Defending the Frontier

Chapter 17: On the Verge of True Death

(Third Person POV)

Cold. Hungry. Tired.
That's exactly how Sarah was feeling. It had only been a few hours since she'd talked to Michael. However, those hours were added onto the amount of unknown time, at least to her, that's she's had a proper meal.
Lauren had at least been nice enough to give her fresh water, and an occasional piece of bread, and if she was lucky, an apple or some type of fruit, including her favorite, a lustperprech (lust-per-preach), a fruit that was quite abundant in the Frontier, and was sweet with a little tartness.
Whenever she got food, she tried to save it as best as she could.

She was resting against the wall, when the door to her cell slid open, and a tray, with a small glass of water, as well as a small lustperprech, as well as... A piece of paper. To Sarah, that was 100% out of the ordinary. She had never gotten a piece of paper. If a message needed to be delivered, someone would come in and tell her.

Putting that aside, once the door was shut again, she grabbed the tray, and quickly gulped down the water, her throat extremely dry.
She then.turned her attention to the paper. She picked it up, and it said:
To Sarah
From a special little someone who's glad you're back.
Curious, she opened it, and it was a letter, which she predicted.

Sarah,
I'm so glad you're back with the IMC. The truth is, Bish and the other Sarah... They lied when they said your parents were dead. The truth is, they were alive, and still are today. Sarah, I'm your mother, and I'm writing this letter. I can't wait until Lauren lets out, and we can see each other again.
Your mother,
Beth

Sarah looked at the note in disbelief. This couldn't be right. But when she thought about it, this did look like what she remembered her mother's handwriting to look like.
She then lied on her back, and held the note above her, and looked at it, with the light from the single bulb in the cell.
That's when she noticed something. There seemed to be a second layer of writing on the paper.
She sat up, and looked at the paper, and saw that there was a second layer. She peeled it off, and it was a typed sheet. It was the same thing, just... Off set. Typed on a computer.
She looked at it, and instinctively ran her hand across the paper.

That's when it happened. She suddenly felt light headed, nauseous, and everything started to ache. She fell to the ground, feeling horrible.

Obviously the paper hadn't caused it, but things just happened to be at the same time. What caused it, then?

That is quite simple, actually. It was because of what happened in Demeter.