April 14, Birmingham, AL
Seth
"Something bad's gonna happen tonight…" I say.
Dean pauses in wrapping athletic tape around his wrist. "Why?"
I shrug. "I don't know." I look down at Roman, who's just staring at me. He always does that, stares at you like he's trying to see into your soul. Or something. I don't even know, but he's always silent. Rarely ever talks. But when he does talk, you better listen because it's always something important.
"What do you think big guy, huh?" Dean punches Roman's shoulder. "Feel some evil aura in the air?" Dean laughs.
Roman looks at him for a few moments, then without a word, exits the locker room.
"See? Nothing," Dean says, following Roman. I hurry to catch up to them.
"But seriously, you don't-"
"Stop. Focus on this match, then after you can fret all you want," Dean interrupts me.
I sigh. Fine, I'll listen to him. But I'm not gonna stop worrying.
Our music starts, and we start down the steps through the crowd. i hate this part. I hate how everyone pokes ans prods and waves their hands in my face. the worst is when they yell at me. Like seriously, there is NO need to yell in my face. Chill.
While we're heading down to the ring. I survey the whole arena, looking for anything out of the ordinary. the crowd looks okay, its the normal jeering and cheering. Commentator's table: fine. Timekeeper's area: a-okay. I look to our opponents in the ring, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, and CM Punk. They look fine. Nothing seems to be amiss.
I jump over the barricade, following Dean. Roman's right behind me; I hear the thud when he jumps over the barricade. Dean hands his US title to one of the timekeepers, and jumps in the ring, and yells at his opponents. He shrugs out of his sweatshirt, and throws it towards the timekeepers.
"I'm in first," he mutters to me as I join him in the ring.
"Dude, no you were in first the last time!"
Roman stands behind the ropes, not getting involved. As usual. He always lets me and Dean decide amongst ourselves.
"No way man, " Dean pushes me away.
In the other corner, Cody stands, waiting for the bell to ring.
"Nah, you got this. I wanna fight Punk though," Dean pats my shoulder as he steps behind the
ropes.
Just then, the bell rings. Showtime.
I knew something was gonna happen tonight. I KNEW it.
It was at the end of the match; I had just tagged Roman in, and he got Goldust in a pin, the crowd was chanting "1, 2-"
The screams started at 2.
At first, I thought it was the normal screams you expect to hear during a match. But no, these were different. Much different.
We all looked in the direction of the commotion, completely forgetting about the match. It looked like the whole crowd was moving away from something. From what, I didn't know.
"What the…" I heard Dean say.
People came running down the steps at an alarming pace, pushing everyone out of the way.
Roman stood up slowly, and so did Goldust, completely forgetting the fact that he's supposed to be 'knocked out'.
"We need to get out of here mean," I call out, stepping off the apron and to the ground, keeping my eyes on the crowd of people running. Out of my peripheral vision, I see Dean do the same. Roman backs away towards us, and before I can ask him anything, he grabs both my arm and Dean's and runs up the ramp, dragging both of us behind him.
Just then, one of the people jump over the barricade, drags the confused Cody Rhodes off the apron, and then they...bite him?
I'm about to make a comment about fangirls, but Dean grabs me and drags me backstage.
"What's going on out there?" Fellow wrestler Daniel Bryan asks.
"Fangirls," I say.
"Don't be a dumbass Seth. No, I have no idea what the hell's happening," Dean explains.
Daniel looks to the tv screen that shows what's happening in the ring, and I'm surprised to find that the cameramen are still recording...wouldn't they have been attacked by those crazed people? But then I realize that it's not cameramen, it's those moving ones, y'know, the ones that are over the crowd? I have no idea what they're called, but those ones are still moving about capturing the scene unfolding.
It looks like people in the crowd are attacking each other. But why? The person that had attacked Cody had climbed in the ring and attacked Goldust. CM Punk had ran out of view, and seconds later he was next to us, panting slightly.
"Those people are not sane," Punk says, pointing at the screen. "I tried talking to them, asking them what the fuck they were doing, and they just stared at me."
"What'd they do to Cody?" I ask.
"Nothing. Only bit him."
"Well is he okay? Why isn't he with you?" Daniel asks.
Punk shrugs.
The screams increase in volume, and we all turn our attention back to the screen. What I see there absolutely sickens me. The camera's stopped at one part of the terrified crowd, and one of the crazies is crouched in front of a fallen person. A pool of blood surrounds them.
"Is that guy fiucing EATING the other one?" Dean asks, putting emphasis on 'eating'.
"No, no way," Daniel says, eyes glued to the screen.
I'd like to think he wasn't, but there was no other explanation.
"We should get out, get away from here," Punk says.
"I second that," I input.
"Definitely, before they realize we're here," Daniel adds.
"Yup, let's get out of here," Dean says, and starts to walk away.
"Roman?" I ask, wondering whether he has any other ideas. Without answering, he follows Dean. I shrug, and start walking after him. Behind me, I hear Punk and Daniel talking about what just happened. I still can't believe it. Like, is this real life? Is this actually happening?
"Hey, we're going to the locker room to change into actual clothes," Daniel says.
"Meet us in the parking lot," Dean calls out over his shoulder.
"Parking lot?" I question.
Dean turns around and walks backwards as he says, "Uh, yeah."
"Shouldn't we grab some stuff first? Where do you even plan on going?" I stop and ask.
Dean stops as well, and slowly turns to face me. Roman keeps walking.
"We need to leave. Like, now."
"Yes, I know but-"
"No, You listen to me!" Dean points at his chest and steps closer to me. A dark glint appears in his blue eyes. Aw c'mon, do we really need psychotic Dean right now? "We're leaving, and we're leaving now!"
"Fine! Whatever." I back away from him and put my hands up. "Chill Dean."
He continues to glower at me until he abruptly turns and continues walking.
God, Dean's such an asshole sometimes. I shake my head, and reluctantly follow him.
I suddenly realize that there's no one else around. Backstage is FULL of people bustling about, making sure that the nights show runs smoothly. But now...nothing. I nervously look around look around, hoping that I'm just being paranoid. The hallway in front of us seems to go on for forever, stretching for infinity. The metal boxes lining the hallway are perfect hiding spots.
"Dean…" I call out, stopping.
"What now Seth?" he turns and says, exasperation in his voice.
"Do you feel like you're being watched?"
Dean scoffs. "Cut the crap man. Stop being such a wuss."
Then there was a bang.
Dean swore, then said, "C'mon, can we hurry it up please?"
Before we can run out of there, someone jumps out from behind the metal boxes, snarls, and runs at Dean.