I was a teacher at a school for talented children. And by talented I mean mutants. And by mutants I mean the kind from X-men, where most of them are human, no third arms, but very subtle in appearance. I myself was apparently a mutant, even more subtle than the kids and teachers around me. I was apparently an empath- able to sense emotions from other people. Because of that I had become adept at influencing people knowing exactly what they desire.

Today was a special day. Apparently we were supposed to have Vice President Dick Cheney visit as part of a campaign to end discrimination against mutants. He had not arrived yet, actually delayed for some reason of state. The students were nonetheless very active in the halls, milling about in between classes. It was at this time that I noticed two middle eastern folks with beards and turbans pull up in a jeep to the ground-floor window at the end of the hall. At first I thought it strange because there was no door there, and certainly no reason to park their car on the grass. It was then I recognized the RPG they pulled out of the back seat.

I immediately told the children to run to cover and I ran to one of the more powerful mutant teachers and told them what I saw. It was then we heard an explosion as one of the men fired on the school. With my new ally we approached the opening at the end of the hallway and there wasn't two men but dozens of people, all chanting "Kill Dick Cheney!" Oddly enough I used my empathy to find out just what the people wanted, and I exploited it. I'm not sure how it was done, only that I convinced the group to leave, and that the vice president wasn't here. I do know, however, that the people weren't anti-mutant, just anti-Cheney. Go figure.

With the ordeal over with, one of the other teachers offered to drive me home. She was very attractive and I accepted. She was driving me home when I woke up.

It has been a long journey. I have traveled long, through desert and now stone. My water supply has run low, and I'm hoping to find nourishment somewhere in this mountain range. At some points it was a steep climb, at others it was an easy transition- but always dry and dusty. Just my luck to ascend on the lee side.

My ascent is steady, and the further forward I move, the closer I am to freedom. My past, dark and shameful as it may be, haunts my steps. My only hope is to escape it- so I walk, and do not stop. Somewhere here there is a secret place, a haven, where I could live out my days in quiet solitude. I've lived a long and arduous life, and I deserve safety. I deserve freedom.

As I slowly reach the top, I come across a passage in between two peaks. My hopes begin to rise as the passage becomes more apparent. From a distance, the pass is all but hidden. However, at my nearby vantage point, it is quite clear. I entered the pass, noting the slow transition from a dry, arid rocky path to a moist and muddy path. As I continue deeper into the pass, I can smell moisture. A cool wind flows through the pass, a stark contrast to the dry heat outside. The pass takes several turns, a testament to its hidden appearance. It is easy descent, and the ground continues to get softer. Despite the tall mountain walls, there is some plant life growing on this path. Finally, the pass opens up into a large verdant valley, a huge bowl surrounded by mountains and teeming with green life. This hidden valley stretches for at least 100 acres, roughly 5 times longer east to west than north to south. I take in a deep breath of cool but moist air, and the smells of green life fills my lungs.

On the north side and west there are green fields that may have been plowed but have long since grown fallow. On the south side of the valley is a dark forest that stretches to the east end of the valley. Surrounding the valley are the steep mountains, shadowy soldiers that protect this beautiful land. On the edge of the forest, near the fields, stands an ivy-covered building of some sort. At one glance it looks a part of the forest, but at the next, 3 tower peaks can be made out of a castle. Before me is a field that slopes down to a narrow river. The river itself winds its way west to a glistening lake. The mid-afternoon sun sparkles on its breeze-rippled surface. I decide to make my camp there at the water's edge. My hopes soar as I consider a life here. I could enjoy this.

I awoke in the morning, satisfied with last night's meal of venison and some fresh berries. I also found some tubers that would make a delicious breakfast. I stretch for a bit, then head down to the water to wash up. This place is wonderful! The cool water washes my aches and pains away. I feel the desert and rock melt off my skin. I feel much more invigorated. I feel young again. I gather my clothes and cover my dignity. Perhaps I'll shave my beard too.

