There was no way we were getting back to the base in the shape we were in so we took the next two nights to rest back at the hotel as did the rest of our soldiers. Most went straight into their rooms when we got back but I went to the hot tub. A few others joined me but not many. The steam and hot water was refreshing after battle but most vampires never figured that out. Even among the humans hot tubs were a luxury. The other vampires whispered amongst themselves about me thinking I could not hear them.
"The new guy did pretty well in that fight. He is better trained then I ever was at his age. It is a good thing he did not let us down or it would have spelled death for us all." One of them said to the other. It was nice to hear compliments for once. A lot of the lower ranking vampires seem to have a vendetta against me for some unknown reason.
"He did well. He should be proud." The other vampire sound out loud so I could hear. I tossed the water over my head to rinse off but stayed sitting for a few moments to get the smile off my face. I gave them the complimentary nod as I sat down in the water as did they. The next half hour was total silence as we all just enjoyed the comfort of the hot tub and each others company. My skin was soft as a baby's butt when I got out. I felt totally rejuvenated from the water; all the stiffness was gone, the cuts were starting to heal, the bruises were fading. The only thing that was still bothering me was my arm where the big one hit me. There was a small fracture I could feel but not enough to make my arm completely lifeless. But flexing or moving it hurt like hell.
I got back up to the room just before dawn but it would not really matter anywhere I was in the hotel since all the windows had UV protection on them. This was one of the only places I had ever seen that vampires could walk freely. Either way, I was sleep before the sun came up. Diach had already fallen asleep by the time I came back. He was in even worse shape then I was but since he was a big-name general I assumed he had been through much worse.
He was still in pretty bad shape when the next night rolled around. Less so than the previous night but still nowhere near peak condition. As he walked around the room and hotel doing his things, he moved very stiffly. I could not really do anything for him which made me feel bad. We were given drinks and food which the vampires ate at the bar but we had to get blood from an employee out back. This hotel still took in humans so we could not let them see us drinking blood from a bag. I could not eat food or drink human drinks, besides water, so watching them do it confused me. After going around back and seeing a mess of unchewed food on the ground, it made sense. They were throwing it back up. We got two bags a piece of blood before going back up to the room to feed on them. They were human blood and refueled us drinking them.
I did not realize how hungry I was until I looked for my other bag and realized I had already fed from both. Diach fed in moderation. I stayed in the room for the rest of the night but Diach left again after he finished. He was walking a little better but still not well. There was not any reason for me to leave so I spent the night inside. I never cared to ask Diach what he was doing in the hotel when he left. It was not my business. I turned on the tv to see what the news was saying about our spectacle in the other hotel.
"There was a reactor problem in the hotel that left many residents dead. In total, 1300 bodies were recovered. The hotel was known to have a faulty reactor but as there are no repairment facilities in the city, it could not be fixed. Moving it would have spelled disaster for the surround area so it was all just a waiting game until this happened." The news anchor lied. She must have been covering what really happened up. That was not something that came cheap. Upon looking closer at her and her co-anchor, I did not recognize either so I concluded they were not vampires. Also, I had not seen them in the hotel so I did not think they were Moonwalkers but there was no way of knowing for sure. The Moonwalker before did say he put out a call for all the Moonwalkers in the city to come battle us but a few did not respond. It was possible she was one of the few.
Thinking back before that, I had never seen any female Moonwalkers. They must have had some to carry on the bloodline but I had not seen them. There were plenty of female vampires as they had a better awareness in battle and we needed them often times but the Moonwalkers did not. They were dumb animals after all. I did not think about it again after that. It was an hour before dawn when I fell asleep. The beds in this hotel were incredibly luxurious and comfortable.
Diach still was not back to his peak condition the third night but we could not wait any longer. We made the trek back through the woods to the base. Since we knew the way there, it was a faster walk but not fast enough to make it with time to spare since we had to walk the whole way. Diach went straight to the princes while I went to the bar. We both still had some visible cuts and scars so it was obvious we had gotten into some trouble.
