Sun Latches - Dreamed by Aaron DeWeese

 Sun Latches

Dreamed by Ignis Apas

09/16/2011

It - the room - seemed to me a modernized version of the second story apartment building which my Grandfather Rev. David Thurmond and my Uncle Rev. Boyd McClaren had built on Summit Street.  Inside, the view out the windows made it apparent that one was on the second floor.  The room was uncluttered, containing rows of chairs - enough for a small audience to be seated.  The chairs faced East.  There were two entry ways - 2 doors.  Both doors were on the South wall, I believe, at least being in close proximity - perhaps the one door was even situated on the West wall of the room.  Before the chairs, on the East wall, was a large window, not exactly centered, sitting a bit to the right.

There were probably seven to twelve people in the room, only a few of them seated.  I sat on the first or second row, situated at the center.  People were unsettled around me.  There was a nervous energy in the atmosphere.  I knew the cause of it.  Outside of the building were strange humanoid creatures.  They wanted inside.  They were malevolent in nature - evil.  These creatures were amassing unseen, swarming, preparing a siege upon us.  The people that I was sitting with began to stir.

I noticed the man seated one seat down from me.  Something was strange about him.  I was alarmed when the person seated to my immediate left arose, leaving no barrier inbetween me and the stranger.  He seemed rather disengaged.  I did not want him to notice that I had noticed his strange appearance.  As to the peculiarity of him, it was certainly something that hinted at his being inhuman.  Behind his long bushy sideburns were elongated ears tapering up to points.  The color of his skin had a greenish hue.  I thought of the English poet and painter William Blake, and of his eldritch painting "Ghost of a Flea".

I dared not examine the stranger face to face.  All that I had taken in of him, I had done so from my peripheral vision.  I knew that his was the very aspect of the others outside, readying themselves for a siege upon us.  I knew too, that the stranger's countenance was more subdued than that of his fellows - he seemed to me a hybrid of some sort, fashioned in such a way that he could mingle without bringing attention to the fact that he was alien amongst men.

I arose to take action.  Walking to the southern door I noticed a single small lock upon it, rectangular, from two to three inches in length.  Upon the face of the lock was the image of the sun, Sol.  Wanting to make certain that the door was fastened I turned the locking mechanism, unlocking the small bolt.  This was not an unusual action for myself, as in waking life, it is a nightly ritual - double checking door locks by unlocking them and then re-locking them before I retire.

At the very instant the bolt had been withdrawn a tremendous force was felt pushing forth from behind it.  It took all of my might to keep the door from bursting in.  Every ounce of concentration was focused on keeping the door closed.  I knew that I could not let it open, as I knew what it was that was trying to come in upon us.  Not one of the other people in the room came to my assistance.  I finally managed to turn the locking mechanism, which rested at eye level, and at once the force subsided.  I knew that this holding power was beyond the capability of the small metallic lock.  There was some magic about it - I'm sure that it had to do with the symbol of the sun upon it.

Having reassured myself that that door was secure, I turned my attention to the second door.  An identical lock rested upon it.  I knew that I must check this one too, for there was a chance that it was not locked, and that at any moment we might be intruded upon.  I prepared myself to once again feel the violence of the outside force pressing in.  Quickly I turned the locking mechanism and again, instantly I had to employ every ounce of energy within my being to keep the door from bursting forth.  I was terrified at the horrible flood of power behind it.  Again, nobody came to my aid.  Finally, I managed to turn the lock's mechanism, and at once there was peace.  I marveled at the image of the small sun upon the lock.

I turned to the east wall, to the large window.  I knew that were the creatures outside to gain entrance, this is where they would do so.  I saw one of the creatures flash before the window.  I shuddered.  We must be quick.  I grabbed a bound book, opened it, and held it up against the window.  I exhorted people to pick up the books, quickly open them up, and hold them open to the window.  A few did.  Though the books did not fully cover the window, I knew that this somehow was diverting the creatures, repelling them, forestalling their siege.

I must also say that whomever the speaker was, they never spoke, and there was no circumstantial evidence presented to me that they were even present in the room.  It was my feeling that we were awaiting a teaching to begin, rather than having already had sat through a teaching.  I felt no desire to speak - only to do what I knew to be necessary to our perseverance.  Too, I do not know what the books were - there was no obvious markings on them, but I felt, and still feel, that they were the Holy Bible.