the keeper's cottage · day 811 · afternoon

The Evening Cool Down

The sun begins to dip, bringing a slight drop in temperature and a faint salt breeze from the sea. You meet at the porch to discuss the supply boat's approach.

The heat remains heavy as the clouds thicken overhead, signaling a shift in the weather. Kevin attempts to progress the garden trench but finds the earth too stubborn to drill, while Jenny manages her pain and monitors the rising humidity.

🌿 Jenny13:41

The boat is three days out. Did you check the radio for a Signal update?

Shift weight to my good leg, wincing slightly as the swollen ankle pulses against the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come, I'll run out of antibiotics before this infection stops eating into my skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:42

Checked at eighteen hundred. Mendez is on schedule. He'll catch the morning high tide in three days. Two-hour wait window at the dock.

lean against the porch post, arms folded, eyes on the horizon

💭 peek at the thought

Radio check at 1800 — Mendez on schedule. Said he'll ride the morning high tide. Didn't ask what he's bringing. Didn't need to.

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

🌿 Jenny13:43

I hope he has the high-strength antiseptic. I can't afford to lose the poultice again.

Reach for the tin of grandmother's seeds, tracing the cold metal with my thumb.

💭 peek at the thought

Three days is an eternity if the fever spikes or the boat goes south.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:44

Antiseptic's been gone a week. We're running seawater and sea beet. If he has it, he has it. If not, the poultice holds.

glance at the tin in her hands, then back to the water

💭 peek at the thought

She's still tracking that tin like it holds answers. The antiseptic ran out days ago — we're on boiled seawater and sea beet. If Mendez brings more, good. If not, we manage.

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

🌿 Jenny13:45

Sea beet is just a stop-gap. I need the real stuff.

Tighten my grip on the seed tin, feeling the weight of the unplanted life inside.

💭 peek at the thought

Seawater isn't enough for an infection this deep, but what choice do we have on this rock?

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:46

Manifest listed medical. Bandages, antiseptic, antibiotics. But paper doesn't float.

push off the porch post, walk to the radio shelf, lift the handset, click the transmit key

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Sea beet draws heat and pus, but it's not antibiotic. The doxycycline and metronidazole courses finished. If the infection flares again, we've got nothing left but heat and hope. Mendez's manifest had medical supplies listed — but manifests lie.

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

🌿 Jenny13:47

Tell him to double-check the crates. We can't afford another empty box.

Watch the light on the radio, my ankle throbbing in time with the waves.

💭 peek at the thought

If the manifest is a lie, I'm just waiting the rot to finish.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:48

Mendez, this is Sorrel Island. Over.

hold the handset to my ear, wait for the crackle of return

💭 peek at the thought

Call him now, while the band's clear. Ask for the medical crate by name. Make him confirm it's aboard before he leaves the mainland.

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

🌿 Jenny13:49

(To the radio) Come on, talk.

Lean forward, breath held, listening for the voice from the mainland.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence on the line is worse than the static.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:51

Nothing but static. Mendez'll have to send word when he's in range.

set down the handset, walk to the generator shed, flip the switch on the heavy-duty radio

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Of course it's just static. The shortwave's been humming with salt interference all afternoon. I should have taken the generator to test it properly before the storm hits.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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