"What happened to you, young one?" The older general from before asked. He looked impressed after I told him what we had just done. He must not have thought I had it in me.
"Well well, this is a surprise. I never knew you had it in you, kid." The old man said with a hearty laugh. The higher ranking vampires did not think much of me one way or the other. They would have my name engraved in their heads, I would make sure of it. Kristine and Ally came down to the bar after a few minutes of me talking to the general. Ally looked at me with disinterest as Kristine came running over.
"What happened?" Kristine asked worried. This was the most beaten I had been with the vampires. I had to go over the story again with Kristine. Ally never came close while I was there.
"Wow, you and the others destroyed a base? You all did a good job. Come on and let us get you into the massage therapist. She will have you back to 100% in no time." Kristine said grabbing my arm pulling me away. I had to make sure to show the general some respect before leaving but I did not have time so I waved at him.
"I will talk to you some more later." I called out to him. He waved at me with a smile before going back to drinking. We went into a part of the base I had never known about. It was a singular large room with one table in the middle. There were a few vampires waiting on the side of the room in front of a counter. When we came in, the man behind the counter motioned us over.
"Oh, who is this?" The man asked looking me up and down. I was in much worse shape then the others waiting from the looks of it.
"This is Skytel. They just came back from a base mission." Kristine said still holding my arm. I heard a few gasps when she said my name from the people waiting.
"This is the famed Skytel? We will get him up next. The others can wait." The desk man said. I could not tell if it was because of my condition or my name. This elicited a glare from me towards the man. He did not notice it. When I walked over to the others waiting, they shifted around to open two chairs for me and Kristine. We were only waiting for a few minutes before the desk clerk called us and told me to go to the table. When I lied down on it, a beautiful woman came out from a door on the other side of the room. She was holding some ingredients in her hands. Just from the smell, I could tell one of the bags in her hand was a very fresh bag of blood.
"What is your name, young one?" The woman, now standing over me, asked. She had an endearing voice that put me in a calm state of mind.
"Skytel." I said simply watching her mix together all the things in her hands. She stopped for a moment after hearing my name but continued on mixing.
"Skytel what?" She asked next without looking at me. She was being very precise about how much of each thing she put into the mixture.
"Skytel Anxioman." I said realizing no one else knew my last name. I was only ever referred to as Skytel but never my last name. I do not even know if Diach knew my last name. She finished mixing as I thought about it and brought the dish over holding everything together. I was lying on my back holding Kristine's hand. The woman told me to turn over before pouring the mixture directly on the center of my back. It stung a bit but not enough to take real notice of. I had not questioned it but now I was beginning to as to why Kristine was holding my hand.
The woman started massaging the gel-like substance over my body and was careful to make sure to get the mixture into my cuts and joints. The stinging was slowly increasing as she rubbed my body and before long it was like my body was ablaze. Without noticing it, I started squeezing Kristine's hand and gritting my teeth. This pain was intense. It was like I was being set on fire, extinguished, and set on fire again and again. It was worse each time as well. It started off horribly but by the third time, it was absolutely unbearable. I was so focused on the pain, I did not realize I started screaming. Kristine was holding my hand tightly as I screamed. This went on for well over fifteen minutes until it stopped. Just as fast as it started, it ended.
I was breathing heavily when it ended as well as sweating. That was an agonizing experience that I did not care to repeat ever again. I would rather just naturally heal than go through that again.
"It will not be that bad anymore now that the solution has mixed with your blood. The pain will be much better next time and should be totally gone by the third." The woman said packing her things up. I was not sure there would be a second or third time. That was something I could not sit through again. Kristine wiped the sweat off my face before we left. The next one to lie on the table went through the process without making a peep. He must have been through that quite a few times.
I walked straight to my room with anger written on my face. Kristine tried to have a conversation on the way but I was too mad at her to even talk.
"Why did you not mention that before? You let me walk into that blind." I said to her as she left. She gave me a guilty smile and left without replying. This was an anger I could feel would not subside any time soon. I felt wronged but there was no way to get even so it would just come down to time if I was ever to forgive her.