V.

In the morning it was easy to slide past the officials examining the church. Very little of the structure was actually burned. After all, it was a holy place, even if the people in it hadn't been. Every time a policeman or fireman turned to catch what the movement was he'd seen in the corner of her eye, Lila slid away. She didn't like avoiding Sgt. Connors. But he was an innocent.

A quick sniff of the black globules on the floor told her where the people had been standing. She breathed deeply. There was just enough left of them hidden under the ooze to alleviate, a little, her hunger.

"What are you doing here?" She stood to face Connors, tilted her head and gave a smile that touched her eyes.

"Curiosity?" She said.

****

She hated coffee; it did nothing for her hunger. But the diner was nice and Connors was sweet so she sipped it as if she enjoyed it, for his sake.

"Seriously," Connors frowned at her, "why were you at the church?"

"I was looking for someone." This time he tilted his head.

"On your hands and knees?"

She stopped her half-hearted sip of the coffee and gave a vague shrug.

"They're all dead," he said and then gazed out the window. Softy, "leastwise, the ones that should be."