I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Marlaine Delargy Page A

hairs. He feels a kind of vibration inside. And not only inside; as he gazes at his arms the hairs stand up, and he can feel his scalp crawling.
    He gets to his feet, pictures the empty field before him filled with women. His women. The women he has steered out of incapability and apathy. He feels their gratitude pouring towards him, their love.
    Eva, Aline, Beatrice, Katarina, Karin, Lena, Ida, Ingela, Helena, Margareta, Sofia, Sissela, Anna-Karin…
    They are all wearing identical work-out clothes. Black tights, black tank tops. Their faces are radiant, and he feels a shudder of sensual pleasure. The vibration increases in strength; it has to find an outlet. He jumps up and down on the spot, shouting ‘Yes! Yes!’
    He rushes back to the car and switches on the radio. Mona Wessman’s voice emerges from the speakers and he turns up the volume until the bass rattles. He doesn’t lose heart, but shouts ‘Okay!’ and dashes back to his starting point.
    Right leg lift, bam-bam-bam, other leg, bam-bam-bam, arms up, bam-bam, and again, bam-bam.
    Everyone follows him, keeping to the beat, copying his movements; the group grows bigger and bigger until it fills the entire field. All the women in the world are obeying the smallest gesture, working with him. Their pulse is his pulse, the sweat running down his back is their sweat.
    ‘Come on, ladies! Terrific!’
    He increases the tempo, working twice as fast, and no one drops out, everyone is keeping up. This is the class he has dreamed of, but never achieved. The synchronised dance, the total unity. When the chorus comes along he just has to join in.
    He has never been happier.
    As the song fades away he releases his stiff cock from his shorts; it only takes a couple of tugs before he is overcome by an orgasm so powerful that his legs give way as his semen spurts across the grass.
    Peace. He feels peace.
    *
    Benny raises his head, cocks one ear. He can hear a new sound, coming from far away. He glances at his master and mistress, who are sitting at the table, but they don’t appear to have noticed anything. Benny edges along to the opening and looks out.
    Several Hes and Shes are approaching. Benny turns his head and sees his master open the cold box next to his basket and take out a few cans. Benny has experienced this kind of thing before. There will be loud voices and lots of people trying to pat him, which he doesn’t like. He screws up his courage and slips out, in the direction of the noise.
    All the Hes and Shes go inside the awning, while Benny stares into the emptiness. It is impossible to see where the noise is coming from, but he recognises it. It is the same as the sound that comes from his master’s box, the one on the table. Benny is satisfied, and decides to inspect the area while all the Hes and Shes are safely inside.
    The absence of smells from other animals is distressing. There doesn’t seem to be much point in marking his territory when there is nothing against which to defend it, but he goes through the motions anyway. You never know. A Fox or Dog could just turn up and get the idea that this is their place. Or Cat might start taking liberties.
    Benny glances at Cat’s caravan, wondering whether to go over andshow himself so that Cat won’t forget about him, when a squeaking noise catches his attention. He heads towards it and spots the small He and She.
    Benny is wary of small people. They sometimes pull his tail and behave unpleasantly in all kinds of ways. He stops at a safe distance and tilts his head on one side, trying to see what they are up to.
    They have opened a flap and Benny senses that they are doing something that isn’t right. She looks fine, but He doesn’t. Benny is exactly the same when he has stolen a sausage. Benny knows all about Right and Wrong, and the small He is clearly doing something that is Wrong.
    Benny cannot work out what this might be, but one thing he does know: the small He is going to get a good smack on the nose.