the keeper's cottage · day 641 · afternoon

The Storm Breaches

They sit together inside the cottage as the first heavy drops of rain strike the shutters. The smell of ozone and damp earth fills the small room.

The air has turned heavy and humid, smelling of salt and impending rain. The barometer has dropped to 982 hPa and continues to fall, signaling that the storm front is imminent. Inside the cottage, the wind has begun to whistle through the gaps in the newly-weatherproofed shutters.

🔧 Kevin04:03

Barometer's still dropping. Wind'll shift west by midnight.

check the wood stove damper and add two split logs from the basket

💭 peek at the thought

Storm's here. Radio's silent. She's watching me watch the shutters.

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

🌿 Jenny04:03

We're going to be hearing it through the walls all night.

Reach for the tin of corned beef on the table and struggle to open it with shaky hands.

💭 peek at the thought

The wind is coming. I can feel it in my joints, and the barometer doesn't lie. I'm too hungry to argue about the timing.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin04:04

Here.

take the tin from her, open it with the key, slide it back across the table

💭 peek at the thought

Hands still weak. She won't ask.

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

🌿 Jenny04:05

Thanks.

Eat a cold mouthful of corned Consistency from the tin, chewing slowly while watching the rain blur the window glass.

💭 peek at the thought

His hands are always steadier than mine, even when the fever is making my head spin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:06

Radio check at 1900. If the supply boat's out there, they'll call.

pull the shortwave closer, adjust the squelch, and key the mic at 1900 sharp

💭 peek at the thought

She's eating. That's something. The shake's settling.

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

🌿 Jenny04:06

I hope they're not delaying for the front.

Lean back against the wall and carefully peel back the edge of the sea beet poultice to check for new redness.

💭 peek at the thought

Three days. The radio is a thin thread, but it's all we've got. I need to make sure I'm actually strong enough to stand when they get here.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin04:07

They know the window. Captain won't risk the channel in this swell if he can't see the markers.

glance at the barometer, then back to the radio, hand resting on the key

💭 peek at the thought

No new redness. Drainage clean. She's healing.

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

🌿 Jenny04:07

Just keep listening.

Gently press the swollen skin around the poultice, wincing as a sharp throb shoots up the calf.

💭 peek at the thought

The channel is a nightmare when the swell hits four meters. He's right, but the uncertainty is worse than the wait.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin04:08

Take the metronidazole. Last two doses in the blister pack.

reach into the medical kit, pull out the metronidazole strip, and set it on the table beside her mug

💭 peek at the thought

The throb's deep. Not surface. Bone or tendon. She's hiding the scale of it.

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

🌿 Jenny04:08

I'm on it.

Pop a tablet from the blister pack and swallow it with a long gulp of water from the tin mug.

💭 peek at the thought

I hate that I'm dependent on a plastic strip of pills and a handful of leaves. But if this gets into the bone, I'm done.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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