Hell Released (Hell Happened Book 3) by Terry Stenzelbarton, Jordan Stenzelbarton Page A

and clean up.”
    “Why did you do it?” she asked. “Why kill your friends for us?”
    Chuck paused, lost in thought for a long moment. “They weren’t my friends and I did it because if my mom had had the nerve to get away from my step-dad, maybe things would be different for me.” He then cocked his head, “this way.” That was all he was going to say on the matter.
    They found flashlights and bottled water with which to clean up. There were some clothes on the first floor and the younger girl found something clean to wear. Chuck located rooms with clean bedding and the two women took one while Chuck took the other. “You want me to wake you up in the morning or what?” he asked before going to his room.
    The older woman appraised Chuck and the kindness and nerve he showed today. She didn’t think she owed him anything and she didn’t think he thought she did. He hadn’t put any moves on her and had saved the two from a brutal future. There were worse people to hook up with in this dangerous world.
    “Wake us up in the morning, mister. We’ll decide then.”
    Chuck nodded in the darkness and the light he was carrying disappeared into the room he’d use for the night. He left the door open a crack so he could hear if anything happened in the hall. He also opened the window in the room so he could hear outside. The sun was fully down now and the darkness outside was near absolute. The stars Chuck could see were brilliant without street lights to obscure them.
    Chuck moved a chair beside the window so he could look at the stars until he was tired and ready for bed. He heard animals moving about outside and shined the flashlight down at them. One of the women he’d saved must have had the same idea because he could see a beam from their room doing the same thing. He realized he didn’t know either of their names. He’d never thought to ask and he was sure they didn’t know his name either.
    He got up from the window and washed his hands and face with water from the bottles he’d brought to the room with him. He put his gun and holster on the table and pulled off his shirt and pants. The clean sheets felt good and it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.
    It was a dreamless sleep and he woke only once in the middle of the night at the sound of wild animals fighting outside the building. Chuck got up and closed the window and went back to sleep.
    The sun woke him in the morning. He sat up and felt rested. He got dressed and was halfway through making the bed when he realized how stupid the action was. He needed to use a bathroom before doing anything today.
    As he was walking by the women’s room he heard them talking.
    “I’m going to go find some breakfast and gas. I’ll be outside,” he told them and walked on before hearing their answer.
    Chuck picked up a new toothbrush and toothpaste, toilet paper, some sticks of beef jerky and iced coffee from the freezer on his way outside. He found a secluded spot along side the building between some bushes to take care of personal business first. When he was finished he opened the toothbrush and toothpaste and made his mouth feel cleaner. He put the toiletries in his saddlebag when he was finished, wishing for a shower but knowing he wasn’t getting one.
    He drank the coffee and ate the jerky while fueling the bike. The two women came out after a few minutes. Both were cleaned up after the previous day’s hell.
    “Morning,” he said to them as he put the siphon back into his saddle bag.
    The black woman spoke for both of them. “Mister…”
    “Chuck,” he told her.
    “Chuck, thank you enough for saving us yesterday. If it’s okay with you we’d like to stick with you for a while.
    “I’m Yvonne and this is my friend Danielle,” the younger woman smiled at him, but the sadness and fear in her eyes was still apparent.
    Chuck told them of his plan to work his way to San Diego to see if he still had a brother. Yvonne told him she had been living