Ren: The Monster's Death
One-Twenty-Six Press.
Ren: The Monster’s Death
Sarah Noffke
Copyright © 2017 by Sarah Noffke
All rights reserved
Copyeditor: Christine LePorte
Cover Design: Andrei Bat
All rights reserved. This was self-published by Sarah Noffke under One-Twenty-Six Press. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you are seeking permission send inquiry at http: www.sarahnoffke.com
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Summary: When the greatest tragedy Ren Lewis has ever encountered besets him, he takes an unfathomable path to stop God from destroying his life.
Published in the United States by One-Twenty-Six Press
ASIN: B01N805317
Praise for Previous Works:
“There are so many layers, so many twists and turns, betrayals and reveals. Loves and losses. And they are orchestrated beautifully, coming when you least expected and yet in just the right place. Leaving you a little breathless and a lot anxious. There were quite a few moments throughout where I found myself thinking that was not what I was expecting at all. And loving that.”
-Mike, Amazon
“The writing in this story was some of the best I've read in a long time because the story was so well-crafted, all the little pieces fitting together perfectly.”
-The Tale Temptress
“There are no words. Like literally. NO WORDS.
This book killed me and then revived me and then killed me some more. But in the end I was born anew, better.”
-Catalina, Goodreads
“Love this series! Perfect ending to an incredible series! The author has done this series right.”
-Kelly at Nerd Girl
“What has really made these books stand out is how much emotion they evoke from me as a reader, and I love how it comes from a combination of both characters and plot together. Everything is so intricately woven that I have to commend Sarah Noffke on her skills as a writer.”
-Anna at Enchanted by YA
To Jessica, aka Sica, because I am you and you are me and we are both Ren Lewis.
Table of Contents
Reading Guide
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Author Note
Note
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Reading Guide
Get your free book here
Reading Guide
Sarah crafted the Dream Traveler universe and has 5 series that take place there. Characters from different series bounce between the books. The reading guide below offers a suggested order for consumption to decrease spoilers and stay on the timeline. The last three series listed can be read in any order.
For more information please visit Sarah’s website at www.sarahnoffke.com or email her at thedreamtravelers@gmail.com
Join the mailing list here for freebies, updates and more! http://www.sarahnoffke.com/connect/
A Dream Traveler Series: The Lucidites Series
Awoken, #1:
Stunned, #2
Revived, #3
A Dream Travelers Series: The Reverians
Defects, #1:
Rebels, #2
Warriors, #3
A Dream Traveler Series: Ren
Ren: The Man Behind the Monster, #1:
Ren: God’s Little Monster, #2
Ren: The Monster Inside the Monster, #3
Ren: The Monster’s Adventure, #3.5
Ren: The Monster’s Death, #4
A Dream Traveler Series: Olento Research
Alpha Wolf, #1:
Lone Wolf, #2
Rabid Wolf, #3
Bad Wolf, #4
A Dream Travelers Series: Vagabond Circus
Suspended, #1:
Paralyzed, #2
Released, #3
Soul Stone Mage Series: An Urban Fantasy Witch Adventure
House of Enchanted, #1:
Dark Forest, #2
Mountain of Truth, #3
Land of Terran, #4
New Egypt, #5
Lancothy, #6
Ghost Squadron Series: A Military Space Opera Adventure
Formation, #1
Exploration, #2
Evolution, #3
Degeneration, #4
Impersonation, #5
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Click here to get started:
http://www.sarahnoffke.com/free-book/
Author Note
Where do you start when you’ve just written your heart and soul into a five book series? At the very beginning. I remember the day Ren Lewis came to me. I was writing the Lucidites series and the funny thing is that first scene never made it into the books. But from there that man went on to appear in six of my novels. And it was a reader named Kelly, you know who you are, who said I should write Ren’s story. I like challenges and so I accepted it. And I thought it would be a short story. I thought I didn’t have much to say on the subject of this man who was mostly hated and somewhat loved in my other books. And two weeks later I completed a sixty thousand word novel. That was supposed to be the end of it. Honestly. But then the redhead wouldn’t shut up. He had more to say and it kept me up at night. And so I decided to give him a three book series. That should suffice, right? Oh no, Ren Lewis isn’t happy unless ALL of his story is told. And so I kept writing. At first it was because of the readers. They loved the idea of sending Ren on a bad vacation where everything went wrong. Again, I love a challenge and so Ren 3.5 was born. That was going to be the end, right? Where else do you go after a wacky vacation? But it wasn’t the end. Ren had one last story to tell. One that I’m certain he was planning on telling all along. He’s used me as his vessel to tell his tale and I don’t know what to say except for, “thank you”.
