the keeper's cottage · day 962 · night

The Night Before the Arrival

The wind howls louder as the sun sets, and you and Jenny retreat to the cottage to wait out the night before the boat's approach.

The wind howls through the palm fronds, a loud, rattling sound that fills the humid air of the morning. The tide is steadily rising, lapping at the pilings of the dock. Inside the cottage, the air is thick with the scent of salt and medicinal salves as Jenny sleeps through a fever, her ankle throbbing beneath the bandages.

🌿 Jenny00:21

I'm okay. Just... leave the lamp.

Lean heavily on the drift cane to shuffle into the bedroom and collapse onto the cot, pulling the wool blanket up to my chin.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't even think straight. The room is spinning, and this ankle feels like it's being crushed in a vice. I just need to be still.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:22

Lamp's staying. Call if you need anything.

Sit at the kitchen table with the medical kit and count remaining antibiotic doses, then set a mug of water to cool beside her cot.

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning up under that blanket. The infection's winning. I need to check the antibiotic count and get more fluids in her before morning.

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

🌿 Jenny00:22

Thank you.

Close my eyes and let my head sink into the pillow, listening to the wind rattle the shutters.

💭 peek at the thought

He's hovering. I can hear him counting the pills. He thinks the numbers will save me, but I can feel the heat radiating off my skin.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:24

Kevin — write the current antibiotic counts in the radio notebook, then pull the spare radio battery from the shelf and check its charge.

💭 peek at the thought

Thirteen doxycycline, thirteen metronidazole. Trimethoprim's down to... eight, maybe nine. Not enough if this goes sideways. Boat comes tomorrow. Has to.

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.