I have many dreams where I'm being chased. Last night was a perfect example, but many things like this often happen. I'll skip to the relevant part.

I'm stopped by three police with an older gentleman whom I don't know. Suddenly, he pulls out a gun and begins firing. He shoots two instantly, and the other hides with me behind a car (not mine, the shooter's). Then, the assailant gets a clean shot and I watch third-person as the last officer's head brutally explodes, and I'm briefly afraid it's mine.

I start running. He's firing at me. I run near a gas station that ends up detonating but I'm far enough away to survive the blast. However, gas gushing from the opened hole is raining down on me while it's on fire, flaming rain. I hear an voiceover about the fires of hell.

Sometimes in dreams I get into fights that end in a gun drawn, or I'm being chased by those with guns (Robert DeNiro shortly after watching Goodfellas). One time I was robbing a house that contained an armory when the owner returned. Other times, I'm just running.

The problem I'm facing is that in the moment, I'm not thinking about lucid dreaming, because I'm not going to challenge the reality of someone pointing a gun at me. I simply react too quickly and too panicky to check my watch or pull my fingers or check any other dream indicators.

Any thoughts on how to get over this? I've been lucid before, but usually when I'm not in danger. If I could only do something in the dream that feels safe I can stop to confirm my state of mind.