I head back to the camp, when I hear something. Was that a twig snapping? I hunch down and peer at my camp through the trees. There is a woman there! She looks out of place here, with such a fine piece of clothing. She is wearing a long, white dress, one that reaches down to the ground so that it slightly brushes her footsteps. The neckline of the dress goes all the way up with blue lace at every seam. It was finely made and not something I expected to ever see again. She had a regal manner, almost demure, and I couldn't keep my eyes from this sight. As I watch her inspect my camp, I come to realize that she looks much younger than I had originally thought. I look closer again and realized it wasn't so much young as it was ageless, and I found myself having trouble guessing that age. With her smooth, pale skin and high cheeks framed by long, dark reddish-brown hair that was tied back, she reminded me of someone I once knew long ago. She finished looking through my pack, and inspecting my fire and stood up. She paused, looked straight ahead, and turned right to me.

Without expression she stated, "I see you. Come forward." This was not a request, but it wasn't a demand either. Rather, it came out as if it was the natural order of things. Even more strangely, I did as she asked! I was compelled. Something forced me to do as she obeyed. I stood up, and came into the clearing where my camp was set up. She stood watching me for a moment, looking me up and down. I couldn't move, I couldn't even talk. I had questions to ask, but my mouth wouldn't even move to speak them. She walked around me and I could feel her eyes watching. When she finished circling, she paused yet again, and looked at me.

Her face was cold ice. "You have entered my land, and have eaten my food. You cleansed yourself in my Lake. You are here without my permission." Such crimes are usually meted out in death. However, since you are the only person I have seen in many years, servitude will suffice. The Lake will have restored much of your youth, and your strength. You will need both for the tasks I have for you. Gather your things and follow me." Again, not a demand, but a natural state of being. And again, I was compelled to do it. I couldn't fight it, I could only obey. While I donned my pack and put out my fire, I wondered just wrong I was, thinking I would find peace here.

To be continued....!

I'm at a beach on Lake Erie. However, the beach itself is far from the water itself. The water used to come right up but the lake itself has dried by about 100 yards, leaving the ground underneath it hard packed. There is a volleyball game going on where 5 feet of water used to be. I'm asked to join in but after a few rounds I decide to run to the water's edge, which is quite far away. So I start running.

The ground is hard underneath my bare feet, but I run pretty fast. My mom takes my place in volleyball and proceeds to beat the opposing team using her patented one-handed power-serve(she would throw the ball up with one hand and pound it over the net with the same hand- my mom had cerebral palsy and only had about half-use of her right hand). Meanwhile I'm still running. I cover the terrain quickly despite its hard and dry nature. I reach the edge of the water and I notice a hole near the edge. I peer into it and it looks like there's a tunnel underneath. I run back to the old beach and I see my sister Kandi. She tells me that the tunnel is safe and there are holes every 20 yards to let in air and light. I find the opening to the tunnel and I crawl inside. I move quickly, as quickly as I did running, but this time on all fours. It's quite scary and I get a little claustrophobic. I'm crawling and crawling, and I come to one of the holes, and I hear the water lapping. I know I'm close to water. Over the water I hear someone snoring. I look deeper down the tunnel and I see a large cloth sack and someone behind it. I grab the bag and look into it, only to find useless junk. I pegged the sleeping man as a bum but I don't bother to wonder what he's doing here. Just then, some water spills into the hole above me. I panic. Suddenly I feel very claustrophobic, my own warm breath seems to choke me in this confined space. Instead of climbing out the hole(I had the feeling it was covered with a grate) I begin to race back down the tunnel I had first came, praying I'd get out before the water drowned me. As I began to wake from this dream, I wondered just what the bum was doing there, sleeping in the tunnel.

A plaque has spread through where I live. It doesn't kill you right away but it changes you at first. Your skin becomes sensitive to light, before slowly flaking away. Those infect are shunned from society, and because so many have been infected, cities have become ghost towns with only the infected scurrying around, wrapped in rags to hide the sunlight from their skin. I once lived in one of these great cities, but I left.

