In my dream, I am in a strange, unfamiliar corridor — no windows or doors, no clear exit. I am alone except for the awareness that I am being watched. I am armed with a handgun (I am not a gun owner or enthusiast), and I am making my way with as much caution as I can muster, given the feeling that I must hurry to my destination, which is unknown.

From nowhere, lasers shoot at me from the ceiling. I triggered some sort of alarm, and there are sirens and red flashing lights. I start firing at the sources of the lasers, moving, running, shooting. As I reach the end of the corridor and find it is a dead end, I wake up.

— Diane, 50, New Haven, MA

Lauri: Corridors and hallways in a dream are often connected to transitions in real life, as one has to go through a corridor to get to another room. It is unfamiliar to you because you must be in a transition that is one you have not been through before.