Many people ask me where Ren came from. Well, he was probably born from my own fascination with British culture and my upbringing watching BBC programming. But honestly, at the end of the day, Ren Lewis is me. He’s the things I think and never say. He’s the uncensored part of me. Don’t get me wrong. Ren is smarter, wiser, more powerful and cunning than I’ll ever be. Even I have to draw the line at some of the things he says and does. However, he’s my alter ego. So now you know. Honestly, Ren is the part of all of us that we’ve caged because society says we should. And that’s probably for the best because few can pull off the snark like this man. T
he world would be an awful place if everyone was Ren. There can be only one and here I leave you with his final tale.
Note
Between Ren: The Monster’s Adventure (#3.5) and this book there is another story. It hasn’t been chronicled yet in its entirety, however events related to that story will be mentioned in this one. Readers of the Dream Traveler tales and of Ren’s stories should be on the lookout for The Dream Traveler Apocalypse novel, due out early 2018.
Prologue
Death. It’s the one thing we can’t avoid and yet we spend our entire lives trying to circumnavigate away from the experience. We fear death more than change, I’ve found. It’s the greatest change. Our very undoing. Our existence being blotted out. Our consciousness being extinguished from this earth, never to be known in the physical realm again.
Everyone dies. Everyone. No account of immortality has ever been documented and yet we continue to fear this certain fate. Humans take every precaution to secure their life but there is no home safe enough. No healthcare plan that can prevent disease. There is no escape. Death is the shadow that follows all of us. And its promise is a real one that it has never failed to deliver.
For centuries explorers, scientists, and religious followers have sought a way to make the hooded figure of death fail in his quest. And none have persevered. But they didn’t know what I know. They sought fountains of youth and treasures and other sacrificial regimens that would secure their immortality. But it’s not about the blood that runs through our veins. It’s about the approach. Death can’t be thwarted with a miracle cure. It has to be outmaneuvered. People who seek immortality fail to see that they are trying to live forever by never dying. They are idiots. They are wrong. They will always fail. And they aren’t me, the most strategic man on this planet.
I’m Ren Lewis and I’m going to live forever.
Chapter One
“Jesus Christ! Just give me five minutes to myself,” the man with too much gel in his hair plugs says, slamming the door. He pushes his back against the paneled surface, as though trying to bar it against a zombie invasion on the other side. “Damn it,” he says, ramming his fist into his thigh and then immediately grimacing from the self-inflicted pain.
This guy is a real fucking idiot. And he’s absolutely perfect for the job I’m about to give him. He hasn’t sensed me sitting on the leather sofa against the north wall of his office. This isn’t a man who observes his environment. He coasts through life, taking advantage of the things that do grab his attention. He’s not a loser or a winner, just a greedy politician who has experienced a series of undeserved successes due to my actions.
Another distressed sigh falls out of his mouth.
“You fear you’re about to lose the election,” I state, grabbing his attention.
His round eyes jerk in my direction on the far side of the gigantic office. Then they narrow with menace as he pops off the wall.
“How did you get in here?” he says.
Yes, the fucker is more concerned with how I got around Secret Service than the more important question. Bloody git.
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned with who I am?” I say, casually propping my legs on the glass coffee table in front of me. “I’ve gotten past a few hundred guards and you would rather know how than the important question of why.” I click my tongue and shake my head. “You really are a fucking moron.”
“How dare you! Who do you think you are?” Douglas says, stomping forward, leaning over the table, trying at intimidation. I knew that insulting the dumbass right off the bat would keep him from calling security. People like him are easily distracted and more intent on defending their egos than preserving their safety. People are so incredibly easy to manipulate.
I ignore his idiot question. Again he’s asking the wrong thing. “Who I am and how I got here are actually useless pieces of data for you. They may be curious bits of information but still they are inconsequential,” I say, casually drumming my fingertips on my knee, and he catches the hypnotic gesture immediately. I pause, realizing this job is going to be incredibly easy. This guy has the brain capacity of a jar of mayonnaise.
