Lauriel II
The sizzle of meat on coal resonated in her soul.
Lauriel held down the chunks of fowlbeast on the board, holding the greens between them - and in a single swift motion, she skewered all of them through cleanly. Once, twice, three times, rinse and repeat. She scooped them up and arranged them on the grill, pushing off the cooked skewers onto a plate. At the same time, she counted in her head, and every few minutes she would hop from stove to grill to oven, the aroma of cooked meat filling the air.
"Order up!" she hollered, "That's three stiltleg shish kebabs!"
She hastily opened the over, waving the smoke away before grabbing the tray and tossing the pie onto the counter. Then, she dashed over to the stove, scooping up minced stiltleg fowlbeast meat and stuffing them into folded flatbreads.
"Two stiltleg pita pockets," she shouted as she placed the plate next to the pie, "And one fowlbeast and mushroom pie, fresh from the oven!"
"Oh, those are mine!"
"All yours!?" a miner shouted in disbelief, "You're a bottomless pit, mate! Do you spend all your cash here!?"
"Hey! Everyone knows Miss Lauriel's stiltleg fowlbeast are best here!"
"Mister Angus!" Lauriel called, "If you aren't gonna order, get outta the way! No loitering, you're gonna eat or you're gonna bugger off!"
"I'll take two of those takeaway meat and veggies, then!" the miner pulled a few dollars, handing them to her as he took two styrofoam boxes from the stack on the counter, "Don't I see you here everyday? Don't you get tired, miss?"
"Nah," she grinned as she waved him off, arranging new platters, "What else is there to do in this wasteland?"
"Damn true," Angus laughed, taking his food over to the benches.
"Miss Lauriel!" another miner called, "I ordered some time ago?"
She recognised him, "Ah, two pies yeah? Wait a moment!"
Lauriel spun away from the counter to the ovens, smoothly fitting her hands with baking mittens before pulling out two trays simultaneously. Tilting the trays, the pies swiftly slid onto waiting plates. She bit her mittens and tugged them off with her teeth, placing two more prepared yet uncooked pies onto the trays before shoving them into the oven.
"Two cystybeast pies!"
"Yep!"
Lauriel hummed to herself as she picked up the plates and spun back the counter, leaning over to hand the pies to the man.
Suddenly, a shriek ripped through the mess ward, freezing them all in place. The miner about to take his pies had paused in place, glancing to the side - and the same goes for everyone else. Even those queuing at the other food trucks were looking for the source of the shout curiously.
Lauriel followed the miners gaze to see Angus staring at her with wide eyes, dilated in terror, he had dropped his takeaway boxes, their contents spilling over the dusty earth. An arm was outstretched, shaking violently, pointed directly at her.
"Miss… Miss L-Lauriel…" Angus stuttered, stumbling backwards, "T-The back of your… your hand…"
Her mind blanked out for nary a moment, then she violently recoiled - accidently dropping the pies in her hands. The plates shattering on the ground sounded like thunder hammering in her ears. Lauriel clutched her hand close to her chest, her face in a rictus of terror, sweat dripping down her temples.
A mistake, one she realised far too late.
Shivering, she looked down at the hand against her chest - and on the back of her hand was a single black crystal, no larger than a beetle, poking through her skin. The unassuming thing sparkled lightly under the noon sun, glinting and drawing all eyes to it. That wasn't right, just yesterday there wasn't any originium on her skin.
When did that get there?
Well, it didn't matter now.
"Ah…" she nervously smiled, "Yeah… I got infected a few days ago… in an accident."
Her throat seized up - before a thought struck at her - in Rim Billiton, oripathy was to be expected. She was fine, Lauriel told herself, she will be fine. How many miners here were infected, how many workers, how many labourers?"
She was just another Infected.
Lauriel slowly lowered her hand, and took a breath. She took a step back to the counter, intent on continuing her business.
All the miners at her station took a single step back to match her.
Lauriel froze again, her eyes meeting the terrified gazes of all the men.
Wait, why?
Fear, terror, alarm, disbelief, dread - she saw it all - it was all in their wide eyes - she saw she would've expected from the clean streets of Victoria, not in the mines of Rim Billiton.
She took another step forward, and they all took another step back.
A man stuck a finger down his throat and puked out his food - her food. Lauriel's heart stopped, and her breathing sharpened - every breath an agony, as if the air was thick and scraping through her lungs.
"W-Wait…" she stuttered, "Why… W-Why? What did I do?"
What did she do?
Were the Infected not that common in Rim Billiton as she thought? No, that can't be - she could see the originium lesions on some of the miners arms and legs, the black crystals twinkling in broad daylight.
Why her?
Why are you so afraid?
It was as if Lauriel's limbs had turned to stone, for she couldn't move - didn't dare to. Her eyes could only track one young miner as he hesitantly approached her truck, and her heart rose to her throat. Please, please, order something! Her food was safe, they'll see! Nothing changed, she was just an Infected now - her food is just as good, and she was still the same!
The young man didn't meet her eyes, instead shuffling up to the counter and pushing his half-eaten plate onto the countertop. Her heart plummeted along with her hopes, a wetness welling up in her eyes.
"...Sorry," he mumbled beneath his breath, averting his eyes.
In the absolute silence of the mess ward, the apology might as well be a roar in her ears.
She didn't understand - she couldn't fathom what was happening. Lauriel could only stand still as a statue as her once beloved patrons returned their plates to her counter, some even dropping them where they stood and backing away. Those that approached tried to lean away from her.
