Restitution: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival series (The Dark Road series Book 8)

the flashlight out, he seemed to forget about the gun for the time being and focused the beam on Allie’s face. She held her arms up and shielded her eyes with her hands as best as she could. He only kept the light on her for a second before sweeping the rest of the container with the bright white beam. When he saw Ben kneeling on the floor, he started to bring his rifle up to a shooting position and stepped the rest of the way into the container. That was all Joel needed to get a clear shot at the guy. His dad’s instructions played over and over in his head as he rotated his hips and brought his elbow around as fast and as hard as he could.
Crack. The impact sounded more like an open-palmed slap to the face than an elbow to the neck. Completely caught off guard, the young moonshiner reeled from the attack and dropped the gun as he let out what Joel would describe as a grunt, followed by a rush of air from his mouth.
The guard stumbled backward, wide-eyed and shocked. The flashlight rolled around on the metal floor of the container, and Joel caught another glimpse of his dad, only this time he was in motion and only a couple of feet away. The flashlight came to a stop against the wall, and they were in almost total darkness once again.
Joel couldn’t see very well anymore, but he felt the air move as his dad rushed past him. The guard was already on the ground, writhing in pain and holding his neck. It sounded like he was trying to say something—probably trying to call for help—but it was too late for that. His cries came out as nothing more than faint gasps and wheezes.
Joel barely noticed when Allie ran into him and wrapped her arms around his waist; he was too focused on trying to make out what his dad was doing. Ben was already on top of the guard and moving around, but Joel couldn’t see what was going on. The guard’s labored breathing quickly turned to gurgles. Then there was silence. It was all over in a matter of seconds, yet Joel felt as though time were standing still.
He thought that seeing this guard being taken out would bring him some sense of satisfaction, but all he really felt right now was disgust over what they had endured to get to this point. He put his arm around Allie and pulled her close to his side. No words were spoken, and none needed to be.
His eyes were recovering from the brightness of the flashlight, and as his night vision returned, he watched his dad get up off the guard, pausing halfway to wipe the knife on the guy’s shirt. He’d killed the guard. Just like that, it was over. Joel realized he’d been holding his breath ever since he struck the guard and inhaled deeply.
He was encouraged by their small victory here, but there was no time to celebrate or any reason to. Taking out this guard and gaining freedom from the container was just the beginning of what they had to do. Technically, they were still prisoners since the whole compound was surrounded by a chain-link fence. And just beyond those trees was a camp full of bad guys who weren’t going to willingly return their stuff and let them go on their way.
Even if that were the case, Joel knew his dad too well to think for one second that he was going to run from here like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. His dad was going to want to level this place and make sure no one else fell victim to this trap. And if he had his way, they wouldn’t leave here until there was nothing left standing, including the people who had done this to them.
But that was just the way his dad was, and while it sometimes worried Joel, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way this time. He was proud of his father for standing up for what was right and looking out for others. Everywhere they’d run into trouble, they’d left things better or safer for the next person.
But none of what they’d done elsewhere mattered now. They were here and had to deal with this situation. The elbow strike was just the beginning of what would be required of him tonight. But he was up for it. He had to be. There were too many people counting on him.
And he was capable. He’d just taken out a guy on his own. Even though his dad was there for backup and ultimately finished the job, Joel was pretty sure he could have done it if he had to. He steadied his nerves as best as he could and prepared himself for what would surely be the fight of their lives.

Chapter Seven
“Grab that flashlight and turn it off,” Ben whispered as he approached Joel and Allie. Allie grabbed it and turned it off before it could do any more damage to their night vision or alert anyone to what was going on.
“Now what?” Sandy moved forward with Emma and Bradley by her side. Ben held up his finger and listened for a bit. He wanted to make sure the other guard or the lone guy in the far container hadn’t heard them. It was just as important to keep what they were doing from him as it was to hide it from the moonshiners. The last thing they needed was for the guy to start making noise and blow their whole plan. With any luck, he was sleeping.
Ben handed the guard’s AR-15 to Joel. “I want you guys to find a place to hide until I come back for you.” He then grabbed the guard’s feet and dragged his body into the container and out of sight. Once the container was closed and the