We Danced

Footsteps aren't an uncommon thing to hear when you're sitting in a basement, so I tihnk nothing of it when I hear quiet thuds coming from the upstairs hallway. I just assume it was my brother and continue whatever little pointless thing I was doing at the time.

They go on for another couple minutes and I'm starting to get pissed off. They keep getting louder and louder. I sigh, wondering what the hell my brother's doing this late at night. I sit there, since it's impossible to fcus with the racket. I mean, it sounds like someone's power walking all over the main floor.

I sit there and listen as the thumps get faster and wilder. They just keep going, almost starting to form a rhythm. They move even faster and wilder; they're thumping all over the main floor. I realize that whatever this is, it can't be human. No human can move like that.

"What the fuck?!" I finally yell. After that, all the noise stops. Everything is quiet for a moment and I hear calm, slow footsteps moving to the basement door. It's pushed open and the footsteps stop again. I listen to my breathing for the next three minutes then sigh, thinking it's over.

It turns out something else was listening, too. Suddenly, I hear it thudding down the stairs. I knock my chair over in my haste to stand up. I start to run toward the nearest closet just in time to see a grotesque, hairless, four-legged creature dancing toward me, tapping its swollen feet in an intoxicating rhythm.

I dive into the closet and slam the door shut. There's a half-second pause before I hear that same rhythm on the door. It keeps going and going with no pause, no rests, and no relief. He's been at it for hours, now, and I find myself tapping my fingers along with his song.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it ended. I wait for a few moments and look out. It's gone. I flip on a light and fall into a chair. It's safe. I relax and think for a few moments, but then I notice my foot tapping. Maybe this song isn't so bad; I almost like it enough to dance to it.

So I drop down on my hands and feet, and I start.