the keeper's cottage · day 699 · night

Waiting for the storm

The wind howls through the eaves as Jenny lies in the dark, shivering under the blankets. You check the seals on the windows, watching the first drops of rain hit the dust.

Kevin brings a warm mug of broth to Jenny as she shivers under the quilts. She struggles to take some liquid while her fever remains high and her ankle throbs. The air remains heavy and still in the dry heat.

🌿 Jenny06:37

Kevin... get the bucket by the stove. Please.

pull the quilt tighter around my shoulders and grit my teeth as the fever spikes.

💭 peek at the thought

The roof is going to leak again, I can feel the draft coming from the floorboards.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:37

Right here.

walk to the stove and pick up the galvanized bucket, bring it to her bedside, set it down quiet on the floorboards

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning up again. The fever's not breaking. Need the bucket for the sweat, maybe for vomit if it comes to that. Move quiet, don't wake her more than she is.

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

🌿 Jenny06:39

Thank you.

close my eyes and try to focus on the throbbing in my ankle instead of the shivering.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being too quiet. It always gets quiet when things are falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:39

Water's warm on the stove. Want a mug?

go to the wood stove, lift the kettle lid to check the water, pour a tin mug half-full, carry it to her

💭 peek at the thought

She's thanking me for a bucket. That's where we are. Fever's got her shaking and she's choosing the ankle pain over the cold. Need to check the antibiotic count, see if there's any doxy left in the cache. And water — she needs to drink.

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

🌿 Jenny06:41

Yeah... please.

reach out a shaky hand to take the mug, the warmth nice against my cold palms.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm too tired to even sit up. My head feels like lead.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:41

Here. Slow sips.

set the mug in her hands steady, pull the quilt up around her shoulders where it's slipped, sit on the edge of the bed and wait

💭 peek at the thought

Hands shaking bad. She's burning through whatever reserves she has left. The doxycycline cache — fourteen tablets in oilcloth, buried near the generator shed. That's the only full course left. Metronidazole's done. Need to get her started on doxy tomorrow if the fever holds. Tonight, just water and time.

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.