The Beginning of the Extreme: The Matrix Sentinel

As a kid I thought I was normal. I went to bed at night. I fell asleep. I dreamed while I was asleep. I woke up and could still remember my dreams. Sounds pretty normal right? Oh ya and I occasionally talked in my sleep and slept walked around the house. I figured it wasn't a big deal. My older siblings would sleep walk from time to time and even my mom had a history of doing silly things in her sleep. Since my family slept walked I thought most everyone does it. I even found it sort of funny and loved to hear about the crazy things I was doing in my sleep.

It took me a few years to realize I was different. I started noticing when I was old enough to have sleepovers. I would often wake up to a bunch of laughing girls who would tell me that I was saying funny things. Other times I would wake up in a different room than the rest of the "slumber party" and instantly look like a weirdo. It sometimes bothered me, but most of the time my friends and I found it really funny. 

Now I know what you are thinking. Children all over the world sleep walk and sleep talk. Big deal. They eventually grow out of it. What makes you so different. What's different about me is that my sleeping disorders didn't stop, they progressively got worse as I got older. Around the time I hit puberty, my nighttime adventures were at an all time high. There were no major incidents, just silly sleepwalks and sleepy conversations with my family members. 

Then I watched The Matrix movies and that's when my extreme dreaming began. (Please ignore the fact that The Matrix series is rated R and that I was only about fourteen when I saw them.) Now if any of you have seen The Matrix you will be familiar with Sentinels. For those of you who have not, basically picture a machine version of on octopus/squid. Here's a picture of what they look like.

Pretty Creepy Huh?

** It was the middle of the night. I woke up terrified. Something was wrong. It was coming. I could feel it. I knew it was right outside my window. I was paralyzed with fear and I knew that if it came through my window it would kill me. I tried to scream but I couldn't make a sound come out. I needed help but my voice wouldn't even make a peep. I saw the shadow getting bigger and I struggled harder to make a noise. Why couldn't any sound escape my lips? I knew I was screaming but for some reason it was like I was on mute. AAAUUGHHH!! There I got one out! AAAAUUGGGH!! And another one! Finally I was able to scream at full volume! Even though I was finally making noise the creature was getting closer. As it slid through my bedroom window I was finally able to see what it was. IT WAS A SENTINEL! It was sliding closer and it was coming right for me. Although I wasn't quite sure how, I knew the sentinel was going to take my life. At this point I start screaming for my life. I need someone, anyone to hear my and save me from this horrible creature. Suddenly I feel cold hands around my shoulders and hear someone call my name. 

  

*****************************BECCA!!!!!!*************************************

I'm awake... I'm sitting on my bed. My mom is starting at me with a look of terror and concern on her face. I look around my room and see my entire family. (Minus my oldest sister away at college and my younger brother who is sleeping upstairs.) Everyone is in their pajamas/undergarments and looking at my like I'm crazy. My heart is beating about a thousand miles an hour. It feels like it's going to explode out of my chest or seep out of my ears or both. I can't seem to catch my breath and simply just fall into my mom's arms. 

My mom asks me what's wrong. I try telling her about the sentinel but I can't make my words come out right. My tongue feels like it's twisted and my mouth is extremely dry. All I can muster out is the word "mosquito", over and over again. I knew very well a mosquito wasn't trying to attack me but for some reason I couldn't find the word for sentinel in my brain. 

A few minutes pass  by and I am finally able to explain to my parents what had scared me. I eventually calm down, catch my breath, use the bathroom and go back to sleep like nothing ever happened. 

So there you have it. That was the beginning of my extreme dreaming. You think that was intense? You have no idea what's coming.