**Disclaimer/warning: This story may contain content that may be disturbing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Stage 1: Discovery
As the night carried on, the superstars who were able to make it to the arena all seemed a little uneasy considering everything that was going on in the southern state that they were in. Sure, they had heard talks about the virus spreading across Georgia on the news, but none of them really saw any reason to be overly concerned. Well- not until now. Even though they weren't exactly sure what was even really going on, the fact that flights in and out of the area were being canceled, and that this was all that news anchors and writers could seem to talk about was enough to cause concern.
Dean was trying to have a conversation with Roman, something about getting beers after the show, but Roman's attention was clearly elsewhere. His eyes were too glued to his phone to pay Dean any mind. Dean stopped talking and glared at Roman for a brief moment before reaching to grab the phone out of his hand.
"What the hell is your problem, huh? Since when did you become so mesmerized by technology?" Dean questioned as he eyed Roman's screen to see what he was so caught up in. He rolled his eyes when he realized what it was.
Roman raised a curious eyebrow. "How are you not even slightly concerned about what's going on right now?"
Dean shrugged a shoulder as he locked the screen of the phone and brought it away from his vision. "You need to relax- you all do. In a few hours we'll be out of this hysteric city and move on with our lives. It's not like anyone in their right mind would come to the arena sick with whatever this is anyway."
Roman wasn't so sure about Dean's view of the situation. He released a heavy breath. "I just wanted to see if it was affecting Florida too. You know, my family's over there and if they're not letting anyone in or out of here-"
Dean shook his head and reiterated what he just said. "Just stop thinking about it. Your people are fine- if they weren't you would've heard from them by now." Dean relinquished the cell phone back to Roman and gave him a reassuring look before moving on his way.
Roman looked down at the phone and slightly shook his head. He knew very well that Dean was being way too relaxed about this situation. He unlocked the phone again and returned to the articles he was lost in before.
It came time for the Bella Twins' match that was originally supposed to be against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, who weren't able to get on their flight to the arena. Instead, they'd be facing Paige and Emma.
As their match carried on, Nikki was out on the apron as her sister worked against Paige. Nikki wasn't paying much attention to what was going on in the ring and just couldn't escape the gut feeling that something was wrong. She looked around as Brie and Paige worked the match with Emma on the apron diagonally across from her. Nikki turned and looked out into the scarce crowd. Something strange was going on.
She couldn't tell for sure due to the ridiculous lighting, but it looked like people were gathering and circling towards one area. It looked like someone might have fallen, or maybe passed out- she squinted as she tried to see through the fans surrounding the area.
Nikki was able to make out the words of one of the security guards ordering another to call for an ambulance. She began to instantly feel nauseous. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a tap on her arm. Nikki turned back towards the ring and realized that Brie had tagged her in.
Nikki slowly entered the ring as she kept her eyes at ringside.
"Brie, something's wrong." Nikki said as Brie stepped through the ropes.
Brie read the intense look of concern on her sister's face and followed her eyes out into the crowd. She watched as security guards tried to move fans away to make room. They could tell now that someone was definitely ill.
The referee, who quickly noticed that all four divas were distracted by the sight, quickly signaled to them that the match needed to continue.
All four ladies hesitated but did as they were told and finished off what turned into possibly the sloppiest match any of them had ever been part of.
When the match was over, the women quickly headed backstage.
"What was that all about?" Paige asked no one in particular.
Nikki had jitters and her stomach was turning as she explained what she saw out in the crowd. "Guys, what if that person was infected with that virus that's going around? It's contagious, what if-"
"You're being ridiculous. It looked like they just fainted, stop being so dramatic." Paige brushed it off before walking away from the ladies. Emma slightly shrugged at both Bellas and followed Paige, clearly in agreement with her.
Brie took a deep breath. "They could be right. It could've been nothing... but you heard what was on the radio earlier. I'm gonna go find Daniel and see if we can just get out of here to be safe."
Brie gave her sister a look and a gentle squeeze on her arm telling her to stop worrying. Nikki gave her a slight nod before she parted, leaving Nikki standing there alone.
Nikki crossed her arms and stood still as she tried to convince herself that Paige was right. -You're just overthinking everything, you have nothing to be worried about. Remember what John said- She thought to herself. She took a deep breath before finally taking a step to head back to the locker room.
She paused once more when she suddenly heard multiple screams. Her face flushed and she could feel the panic instill in her heart as she turned and scanned the area. Everyone who was around her froze, wearing similar facial expressions.
There was another scream coming from the ring area. She began making her way back over to the curtain, unsure what to expect as she peaked her head to try to look out into the area.
It was chaos as she and other coworkers watched from behind the stage as fans in the audience hopped over seats trying to get out of the arena.
"Oh my gosh," Nikki said when she noticed what resembled blood on a couple of people.
