Hail flew across the sky, 30 feet from the ground, weaving around the occasional tree and electrical wires. The environment was a colorful blur as Hail passed, a sonic wave trailing behind her.

'Almost there...' Hail thought, gripping the handles to here levitating motorcycle tightly...or as tight as she could, since her arms and hands were in a whole lot of pain from the Sickness. Checking her location by slowing down a few mph to inspect the mountains she passed, she guessed about 45 more minutes before she arrived.

Hail had been traveling for three days now by going back the way she came, crossing the Drethem Ocean and soaring over the Anthork Mountians. She was holding onto the hope of the Zara corp HQ was still standing by the time she got back. She also hoped for enough time to show her boss the papers she collected from the secret room from the caverns.

Everything was sore and her blonde hair disgustingly dirty and sweat-slick caked her head and spandex. The Sickness spread past her shoulders and was very slowly, creeping downward and outward. The repulsive dark purple pulsing was ever present, brighter to the eye. Hail hated it greatly, and that's an understatement.

Hail was sweating, cold fear tingling her spine and flipping her stomach into knots. Now, she could only hope.

~~~

Hail flew over the last hill, her hair flying wildly. Hail jerked the bike sideways, bringing the motorcycle to a dirt spraying halt. She flew the rest of the way a little slower, making sure she wasn't in the wrong place. Hail was still quite a ways from the HQ, but she wanted to get a good look at the building in the center of Marid City before she made the rest of the way at the speed close to sound.

Hail quickly clamored off her transportation and she fixed her wind blown hair for a second, pulling it back up in a ponytail. When she turned her stomach dropped. Hail couldn't register what she was seeing into her brain.

A normal person would scream. Maybe cry, wail, sob like a baby. Curl up and never want to move again. There's also the option of standing in shock. Hail subconsciously chose shock. Stiff, hard, ice cold shock laced through just about everything Hail could feel.

Red, orange, and black is what met her eyes. The structure has fallen apart some time ago, ash settling upon the burnt collection of splintered wood, crumbled rock, twisted and half melted metal, and shattered glass.

The Manila folder left her side, crashing to the grass and spraying the evidence that seemed to have slipped Hail's mind.

The Zara Corp HQ, her home for most of her life, was a skeleton of metal and ash; collapsed, blown to bits as though a bomb shredded half the building apart. Hail rubbed her eyes and looked again in disbelief as the reality sunk in.

Her home, her long-term family, and everything she lived for, was coal and ash.

Gone.