Dream Journal, January, 2005

In the dream I returned to high school and I had to bring my mom for some reason.  I found this fairly embarrassing for obvious reasons but I coped with it.  We were in my algebra class with my old teacher, who was being really nice to me.  I was actually having fun in the class, thinking maybe I would be able to catch up (I knew I would fail unless I made up the work), when the class ended and my mom was gone.

I was still sitting in the room at a desk right in front of the doorway, with my back to the door.  I was working on the computer (apparently planning a trip to Spain and worrying that it would rain as it the forecast predicted it) when Derek, a friend from high school, shouted that someone had a gun.  I realized that I was a sitting target where I was and so I ran into another room where a lot of people had gone, screaming.  Along the way I saw the guy with a gun.  He was from another high school, a football player.  Everyone took off again and for some reason I couldn't understand I went into yet another room instead of running out of the building.  There was a telephone there (rotary, of course) but when I dialed 911 they put me on hold.  The guy came into the room but I managed to escape with some others.

Everyone got ahead of me and ran off in a direction they knew he wouldn't think to follow.  I was trying to keep up but suddenly I couldn't run at all--it was massive effort just to lift my feet.  The guy with the gun came outside with Derek and a girl and they were all laughing together, like they were having fun killing people and scaring us.  I climbed a brick wall and tried to hide in a really large drainage ditch—dropping my wallet & computer along the way—but they’d seen me.  As I was climbing the girl took the gun and shot me in the foot.  While I was crouching in the ditch she shot at me again and just missed my stomach.  I would have died had that bullet been even half an inch closer.  Finally I managed to jump out of the gutter and escape by running through a cemetery, where I had to avoid big holes dug into the ground.  

Once out of the cemetery I ran through side streets, even through people’s houses; I was following signs that said “TO LILY ROAD” because I knew Lily Road would get me home.  But then suddenly there the girl was with me on Lily Road, walking alongside me.  She seemed very queer and scary, but she wasn't holding the gun on me although I knew she was still dangerous.  I was just trying to pacify her with small talk.  We made it to my house, where I managed to go down to the basement without her.  People were home but no one in the house was helping me.  I grabbed the phone in the basement bedroom and called the police, but the police wouldn't let me tell them what was going on.  They just kept blathering on about how they knew the shooting had taken place and they were looking for the suspect, while I was trying to get a word in edgewise to tell them one of the suspects was in my house!  

Then suddenly the girl was standing in the doorway to the basement bedroom. She accused me of calling the police.  I shook my head and tried to say things into the phone that made it sound like I was just having some random phone call.  The girl obviously didn't believe me.  This is when she said in a very somber tone, “Think of all the lives you’re going to ruin.”    

Suddenly the police officer was sitting on the couch next to me and I knew I was finally safe.  However, my credit card had been stolen and so had my computer.