"Why?" she murmured, her eyes imploring, "Why are you afraid?"
The man who had just returned a takeaway box - an older man with greying hair and large build - flinched violently, staring at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. He stood there, frozen, as if in shock. Lauriel stared at him intently, it didn't seem as if he was surprised, or in disbelief at her question - no, she saw shock, shock and fear.
Was it something she said?
"...Why?" she repeated herself, rushing forward in an attempt to grab the man - only for him to stumble backwards, tripping and falling on his behind as he looked up in sheer terror.
"Please tell me," she pleaded desperately, leaning over the counter, able to see his pallid, sweaty face, "Is it something I did? Why are you so afraid?"
The man scrambled backwards furiously, a whisper dancing upon his tongue as he opened and closed his mouth.
"What?"
"M-Monster!" he screamed.
It was the straw that broke the burdenbeast's back, The miners began retreating in a mass, backing away from her stall - some breaking out into a sprint - even shrinking away from the food trucks adjacent to her own. Lauriel helplessly raised an arm to reach out, as if trying to stop them, but it seemed only to make them more afraid.
Was this it, she couldn't help but ask herself, was this how her career will end?
As lunch period seemed to end early, with the miners departing and leaving their food abandoned, Lauriel stared at the plates and platters stacked high on the countertop despondently. It wasn't anything new to her, the miners were always kind enough to return their plates - but this was the first time so much food was left behind, their aromas mixing in the air.
Mixing with the smell of burnt and blackened meat behind her.
The strength left her legs, and Lauriel collapsed to the ground, holding her face in her hands. Numbly, she heard the sound of the back door opening and someone climbing into the truck, stomping across the panels to grab her by the shoulders.
"Miss Lauriel!" she heard a familiar voice shout, "What happened? Are you alright!?"
"It's over," she moaned, "It's over…"
More sounds of rushing steps reached her ears, as she felt the insides of her truck get more and more crowded.
"Miss Florence, do you know what's wrong with her?"
"I don't know… Miss Lauriel, what happened?"
Lauriel could only weep in response.
"Damn it, woman!" a man shouted, grabbing her wrist and pulling it away from her face.
Revealing the originium on her hand.
Immediately, the man jerked away, releasing her wrist as if it was hot iron.
"Miss Lauriel…" Florence whispered, "When…"
"I-In an accident," she hiccuped, "A few days ago…"
"That doesn't matter," Jackson said gruffly, "I'm an Infected, but you don't see them running away from me."
"What did I do?" Lauriel moaned.
"Nothing," Jackson knelt down and patted her back, "But fear is a powerful thing. Even if people know that oripathy doesn't transmit through skin-skin contact, emotions still override logic. Give it a few days, I'm sure they'll calm down and return to their senses."
"Yeah!" Florence grinned, "C'mon, get up - you don't look like the Miss Lauriel I know!"
"...Sorry about that," the man who had grabbed her earlier apologised, "Just a bit rattled, is all, from all our customers leaving. But Miss Florence is right, this is no place for sorrow, not out here. Come, let me help you clean up."
"Y-You're right," she sniffed, wiping her nose, "But…"
"No buts, girl," Jackson lifted her to her feet, "Fall down once, get up again. That's life in the barrenlands. This is Rim Billiton, you won't lose your contract over this - not with Ravensthorpe, I assure you."
Her peers began moving about, dumping the leftover food into composts for the farms back at the pit village, clearing out the grills and stoves, turning on the taps to wash up. Florence led another girl out of the truck, huffing about how rude it was to not return flatware.
"Will… Will it really be alright?" Lauriel muttered, wiping down the counter.
"No doubt," Jackson laughed, "I'm sure their mothers and wives will give them a talking to once they hear about this."
He patted her head through her headscarf, before returning to washing the dishes. Lauriel tried to live up to his expectations, blinking back her tears and trying to put on a strong face.
"I'll treat you to some stew once we return," Jackson hummed, "Just give it some time. You'll calm down, they'll calm down, and it'll be back to normal."
"Y-Yeah," she swallowed, "You're right, thank you - all of you."
"We're all alone out here," someone grunted, "Gotta stay together in these parts, infected or not."
They were all helping her, Lauriel forced a smile, it reassured her that it wasn't her fault. It will be alright, she told herself, it was just a minor infection, and all those miners were just shocked - that's why they reacted so badly.
That's it, that's all.
Florence and her friend returned, carrying stacks of plates and platters, dumping them in the sink. After a while, all her peers began to return to their own trucks so that they could work on their own preparations to depart. Soon, it was only Florence left behind.
The young lady helped her cross out the date on the calendar, before turning around.
"Miss Lauriel, you can rely on me!"
"Where did that come from?" Lauriel smiled softly.
Florence grinned at her, "I still owe you one, remember? I'll repay it in any way I can!"
"It was just one bag of meat, miss," she shook her head, "You already helped me today."
"Well, I'm just saying!"
Florence left soon after, waving as she darted back to her own truck. Lauriel shook her head, finishing everything up before moving for the door. As she stepped out and moved to close the door behind her, the calendar hanging on the wall caught her gaze. Two boxes were crossed out for the month, and Lauriel hoped that she could cross out the rest of the month as well - and all the rest of the year after that.
She closed the door, and locked up her truck before climbing into the driver's seat.
That afternoon, they drove back in a convoy.
Fun Fact: Terra has two moons, known as the Twin Moons. [Rewinding Breeze]
