Disclaimer: I own nothing/no one you recognize. So that's most of it. XD
A/N: Hello! This is a sort of add-on to my other story, Wrestling with Zombies. (Shameless self-advertising ftw!) However, it can be a standalone, so if you don't have to read Wrestling with Zombies to know what's happening here. (And yes, I know, Team Rhodes Scholars is no longer a tag team, but when I wrote this they still were, so I'm just going to post it regardless. XD) Hope you enjoy! Please review and let me know what you think. :)
"Damien, have you seen this?" Cody Rhodes asked.
"Seen what?" Damien Sandow asked, peering up from the book he was reading.
Cody waved the remote at the hotel's TV. "The news!"
"What about it?" Damien replied.
"All anyone has been reporting all night is about the epidemic over on the east coast!" Cody sounded worried. "They say that all flights to the east coast have been cancelled; they say that the government has quarantined most of that part of the country."
"Cody, these are the same news reporters who reported that Obama was reelected before the polls had even closed, are they not?" Damien said reasonably. "Only an uninformed ignoramus would believe everything they see on TV."
"I don't know, Damien," Cody said hesitantly. "They showed some footage of some of the sick people; it looked legit."
"And many people have informed me that wrestling looks 'legit;' that doesn't mean it's the UFC," Damien said. "Besides, even if people are sick, it won't be long before the CDC finds a cure. They always do." He spoke more gently. "Get some rest. We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow if we want to make it to Los Angeles on time."
"If you're sure," Cody said uncertainly.
"Of course I'm sure," Damien declared irritably. "Now turn the TV off and sleep." He carefully placed a bookmark in the book he was reading before setting it down on the nightstand between the two beds. He turned off his lamp before settling down under the covers.
Cody reluctantly turned off the TV before placing the remote on the nightstand. He turned his lamp off as well, plunging the hotel room into darkness. As he got comfortable, he prayed that Damien was right and everything would work out, or that it was just some overworked hoax by the news reporters.
Cody picked at his breakfast, pushing around some scrambled egg whites with his fork. He looked up at Damien, who was reading the paper.
Damien had studiously ignored the bold headlines covering the front page and had gone straight to reading the rest of the paper. Cody, however, could not seem to ignore the blazing headlines on the front page that was blocking his view of Damien.
There were two in particular that caught his attention. The first, and biggest, loudly declared: "Latest CDC Efforts to Find Cure Fail." The second read: "United Kingdom's Pleas for Help Go Unanswered."
Cody sighed, giving up on the effort to eat breakfast. "Can I have the front page please?" he asked his tag team partner.
Damien handed him the front page as he took a sip of coffee from the mug on the table, his eyes never leaving the paper.
Cody started with the article about the CDC.
"Atlanta, Georgia: The latest efforts of scientists at the Center for Disease Control have turned up nothing, and many are wondering if there even is a cure to be found. Many have given up hope. One employee of the CDC, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that he "Just wanted to go home and be with his family." Others have promised that the next round of testing will turn up something, but as the death toll mounts, some might wonder if the cure will come too little too late."
Cody shivered. He set the paper down, carefully taking a sip of water from his glass.
Damien looked up in concern. "Are you well Cody?"
"You seriously can't tell me that you just skipped by this," Cody demanded shakily. He turned the paper around so Damien could read it.
Damien scoffed. "I told you last night Cody; it's nothing that won't fix itself. People panicked the same way when influenza turned up. It will happen again when the next major disease is discovered. It's in human nature to blow things out of proportion." He turned the paper up so the only article showing was a one talking about the successful conviction of a local murderer.
They finished their breakfasts and Damien paid the bill. After that they both headed up to their hotel room to get their bags packed.
Damien went into the bathroom to grab a quick shower while Cody sat down on the edge of his bed to watch TV. He browsed through several channels before leaving it on Dr. Phil. He let the noise of the show fade into the background as he gathered up his belongings from the spots he'd tossed them the night before. He finished packing his bag and decided to do Damien a favor and gather up his things as well. He had just finished fishing one of Damien's spare shoes out from underneath the bed when Damien came out if the bathroom. He glanced in disdain at the TV, which was still showing replays of Dr. Phil.
"Really Cody? Dr. Phil?"
"It was all that was on," Cody said with a shrug as he stood up.
"Ah." Damien did not try to hide the disbelief in his voice. "You won't mind if I change it to something more enlightening?"
"Go ahead," Cody said. He sat back down on his bed. He watched Damien flip past a news channel, then past a sitcom to land on the History Channel. Cody sat up in surprise as Damien passed the news channel. "Wait, wait, go back!" he exclaimed as Damien stopped at the History Channel.
Damien glanced at Cody with a look of disgust. "I am not going to watch something so degrading as that sitcom."
"Not the sitcom, the news channel!" Cost exclaimed as he wrestled the remote from Damien's grip.
He hurriedly flipped back to the news channel. "That's nearby!" he declared as he watched the on-scene reporter standing in front of the local hospital.
"That's two streets over," Damien said, mild surprise tingeing his tone. "In fact, I'm almost positive you can see it from the balcony."
Cody hastily turned up the volume on the TV.
"Doctors are saying that the most recent influx of patients is infected with the same virus currently plaguing the east coast states. Authorities are requesting that civilians stay inside and off the roadways as much as possible today as a preventive measure," the lady reported.
Damien was about to look away in disinterest when an ambulance suddenly came barreling into the parking lot behind the reporter, who turned to look. The ambulance, rather than coming to a halt, plowed through several parked cars, causing it to flip and land upside down beside the emergency room doors. The engine abruptly caught fire, the flames licking up the front of the ambulance. The back doors of the vehicle flew open, and a man came charging out, screaming insanely and running straight for the reporter.
Cody and Damien watched with morbid fascination as the man passed out of the camera's view.
Meanwhile, another man came stumbling out of the ambulance, collapsing to his knees as he did so.
"Sir?" The reporter asked before hesitantly approaching the man. "Sir, do you need help?"
The man lurched to his feet, revealing a sight Cody wasn't sure he was ready to see.