There was a last refuge north of one of the cities, the one I moved from. It was set in an expansive canyon. I would have said cave because there are some dark places, but there is light everywhere. The canyon itself is very dry, accept for a small stream running through it. The walls on the sides curve somewhat to form a shelf of protection from the elements. Even so, structures are crudely attached to the walls of the canyon, but they look like they've withstood many years. A large man greets me and says I am welcome in sanctuary here. I wander around, admiring the sturdiness of the framework structures, when I come across a woman and a little girl. Then it hits me- this place is sanctuary but it's rather empty. There is only the tall man and myself, and this woman and child. I begin a conversation with the woman but I can't remember the subject. I watch the little girl let go of her mother's hand and wanders near a cave that is shrouded with dirty red cloth. A bandaged hand reaches out and pats the girl on the head. Suddenly, from the cave, a baritone chorus begins to sing a long and slow song. 'Song' doesn't really do it justice. The music was moving, slow but emotional. The words are unintelligible but nonetheless beautiful.

Suddenly I'm no longer in that place. Instead, I'm out in the country where houses are spanned by quite a few yards from each other. I'm walking home at a quick pace after visiting a neighbor for a cup of flour. Why a cup of flour? I do not know. The wind is howling as I struggle to keep the flour in the cup without having it blow away. The wind is fierce and I see trees swaying in the wind. It begins to snow with a vengeance. Suddenly I hear a loud tearing noise and I look behind me: The roof of another neighbor has been completely torn off. It blows away and slides along the icy-snowy ground. Feeling and urge to save anyone who might be hurt, I run back to their house only to find that it's empty. In fact, the walls are stripped with just a sink and fridge left in the kitchen. The house quickly deteriorates and the outer walls themselves are stripped apart by the wind. I see a patio chair sliding in the wind inside the house. I determine that no one was in the house and thus I could run back to my house where it's safe. The wind is still fierce and I notice that my cup of flour is halfway gone. I thought to myself, "Why am I bothering with this cup of flour. I need to get to safety!" I dump the flour and run back to my house. However, before I get there, I wake up.

I'm coming out of a terminal of some sort, be it an airport or subway, I don't really notice. However, I do notice things look different. The way people dress, the way they look at me, and the cars look like the ones from I,Robot. I discover I'm in the future, but strangely I feel like I'm viewing it as if from a movie. Strangely enough too, I'm a black man, tall and thin, but even then I don't *feel* like I am, more like I am watching myself from outside of myself, kinda like that Jon Malcovich movie.

I proceed out of the terminal into the lobby. I see TVs hanging from the ceiling so people can watch, but their broadcasts are unintelligible to me. People seem surprised to see me. Somehow I get the feeling this is going to be a string of "Demolition Man" scenes. I was right. The scene changes...

I'm walking through a food court. I see food prices are astronomical. Yes, Taco Bell was there, $7 for a drink, $20 for a burrito. My mouth dropped when I saw it. The Chinese restaurants nearby however were much more reasonably priced,($10 for a meal) and the workers kept encouraging me to patronize their establishment. Since I didn't know how much money was in my bank account, I decided to go with the cheaper option. People still look at me funny. The scene changes...

I'm in what appears to be a bank, but it looks more like a McDonalds with the low food counters and a cash register at the front. Two fat bald guys in blue shirts and ties(they look like managers?) were waiting there for me. I ask to withdraw some money and they do so, and when I leave I heard one of them say to the other, "Did you tell him he only has 20 dollars left?" "No, he'll find out sooner or later." The scene changes...

I'm invited onto a basketball court and I realize why people stare at me. I'm the only black person on the court, and I'm also the only black man in this entire dream. So I go onto the basketball court, thinking I was gonna shoot some hoops. I get tossed a squishy-feeling volleyball. What the heck? I can't dribble with this. Instead I throw it at the hoop for a three pointer. My "teammates" get angry and yell at me. "Don't you know how to play trollerball?" I tell them to give me a basketball. They do but it's one of those small novelty balls they give out at carnivals. I proceed to shoot from the 3-pointer line, sinking it in. I then slam-dunk it several times(which isn't all that hard). When I'm done I look around at the court and everyone is just staring at me awestruck. The scene changes...

I'm coming out of that terminal again, however I have a girlfriend on my arm. She's short, somewhat thin, with shoulder-length black hair. She tells me her name is Jackie. We enter the lobby and I remember that first time here in the future. She tells me everything's going to be okay now, and I say, "I know Janice, but it's still not my home." She gives me an angry look and says "Janice?! My name isn't Janice!" and she stalks off into the lady's room, a place where no man can go. I sigh at she leaves, and I know she's gone for good. Just then a blond woman walks up to me and asks me if I was that famous basketball player on TV. I said, "yup." She takes my arm and we walk out of the building.