“What do you want?” he says, standing tall, tying his thick arms across his chest.
“Now you’re asking the right question. Sit down, Doug,” I say, knowing all through the election that he grimaced every time his opponent shortened his name. This is a man who wants to inconvenience people by making them say his full name. People like Christophers and Matthews and Jeffreys really need to get over themselves and go by the shortened versions of their names.
His beady eyes bulge. I tap my fingers on my knee again and it’s immediately caught by his peripheral vision. I’m not going to hypnotize him yet, just trying to keep him calm, a result of watching a single one of my hypnotic movements.
“Without a real effort, I broke into your office, one of the most heavily guarded places in America on this night. Take a fucking seat so we can get this meeting over with,” I say.
The man, who could skip a meal or three and be better off for it, studies me as his gerbil brain considers my words. Again I drum my fingertips and pretty much on cue he slides down and takes a seat in the armchair on my right. I knew he would take that seat instead of the one on the left. It’s why I positioned myself on this side of the sofa.
“Now,” I say, pulling my feet off the table and sitting forward. “I’m the man who is going to help you win this election, but you have to do everything I say from this point forward.”
He explodes at once, tossing his hands over his head. “I’m so far behind in the polls! There’s no way I’m going to win. They are asking for my concession speech. Jill has this election won,” he says, his words coated in defeat.
“It doesn’t matter what the polls say. Who the people voted for. What the Electoral College does. The person I decide will be the next president of this country,” I say.
His mouth pops open wide and a loud laugh storms out. “You? Yeah, right. There’s no one with that much power.”
I arch an eyebrow at him and then create an almost exact replica illusion of a woman. It’s of the candidate who is currently winning the election. I place her in the seat opposite of Douglas. The one with the phony contract and pen sitting in front of it. The seat Douglas didn’t take. “Jill, it appears that Dougy here doesn’t want to be President. I guess the job is yours,” I say and push the contract toward the illusion, who is regarding her opponent with a calm expression, her blonde hair pushed away from her face in the manner that she normally wears it. “Go ahead and sign the deal and you’ll be the next President of the United States.”
From my side vision I watch the fucker beside me shift in his understanding of what is transpiring. It has taken longer than necessary for his reaction to burst out of him, probably due to his low IQ.
“What?” he says, rocketing to a standing position, his hands finding his helmet of hair. “How did you do that? Where did she come from?”
I snap my fingers, but only for effect, and the illusion of the politician disappears. “I’m the man who can make anything happen,” I say and lower my chin and regard him with a cunning stare. “I’m the man who can make you President of this bloody country, but you have to sit the fuck down and agree to everything I say.”
His aged spotted hands are shaking now.
“Sit,” I repeat, as he stares at the chair like he’s thinking Jill will reappear.
The buffoon nods absentmindedly and nearly misses the chair, taking a seat without paying attention.
“So-so-so,” he stutters, peeling his eyes off the empty chair and looking at me. “What do I have to do to be President?”
“Everything I say. And after you’re President you only do what you’re told. You report to my organization every night. You pass the legislation we tell you to. And you don’t do a fucking thing unless we approve,” I say.
“Who is your organization?” he says.
I pull the contract from t
he other side of the table, positioning it in front of him before handing him the silver ballpoint pen. “The Lucidites,” I say.
The Ivy League–educated idiot regards the contract and then me.
“What is this?” he says.
“Fucking sign it,” I say simply.
He begins reading it, which will take the airhead over an hour.
“It says exactly what I’ve just told you. If we make you President then you do everything we tell you to and nothing else. If you do anything that violates the contract then you will be impeached and imprisoned for heinous crimes,” I say.
“What crimes?” he says.
I dismiss the question with a wave. “We will figure something out. Do we have a deal?” I say.
“Absolutely,” he says now with no stress in his voice, just a giddy laugh.
Yes, I could have used mind control on this fucking jerk but it would wear off and need to be reapplied. This was the better strategy. And the contract is bogus but this ape doesn’t know that. Doug just knows that a man more powerful than him is going to ruin him unless he answers to the Lucidites. And we absolutely would tear him down for insubordination, I’d see to it personally.
I withdraw a card from my inside pocket. “You will tell no one about this deal, is that clear?” I say, now putting intention behind the message. I do need to use mind control to ensure he doesn’t fucking blab at the victory party tonight.