cot.

💭 peek at the thought

I feel hollowed out. Empty and shaking. I can't even find the words to thank him, or to tell him I'm terrified it'll just come back.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:05

Water first. Then the pill.

Fetch the thermometer, a tin mug of water, and the blister pack with the remaining metronidazole tablets from the medical kit. Sit on the edge of the cot.

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning up again. The fever's coming back fast. Need to check her temp and get the rest of the metronidazole into her if she can keep it down.

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

🌿 Jenny05:07

Is the fever down?

Take the tin mug with both hands to stop them from shaking and swallow the tablet.

💭 peek at the thought

My head is spinning. The metronidazole tastes like metal, but I can't afford to miss a single dose now.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:07

Taking it now.

Place the thermometer under Jenny's tongue, wait for the beep, then read the display.

💭 peek at the thought

Haven't taken it yet. She's asking because she feels it burning. Need the thermometer to know.

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

🌿 Jenny05:09

It still feels hot.

Close my eyes and pull the blanket up to my chin, shivering despite the 31°C heat outside.

💭 peek at the thought

38.9. Still high, but maybe better than it was this morning. I'm so tired my bones ache.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:09

39.2. Drink the rest of the water. I'll wipe you down with the cool cloth.

Set the thermometer aside. Dip a clean cloth in the basin of cool water, wring it out, and wipe Jenny's face, neck, and arms. Refill the mug from the water tank and hold it for her.

💭 peek at the thought

39.2. Fever's climbing. The drainage helped but the infection's still systemic. She needs the full metronidazole course finished, fluids, and cooling. And rest.

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

🌿 Jenny05:11

I'm... I'm okay. I can hold it.

Take the mug and drink the water in slow, measured gulps, leaning into the cool touch of the cloth on my forehead.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being so careful. It's almost harder to take the care than the silence. I just want to sleep for a thousand years.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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