And then I wake up.

I was approaching something that would remind you of an airport terminal. I approached with a certain confidence. I was a spy, working for the allies in a modern-day World War II. The Nazis were reborn, and were once again starting trouble in Europe. The airport was at a border of a sorts with Germany. With all the fighting it was tough to determine where the border was these days, but in this place it was relatively peaceful, with both sides allowing for some travel between the nations. Thankfully, it offered an opportunity for spies on both sides to sneak across. I'd like to think our side was getting the better of the Axis, but that would have been wishful thinking.

I approached a kiosk like many others, however this one was different. The man managing the kiosk was none other than my contact, who sometimes believed he was my boss. We chatted in a secret code that to others would have appeared to be nothing else more than a simple dialogue between customer and salesman. The gist of the conversation was that he was warning about crossing over the terminal into Germany, as there were many soldiers waiting and searching folks as they got on planes. I was not afraid. Not for a master of disguise!

I went around a corner, trying to find the best way in. The paths bottle-necked into one area, where passengers where searched and processed. I found an unlabeled door and went into it. There I found several safety jackets(The bright yellow and orange ones that construction workers used) and hardhats. After swapping some of clothes, I went back out of the door and slipped past the guards at the scanning stations, and headed down some stairs and out onto the tarmac. Strangely enough, there weren't any planes coming in, and the tarmac wasn't tarmac, but a clearing in a forest. A giant wooden barn? before me, and behind it several boat launches. Realizing that my hardhat and jacket would bring notice, I headed to the front of the barn. I removed the disguise and realized that the barn wasn't quite a barn. It was open, first of all, and the front part was a sort of maze of wooden walls. I walked around the side of the barn and I could peer into it because the sides were missing. As if the first floor outer walls were removed in most places. Inside and out I could see German guards milling about, widely spaced from each other- much like a first person shooter that allows you to kill each target before you're close enough to be seen. Thankfully, i just continue alongside the barn to the back, where the boat launches where. Apparently, on the other side of this lake, is where I need to be. I'm stopped only once, an official-looking man asks for my ID in German, and I respond in German. He looks at my pass, and let's me on one of the boats.

Rest assured, this was the hardest part of my journey, and I could safely wake up. So I did.

It's early morning. I appear to be scouting a warehouse in an urban area. The houses around me are no taller than 2-3 stories high, and the back alleys are dirty and cracked with non-use. The warehouse itself is 2 stories high and stretches down a dirt service road. I can see a few openings in the roof. For some reason I want to enter through those openings, and not the main doors on the side of the building. Everything is quiet around me. I realize that this isn't the warehouse I want. There is another warehouse- similar to this one but much more modern and solid- that I want to enter because it has something I want. This warehouse is a block away.

Suddenly I'm outside that warehouse and I climb up some machinery to an opening in the roof. I peer in from the opening and even though I expected it to be very quiet, it is bustling inside. It is also amazingly clean. Forklifts are moving around, people are walking along long alleys of shelving, and I see a giant vault to some bank. It was the vault I wanted to see, but I had no intention of entering. I just wanted to see it.

Suddenly I'm back at the first warehouse. Someone is watching me look at the entrances. He says he works here but the shift hasn't begun and he would like to enter. He asks me to help him out. I decide that this isn't too much trouble so I walk around the side where machinery seems to be active. On the side of the warehouse there is a large machine on some sort of metal scaffolding(think of a metal frame and place the engine/machine on a platform on top if it) that comes to about the height of my head. a large metal container is sliding down the length of the warehouse on metal rails. It glitters with the shine of metal shavings. I avoid the moving container and climb up the metal scaffolding onto the roof of the warehouse. I walk along the roof to the entrance that the man wants to enter through. There is a grate covering a vent that pops into the warehouse and I climb in. Unlike the other one, this warehouse is dead quiet and dirty everywhere. No one is in here. I climb down from the inside, unlock the side door and walk about. The side entrance has some sort of strange fencing jutting out from the wall so that you have to walk in between it to get in or out. The fencing appears to be made of dingy carpet staked to some fence pikes. It would appear that someone thought putting carpet up like this would be good to keep the dirt outside and not let it into the building. Judging by the condition of the carpet, it would appear to have worked quiet well... if the warehouse itself wasn't so dirty inside. I reach the end of the carpet fence, and exit from two flaps dangling on the end. The man is there and he enters behind me.

