What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?

Last night I had a sort of Lost-esque dream. But instead of being on a tropical island, I was stranded with a group of people in the middle of the desert. We were getting along just fine on some sort of inhabitation— it was like a train car (not the old kind but one that could from a metallic, futuristic looking monorail) only wider, with enough space inside for living quarters, bathrooms with hot showers, etc.

At some point we became aware of some “others” that were not too far off in the desert. Dreams can be somewhat abstract… I don’t know if I ever understood fully what made those “others” dangerous. At one point I thought they were killers. At another I thought they were carrying a deadly disease and contagious. At yet a later point in the dream it seemed as though the others had one person who was sick that was sort of their weapon. In any case, there was a very real sense of anxiety and danger in this dream.

At one point we moved out of our train car and hit the road because our lookout had spotted the others moving towards us. After what didn’t seem like a terribly long hike through a canyon and then what seemed like some sort of miniature desert city, where people droned along small roads and intersections as if under some kind of spell. We eventually ended up near some more train cars, and somehow they were supposed to be safer than the one we had vacated. I have no idea what would make these more safe than the ones we felt necessary to evacuate (dreams don’t really make sense, do they?).

I saw a semi truck pull up and a man with a smirk deliver something to one of the train cars. Moments later I was in a car adjacent to the one that had received the delivery and heard someone coughing uncontrollably, they sounded like they were done for. Freaked me out, I had no idea what was going on, only that there was impending danger. I ran back to the car across the way and shut the door tight. It was kind of a desperate, helpless situation, it seemed. The kind where you lock the door and shut your eyes and just hope that whatever evil is lurking outside your door passes you by without harming you.

Then, my alarm clock went off.