Ashtaroth

no attempts to MILD or WILD this time- i was too tired, as i was up very late. A more vivid dream this time, with something approaching a coherent (but by no means rational) story.

DREAM STARTS
It's my birthday again, and i'm on a long riverboat/houseboat-ey type thing- however, it seemed to be much larger than expected. The man who owned it was a tour guide, and he said he had to go, and asked me to cover for him. He quickly explained the controls, and left. People started boarding the ship for the tour, and I had to pilot the boat and give the tour, despite not knowing the area. We went past a few familiar locations, including the church near my college, despite the fact that it's about a mile away from the sea, and at least 2 miles away from any rivers.
When people had left, i opened a birthday card. It was from someone who I hadn't seen since i left high school. The card was an invitation; She said that her father owned an island off the south coast, and that we were welcome to go there as a holiday. After reading it, i looked out of the window. There are zombies running about on the bank, with a few tumbing into the water to try to reach the boat. We decide that the safest place would be the island, as it is isolated and sparsely populated. I then find myself in a supermarket, which i recognise as being the one near my mother's house, some 200 miles away. An employee walks up to me, and i recognise it to be an old friend i hadn't spoken to since he dropped out of college.
I then wake up on the island. The person who sent me the card, Jess, was standing there, telling me that the zombies were on the island. We retreated to a manorhouse surrounded by open fields, and suddenly i found myself in command of a medieval army- 'controlling' them in a similar manner to the Total War video games. I remember ordering spearmen to break a cavalry charge; the cavalry appeared to be the zombies riding giant boars. I woke up shortly after that.

DREAM ENDS

I'm noticing a bit of a trend of shop-related dreams. Although it's different shops, could that be a dreamsign?
Also, HOW i didn't realise i was dreaming i have NO idea... Clearly my grip on reality is tenuous at best..