A buffet, a cliff rope, and our dear leader lucid dream

I had another lucid dream. This time it started with me being in a giant room with hundreds of others. They others appeared to be soldiers. We were all at long, wooden tables aligned in neat little rows. The hall was drowned in the sounds of noisy conversations of boisterous young soldiers talking of exploits, missions, and what they'll do when they get out. I sat there quietly. We were all waiting for the same thing. Dinner time. The commander entered from one of the entrances on the far end of the hall. He carried a silver bell in his right hand. He rang the bell. From the various doors along both sides of the hall, food carts were rushed in and lined up to form a buffet on either side. The conversations had died down by that point and we all awaited the commander's order. "Eat...", he said. He voice was calm but carried a weight that I can't explain. We all jumped up and got in line. He found a seat at the head table and watched as we filled our plates to fill our guts. Some of us were eating our last meals. We knew what was coming but we could not have known how bad it was.

After we ate, we were given instructions to head to the caves for our final round of training. Except this time, many of us would not make it back alive. If we survived, we had the option to continue. Given the nature of the final exam, we were also given the option to resign from our duties. We were all determined to make it. We'd sacrificed so much by that point that it made no sense to quit, even after being pushed to the point of death. We changed into our gear, lightweight clothing with flexible shoes. That's all we were given. Our instructions: Using the stalagtites and the rope provided, get your team across the 100 foot chasm to the other side. I think I was third in line. There were 5 per team, with 1 person designated as the team leader. It wasn't the leader. It wasn't a skill thing as much as a desire to lead that led me to settle as a plain team member. Anyway, the team leader was behind me and we had 2 on the other side. I jumped out about 30 feet and grabbed the rope. Behind me there was a commotion. I turned to see what it was. The other teams, doing what they had to do to succeed, were attacking my team on the starting side. We were the favorites and, with positions being limited even after this test, they wanted to even the playing field. They waited until I was away to attack. I pulled myself up on the rope and reached for the stalagtite it was attached to. I held on with one hand as I undid the rope. I hit the ceiling of the cave and watched as boulders fell down on my comrades surrounding my team. I swung the rope over to them with my right hand. The leader stayed behind as the other guy grabbed on and swung across to the other side. The leader swung over afterwards and I joined them from the stalagtite. As I fell through the air towards the finish line something strange happened. Another boulder fell from the cave ceiling and crushed my team leader. Everyone was in disbelief. I knew it was my fault but I stood there. I sacrificed so many for this person but ironically in that process set about their undoing. Was that weird?