They ordered a few pizzas and drinks, and settled down.

"How've you been, Noah?" Sadie asked.

"Fine," he said. He felt like that was such an unsatisfactory answer, but it was the best he had given his boring life that completely revolved around video games.

"Good, and you Celina?" she asked.

"Fantastic! I have a really good feeling about this year," Celina said, with that charismatic smile of hers.

"Me too,"  Aunt Sadie said with a tired smile.

Their food came and Wilkes raised her glasses, "To our defeat of Lear!"

"Here, here!" they called. They began to eat.

As the meal continued, the adults drifted into talk of how the restaurant was doing and such, and Noah became quite bored.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he mumbled.

"I'll go with you!" Celina said, looking pleased for an excuse to leave as well.

They walked to the bathrooms. Celina smiled.

"We really had to get out of there," she said winking. "Before they started asking us for our opinions!"

Noah laughed. Celina disappeared into the woman's bathroom. Noah went into the men's and spent as long as possible in there.

While he was washing his hands, his phone buzzed. One new email, the notification read. He opened his email and stared at it in horror.

From: fhskxksdjrdlxa>
To: Noah Elder
Subject: Madness

August 14, 2055 at 7:38 pm

Hello Noah,
Welcome to your worst nightmare. The world may seem safe, but not everything is what it seems. I plan on bringing a new Plague of Madness, and your family will be the first to suffer.

Good luck!
-Lear

Noah gaped. Lear? But it couldn't be... Lear was locked up. Vincent had her locked up... Didn't he?