Nikki took a few steps backwards as the chaos that erupted around her seemed to begin to transpire in slow motion. She looked around at the panicked faces and everything seemed to speed up again once she realized that she needed to find Brie and get out while she could. She didn't know what was going on for sure, but she wasn't going to wait around to find out. As Nikki rushed through the backstage halls she could hear workers yelling at people to grab their stuff and leave the arena while others were directed to call 911.
Meanwhile, Brie had been in a failed search to find her husband Daniel since departing from Nikki after their match. She was on her way back to where she left her sister with a confused look as she watched people run in the opposite direction. Despite the fact the everyone was running away from the area, Brie continued on with her eyes peeled as she investigated. Brie turned the corner as she continued on her way then suddenly froze in her wrestling boots.
Brie gulped as she observed the pale and sweaty skin the man wore as a mixture of drool and blood escaped his mouth. His eyes were lifeless as he slowly approached Brie.
"...Our source tells us that the virus progresses quickly through the body, starting with flu-like symptoms…"
The voice of the news reporter on the radio replayed in Brie's head as she starred at the ill looking man.
"Are you okay? Do you need help?" Brie questioned the man with sympathy. A painful sounding groan was all she received as a response as he came closer. Now only a couple of feet away from the Bella.
"I can call for an amb-" Brie began but gasped and fell backwards when he quickly lunged to grab her.
"...Our source also tells us that the patient became very violent and even attacked some of the hospital personnel who were attending to her."
Brie was in a fearful panic as she quickly scrambled backwards until she was far away enough to get back to her feet. Without looking back, she ran, realizing that not only was she almost attacked, but clearly the man she was trying to help was infected by this virus that had been the center of everyone's attention. She needed to find Nikki and Daniel to make sure they were safe.
Roman had isolated himself from the rest of the backstage population as he continued trying to call his wife to no avail. Being the hot head that he was, he raised his arm ready to throw the cell phone against the nearest wall. Before he could release the phone from his grasp, he paused and turned when he suddenly heard a scream. He began walking but it soon turned into running when he watched a handful of his coworkers push past him in an attempt to get out of the arena.
"What's going on?" Roman yelled to the person nearest to him but received no response; everyone was too preoccupied with getting away. He heard another scream and quickly allowed his feet to follow where the sound originated form. He ran around the corner where he thought it came from and stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened.
"No way" he said in disbelief at what was in his sight. He shook his head before making the quick decision to find Dean and Seth to warn them and get them away from the arena as soon as possible.
Brie finally stopped running to breathe as she bent over and her hands landed on her knees for support. She took a deep breath as she looked up from the ground and scanned the area. Still no Nikki and no Daniel in sight. She stood up straight when she registered that the area was actually empty- abandoned with equipment scattered around.
She furrowed her brows as she heard a sound, a moaning and groaning as if someone was in pain- like before. The sound was getting closer and it was coming from behind her. She turned around and there he was. Another person who she could tell had been infected. This guy looked worse than the one she encountered before. With how weak he looked, she was surprised he could even walk. She put a pause to her thoughts as he came closer to her. Remembering how her last encounter went, she began to back away as he continued to move towards her.
Her back hit a wall as she put her arms out to keep the ill man at least arms distance away. She looked to her side and saw that she was right next to a door, but with him right there, there is no way she could open and get through the door in time if she needed an escape.
"Please stop where you are, you're sick." Brie pleaded as his chest hit the palms of her hands. Instead of obeying her wishes, he continued pushing his heavy body against her arms, attempting to get closer. Brie's eyes widened when his mouth opened and he continued pushing against.
She screamed and tried to push and kick her way out. But regardless of how weak and ill this man looked in her eyes, his strength was unbelievable.
"Help!" She cried as the man's saliva hit her face as her arms began losing strength as he got closer.
She felt his wet and cold lips touched the surface of her shoulder as she continued to try to push. Suddenly the pressure was removed from her hands and she watched in horror as the man was thrown to the ground.
"Go! Get the hell out of here!"
Brie stood horrified as she watched as Roman held the man down and threw punches straight to the mouth that had tried to take a bite out of her.
"Leave, I got him!" Roman instructed as he threw another strong punch.
Brie looked up from the ground when she noticed another one headed their way, this one a bloody mess. She saw something moving from the corner of her eye on the other side and took a deep breath as she turned to look in the other direction.
"Why are you still-" Roman began asking as he stood to his feet. Before he could finish he noticed the two infected, a woman and a man, closing in on them. They both looked down when they saw the original ill man that Roman's fist had the pleasure of meeting start to rise from the ground.
Roman quickly scanned the area, noticing that they didn't have many options. He quickly grabbed hold of Brie's arm as he opened the door that she had discovered before.
The door quickly shut behind them as they stood in a dark, tight space. For all they knew, they were trapped.
