No.
“So somebody was behind you?”
Yes.
“Could you make anything out?”
Yes.
“Did you see a face?”
No.
“A body?”
Yes.
“Big?”
No blinking at all. This boy is smarter than I am, thought Ringmar.
“Medium-size?”
Yes.
“A man?”
Yes.
“Would you recognize him again?”
No.
“Was he very close when you saw him?”
Yes.
“Did you hear anything?”
Yes.
“Did you hear the sound before you saw him?”
Yes.
“Was that why you turned around?”
Yes.
“Was it the sound of his footsteps?”
No.
“Was it the sound of some object scraping the ground?”
No.
“Was it a noise that had nothing to do with him?”
No.
“Was it something he said?”
Yes.
“Did it sound like Swedish?”
No.
“Did it sound like some other language?”
No.
“Was it more like a shriek?”
No.
“More like a grunt?”
Yes.
“Something deeper?”
Yes.
“A human sound?”
No.
“But it came from him?”
Yes.
3
HE DROVE THROUGH THE TUNNELS THAT WERE FILLED WITH A darkness denser than the night outside. The naked lights on the walls made the darkness all the more noticeable. The cars coming toward him made no noise.
He had the window open, letting in some air and a cold glow. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, only darkness.
It was like driving through hell, tunnel after tunnel. He was familiar with them all. He would drive around and around the city through the tunnels.
Music on the radio. Or had he put a CD in? He couldn’t remember. A beautiful voice he liked to listen to when he was driving under the ground. Soon the whole city would be buried. The whole road alongside the water was being sunk into Hell.