Suddenly its much later, I'm watching a young man(a couple years younger than I) argue with an old man outside the dirty warehouse. It appears to be over two samples of some sort of algae. Both of them are very adamant about their positions even though I am unsure what the argument is about. the samples are in petri dishes and they ask me to make a decision. I peer at both samples in a microscope, and for whatever reason I realize that the old man is wrong. In my mind I understand why he was wrong- something to do with air bubbles in the sample- and we decide to go along with the young man's assertion. I'm not sure why air bubbles proved the old man wrong or what the assertion really were. I try to think about it and then

I wake up.

I'm a student at some sort of boarding school. I'm young and surprisingly agile. I have a female partner in this place, although I have the odd sensation that she isn't really my friend. She is a brunette and somewhat younger than I. I do not recognize her face. I distrust the adults at this place because they are there to bring down swift discipline.

My partner likes to get into trouble and I am suspicious she wants me to join her in mischievousness. We're walking outside in between classes. the boarding school is set up very much like UB's south campus. The one building I see time and again appears to be a church. Outside the church some landscapers are planting trees under the watchful eyes of two policewomen(prison labor?). They are also using a drill with an auger bit to bring up dirt, and then placing some sort of explosive charge in the hole. My partner 'sneaks off' but I watch her out of the corner of my eye. She manages to get a hold of a drill and an explosive charge, and it would appear that she is going to plant the charge much like the landscapers, only it'll be a full explosive charge and not the devices the landscapers are using. I ponder if her drill is wide enough to drill the hole she wants.

I inform one of the policewomen about my partner's intentions and she shrugs it off. "Girls will be girls," she says in a rather fake Irish accent. I ask her what the explosive charge is for, but rather than explain its purpose, she explains what it does. The charge is actually mostly a metal piston, with the flat end buried inside the charge, and the explosive on the very end. She explains that the explosive makes the piston go down(sounds like the piston in an engine).

Rather than deal with this crap(I actually thought that), I head for the boundaries of the school property. The school apparently is in an urban area, and I reach the street and a long wall of a height of 4 feet. On the other side is a repair garage, although its parking lot is in serious need of repair and the whole place looks covered in dirt and oil. Business seems good though as you can hear work going on in the background.

I notice my Chrysler LHS is sitting there in the parking lot, but I'm still a youthful lad and I know I don't have my license yet. I walk into the garage and it turns out its the location of my dad's friend's repair shop. He offers to fix my car but won't let me go in the back to see it done. I walk out the door and I hear and explosion. I think to myself, "I don't have to deal with her anymore." Then I awaken.

Since goob has such a nice format for his dreams, I figure it would only flatter him to use the same.

I'm in a room with two other people I do not recognize. They appear to be in some sort of black military uniform. An officer walks into the room, gives each of us a rifle, and tells us to get out of the room.

Suddenly I'm outside on the water with a number of other soldiers in that same black uniform. I'm literally standing on the water with the other soldiers. There seems to be some kind of device that lets us stand on it if we 'concentrate' hard enough. So I concentrate while several jets fly past, dropping bombs and firing rounds at us. One jet fighter is struck by a gunship. However, that jet crashes into the gunship with a firey explosion. Meanwhile, soldiers are being dropped from transport planes and they start swimming toward us soldiers standing on the water. The commander orders us to fire and I hesitate while the other soldiers fire. I am yelled at for not firing, so I relent and I start shooting soldiers in the water. It's a bloodbath, and quite simple. The soldiers in the water keep coming despite getting shot at like fish in a barrel. One of the soldiers manages to get close to me and pulls me headfirst into the water. I hold onto my gun and one of my fellow soldiers shoots my attacker and yells at me to concentrate to rise out of the water. I do so and much like walking up invisible stairs, I rise out of the water and continue to fire on people who have no real chance of surviving.

Then I woke up.