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

the cluster of containers where he saw the light. It was coming from a small fire, and now that he was closer, he could hear voices. Careful to stay in the shadows, he crept around the side of the container and stopped just shy of the corner. He listened again to make sure he hadn’t been heard before taking a peek around the corner.
There were two guys sitting on logs on opposite sides of a small fire. Behind them were cages of varying sizes, some stacked two and three high. Ben’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Gunner and Sam. He felt bad for the dogs, but at least they were all right. They had both given up for the time being and appeared to be sleeping as close to one another as possible in their separate cages. Another dog was being held there as well, but Ben thought it must have been there for a while. It was asleep on its side, and Ben could see ribs poking out from beneath loose fur. He felt bad for the dog and wondered if it belonged to Rita and Carlos.
Ben sized up the two moonshiners half asleep by the fire; there were a few empty jars on the ground and a partially full one dangerously close to the fire. It was safe to say these two were fairly inebriated. One looked to be out cold, and the other was hanging on by a thread, occasionally forcing his eyes open but almost immediately returning to a semiconscious state. They both had weapons, but they were leaned against the container some ten feet away from where they were sitting.
In their condition, it wouldn’t take much effort on Ben’s part to dispatch them right here and now. He’d already taken out two of them. If Rita was right about there being a dozen moonshiners, give or take, eliminating these two would make the odds more favorable.
But he was worried about the dogs’ potential reaction. He might be able to get Gunner to quiet down, but Sam didn’t listen very well, at least not to him, and the other dog was a complete unknown. The commotion of him attacking the two moonshiners would definitely work the dogs up and cause some excitement and barking.
He couldn’t risk waking everyone up, and as much as he hated to leave them here for now, it had to be done. When the shooting started, they were probably safer here anyway. Once the still blew and all hell broke loose, the moonshiners would be running around the compound like chickens with their heads cut off. It would be nearly impossible to keep Sam and Gunner from chasing them and being in the line of fire. Losing one of the dogs to friendly fire was the last thing he wanted; the kids would never forgive him. He wasn’t sure he would be able to forgive himself.
Gunner was always meant to be the kids’ dog and to help ease the transition after the divorce, but he held a special place in Ben’s heart as well, despite the tumbleweeds of brown fur throughout the house. Ben shook his head at the thought of constantly vacuuming up Gunner’s shedding hair, a daily chore back home. What he wouldn’t give for that to be his biggest problem right now.
On more than one occasion on this crazy road trip, Gunner had eagerly and bravely placed himself between the group and danger without a moment of hesitation. It seemed as if the dog had assigned himself the responsibility of being Allie’s personal bodyguard as soon as he met her. Ben was thankful for it, and he was certain that without Gunner, they might not have made it this far, at least not all of them.
In Ben’s mind, Gunner had more than earned his right to retire by the woodstove at home and enjoy the rest of his days with the kids nearby. And that was why it pained him to leave the dogs here for now. He even felt for the dog he didn’t know. Then again, he never met a dog he didn’t like; he couldn’t say the same for people.
Ben forced himself to pull back from the corner and continue on to the rendezvous point where he would meet Joel and the others. He was still under the five-minute mark since rigging the still for failure and closing up the shed, but nearly fifteen minutes had elapsed since he left the container.
Since he was already through the somewhat open center of the camp, he crossed the last stretch of ground swiftly, and before he knew it, the row of cars parked at the back of the compound was in sight.
“Pssst…pssst.” Ben was careful not to call too loudly and did his best to direct the noise toward the vehicles by cupping his hands around his mouth.
Joel returned his call. “Pssst.”
Ben checked to make sure he was clear and sprinted the last several yards to Joel and the others. He found them all hiding behind an old Cadillac. Ben was glad to see that Joel had hidden them out of sight. He brought them up to speed on what he had done, making sure to leave out any unnecessary details. He also made sure to let them know that Gunner and Sam were okay.
At this point, Ben and Joel were the only ones with weapons, so he decided that everyone else should get out of the way and behind cover. Ben tried the door on the Cadillac, and it opened.
“I want you guys to hide in here. Once you hear the still blow, stay down and don’t get up until one of us comes to get you.” Ben hated to force this on Allie and her mom, but he really did want them to be safe just as much as he wanted them to stay with Emma and Bradley for his own peace of mind.
“What about the other people in the containers?” Sandy showed Ben