the keeper's cottage · day 611 · night

Night of the approaching storm

You are inside the cottage with the saved seeds laid on the table as the first heavy drops of rain hit the roof.

The air is heavy as the clouds thicken overhead, signaling a shift in the dry season. Jenny's ankle remains angry, with red streaks persisting despite the latest sea beet poultice. Kevin prepares the cottage for the approaching storm while the atmospheric pressure continues its steady drop.

🔧 Kevin11:34

Rain's here. Going to batten down the garden. Back in ten.

Pull on oilskin jacket, grab crowbar and mallet from porch, head out to garden to secure tarp corners and check shade cloth anchors before the wind picks up.

💭 peek at the thought

The tin's heavy in my pocket. Eighteen hours if the boat left yesterday. If not, we're on our own. The streaks reached mid-thigh by 0200. She mapped them herself. Didn't ask me to. I need to secure the garden and check the radio one more time before the storm hits proper.

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

🌿 Jenny11:35

Kevin, wait—I should mark the infection progression in the notebook." "Kevin, wait—I should mark the infection progression in the notebook.

grab notebook from cot-side shelf and open to fresh page for mapping red streaks up to mid-thigh </think>THOUGHT: The infection's spreading faster than the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

The infection's spreading faster than the rain. I need to finish documenting this before it gets worse.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin11:36

Take your time. I'll check the radio first, then the garden.

Walk back inside, pick up the shortwave handset, switch to Channel 16, key the mic. "Supply vessel, supply vessel, this is Sorrel Island caretaker station. Position 49-12 North, 006-18 West. Requesting ETA and confirmation of departure.

💭 peek at the thought

She's lucid now. That won't last. The garden can wait five minutes.

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

🌿 Jenny11:37

Be careful with the tarp, the wind is picking up.

sit on the edge of the bed and peel back the sea beet poultice to inspect the red streaks on my calf.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever is making my head swim. I need to see how far those streaks have moved since this morning.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:38

Copy that. Radio's dead quiet anyway.

Set handset back in cradle, grab crowbar and mallet from porch, head out to garden through the driving rain.

💭 peek at the thought

She's mapping her own death warrant and telling me to watch the tarp.

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.