The Steamlands

Chapter 10: Regrets

After I drove myself to work the next night, I settled into my desk and began to work, when suddenly, I got a notification through my phone to check my email. The subject read

"MUST VIEW"

Intrigued by this, I opened the email on my computer hoping it wouldn't be some kind of virus. There was a video attached to it. When I clicked on it, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were two men standing behind a woman and a boy with their heads covered. They had knives in their hands.

"We know who you are and what you've done. Now your going to pay the price for what you did, with your own blood" They said.

I was so confused, frightened even, but that was nothing compared to when the men uncovered the faces of the people they had kidnapped. They were my mother and brother. My heart sank. No! That couldn't be possible. Could they have been the same people that escaped yesterday? Could that be the true intent of them stealing the laptop, to get revenge on ECLIPSE for killing other criminals? I thought they were going to expose the place and now they were going to do god knows what to my family. I kept watching the video. The men put the knives near my mother and brother's throat.

"No! They can't do this! If I had only stopped him, my family wouldn't be...!" I cried out. Nothing could express what I was feeling at the moment.

I couldn't take this anymore but I couldn't stop myself from watching. The two men slit their throats and my family dropped to the ground. I couldn't absorb what had just happened. They were gone. They were all gone, and it was my fault. If only I had stopped them when I had the chance. Now it was too late. My whole body felt cold and numb. I couldn't move. My eyes were wide open. I couldn't swallow the lump I had in my throat. I finally got up, and grabbed the courage to call her, my mother. Perhaps this was someone's sick idea of a joke. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" I said as someone picked up on the other line.

"Is this Miss Amanda Payne?" A man from the other side of the line responded.

"Yes it's me, why do you have my mother's phone?"

"Ma'am I'm sorry to tell you but Miss Payne and Alex Payne perished a few hours ago. We were going to call you before but you beat us to it. I'm very sorry for your loss ma'am" The man said.

I couldn't believe it. They were really gone. It was all over for me. They were the only thing that kept me going. They were the only people I ever loved. And now that was gone. I dropped on the floor and threw my phone. This was all my fault. This was all my FREAKING fault! Ugh! NO. NO! This WASN'T MY FAULT! This was THEIR FAULT. Those FREAKING criminals took my family away from me and now they were going to PAY for what they did! I'd make sure I'll KILL them myself. I don't care what it takes! Keeping this in mind, I worked until one of my favorite designs was ready. I called it The Harrow. It was a machine that impales metal teeth throughout the body and monitors brain function in the process. It was my most painful machine yet, and I was surely going to use it on those pathetic criminals that took my family away from me.

That night, I gathered all the equipment needed to build the machine, and soon enough, I started putting it together. It would take some time, but I didn't care. All I wanted was revenge on such malicious people. For the first time in my life, I finally saw them for what they really were, MURDERERS, willing to take innocent lives for their own personal vendetta. If they took innocent lives, why shouldn't we take theirs? I'm sure The Steamlands would send the criminals here once they were caught, but I'd have to ask Dr. Truman first. So I stopped working for a while and went to his office.

"I'm so sorry Amanda. I hate that this happened to you, but in the end, justice will prevail" He stated in his serious voice.

"How do you know?"

"Everyone in this facility received the email" he responded.

"But good thing the criminals have already been caught. I already arranged so that they'll be coming in tomorrow night, and I promise you, you'll be the first person they'll see. For now, you must feel really hurt, you should go rest this night early"

"Is there anyway I could see their bodies, my mother and brother's bodies before they're buried?" I cried out, feeling the tears starting to come out of my eyes.

The mixture of anger and guilt couldn't be suppressed for any longer.

"I'm sorry Amanda but you know the rules. You won't be able to see them again. You can't get out of The Steamlands, even in these severe conditions" He replied.

I felt broken. The only way I could appease this was by at least getting revenge for what happened to my family. That was the least I could do. It was my right, my duty to avenge them, in the name of my love for them.

"I can't leave now. Thanks for giving me the opportunity but I must prepare for their arrival. I'm already working on the manufacturing of my next machine. It should be ready by tomorrow night" I responded back.

I could tell he was surprised by my motivation.

"Alright then, do you need any help?"

"I'd be glad to have your assistance, if you have the time"

"I will always have time for you Amanda. I'll be there in a few minutes" He said, in his naturally serious tone.

I went back to my place and continued developing and putting together the parts of The Harrow, all night. Dr. Truman joined me short after. We worked harder than we ever did our whole life. I tried to ignore the pain I was feeling and focused solely on my work. I used a machine in another part of the lab to manufacture the parts my machine needed. I could sense the smell of fresh metal surrounding all the facility. With his help, I was able to finish the machine within one night. The computer that monitored the brain function was installed and connected by other experts here at ECLIPSE and soon, everything was up and running. Time flew by and when I least expected it, it was morning.

After I had finished giving the finishing touch to my machine, I packed up and went home with a blank mind. It was when I dropped on my bed when everything came to me; the memories of before I entered this dark place. My family and I, used to go out to the movies every other Saturday night. My mother used to love the comedies while my brother loved the horror movies. They used to argue a lot about which movie they would get to see in the theater. I missed them so much. Perhaps, there was a way to escape. Perhaps, I could come back in time and no one would notice, just so I could see my family one last time. No, I knew that was impossible. There was nothing I could do to see them. I finally let go of this swirling ball of emotion and cried myself to sleep at night. They were all I ever had, and I knew I would never forget them for what they were. A loving mother and brother whom I cared for very much, and even though they were gone, they would forever live on in my heart. Deep inside me, always.