Dreams are a curiosity and people use the term for a few diffrent ideas. We use the term dream for an experience or memory we percieve while asleep. It is also used to refer to your aspirations or goals in life. Curiously we usually don't know when we are dreaming most of the time and we usually shrug off anything that doesn't make sense in one. Some actually do know when they're dreaming though and have even developed techniques to know when they are experiencing one. People invent many reasons as to why we dream what we dream. Among them people believe we see the future in dreams, while others believe higher beings speak to us through them and other simply think they are our minds concocting our past experiences with our imagination.

Whatever be the case Alexander Faber had never felt such a life-like lucid dream. He was standing on a small round platform with three sets of steps going all around it for his descent. What really caught his attention however were the doors. Six distinct "doors", perhaps entrances were a better description, were arrayed around him. The first was a curtain of flame burning blue, red then green in an entrancing rainbow dance. Immediately to it's right was the door of air with a raging whirlwind with wind so dense Alex couldn't see past it. Beside the wind was a dense foilage of leafy vines and vibrant flowers which favored the approximation of a living door of nature. A frozen block of spiked ice made the next door, resembling the inside of an iron maiden, which was directly opposing the door of flame. The door of stone was a slab of solid rock decorated by a wondrous pattern of percious gems in the vague outline of a mountain, it opposed the whirlwind door. The last door was a door made solely of welded skulls giving an ominous feel to it, while opposing the door of vines.

"Okay, now this is a little off putting...." Alex scratched his head and allowed himself to digest his surroundings.

"I'm guessing I have to choose one? And this is some sort of weird magic dream?" Alex concluded after half-heartedly scanning the area.

"Man this is driving me nuts. I wish Jess was here, or better all three and they could help me choose." Alex mussed aloud after a short pause and sighed.

In his mind Alex concluded fire was out due to his unwillingness to be burnt by the door even in a dream. He wasn't sure what would happen if he got hurt in here, but he sure wasn't going to test it out. He quickly crossed out the door of skulls as well as it was creepy. The whirlwind held little appeal as he couldn't envision any benifits and he wasn't sure he wanted to jump through and take a chance at whatever may be on the other side. The icy spikes were also off-putting if the inside was anything like the outside he could slip and impale himself. That left the door of stone and the door of vines, both which were on the immediate sides of the spiky ice door.

"I'd flip a coin if I had one...The stone doors looks pretty sweet, especially with those gems and if it somehow gives me magic over stone it could be useful in a cave." Alex had his brows furrowed and tried to decipher the situation.

"Then again if the vine door gives me nature magic maybe I could grow food and stop us from starving or something." Alex tilted his head and scratched his neck, he was getting pretty good at speaking to himself.

He stayed there for a minute debating the possible benifits. Until he decided to go with the vague chance of food.

After all what use were gems if you die of hunger? He had to think of the group and who knows when they would find food in that damn cave. He approched and soon the other doors faded from the dream leaving him standing before the vines. He grabbed the wooden knob, twisted and pushed with all his might.

********

He blinked and came to himself.

"Alex you okay?" Eian stared at him, rubbing his own jaw.

Extruciating pain shot through Alexander and he let loose a primal scream.

"ALEX!" Jessica's voice pitched.

The trio watched as in horror as Alexander howled, thrashed and suffered through the unimaginable. Eian struggled to hold him down to prevent him from harming himself, though Alex was stronger and frentic. Jessica was crying and hysteric, while Sarah sat with a pale face wondering if she sentenced him to death. Eian didn't have much time to think at all as Alex was well built, but with his new surge of Adrenaline he felt he could at least hold his own.

It felt like an eternity, the pain was beyond physical, worse than any migrane, something insubstancial within him was twisting, streching and growing within Alex. The pain lessened and Alex stopped screaming his throat raw and his body went lax his energy spent.

"This is all your fault! Sarah! I told you guys. I told you to think it through!" Jessica stabbed a finger accussingly toward Sarah whose wyes were wide and breathing uneven.

Sarah took a step backwards and she looked lost.

"Hey calm down guys. He's still breathing and he's awake." Eian lifted both palms soothingly, hoping to evade an argument.

"So what! That doesn't mean something's not wrong with him! What if he's an idiot or if he has internal bleeding or or or ..." Jessica pulled at her hair and broke down into a snivling mess.

"I'm.... Okay." Alex voice sounded small and week, he tried to smile, but his throat felt sanded downed and was obviously raw.

"Alex I'm soooo sooo sorry. I didn't think you would go through that. Eian was fine after a quick minute." Sarah stared at his eye and apologized sincerly.

Alex shook his head in denial, coughing he continued shaking his head, but he didn't want to speak anymore than he needed to at the moment, every word felt like it would tear his throat.

"I think we need to move guys. We proably shouldn't stick around after all that screaming." Eian said nervously and glanced towards the exit.

The group agreed, though Jessica wanted to wait for Alex to recover. Alex shrugged it off as the pain receaded to a dull metaphysical ache. He would eventually tell them about his strange encounter, preferably when he could talk better though. They pressed onwards in hopes of salvation. They knew they would need food, though none felt anything resembling fatigue yet. The tunnel had many twists and turns and Eian focused on his hearing attempting to spot any oddities. A two sets of paired giant spiders were encountered but Eian and Sarah dispatched them as Alex was in no condition for a fight. Sarahs tattoo began to glow and this time the group wasn't surprised.

"Since Alex risked the blue, I'll risk the green." She resolutely declared and nodded to herself.

"You sure? You could just go with red. I didn't feel too off from it and its obviously the safest." Eian rubbed his head and looked over at her.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's my idea that these things are magical and we have to learn what we're dealing with. It's not fair to Alex that he had to suffer for my idea." Sarah took a deep breathe to remain brave.

Jessica glared, but remained silent obviously harbouring some animousity, while Alex gazed at her helplessly, but respected her decision and courage. Eian was worried, but if the other two colors were anything to go by nothing deadly occured from them, though he wasn't too trilled about ever trying the blue. Sarah pressed down on the green which read Mind:4. Upon the top of her head she felt an ice-cold feeze, comparable to extreme brain-freeze, which sent shivers down her spine. She squeezed her eyeslids shut from the freeze so tight she began seeing vague flashing lights even with her eyes closed. The icy-sensation proceed to "melt" and pour down through-out the inside of her cranium. Shortly she was blinking as she stared around and felt mostly normal except the coolish sensation in her skull, which was rather refreshing.

"Huh... That wasn't so bad. I actually feel pretty good." Sarah avoided looking at Alex, and had a shy apologetic smile.

"Hahahahaha!.... Looks like you got the shit-end of the deal Alex." Eian grinned and pointed at him, happy Sarah's brain didn't melt, though he was almost certain that wouldn't have happened.

Both Alex and Jessica gave him the stink-eye, as he devoled into a minor fit of childish giggling. Sarah remained with her apologetic smile towards Alex. After Eian gathered his wits, they once more set off.