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

the keys she’d found on the guard.
“Not yet. There’s gonna be a lot going on, and I don’t want to make any mistakes.” Sandy nodded and pulled back into the car. Ben didn’t know what Rita and her husband even looked like, and he didn’t need them wandering around in the midst of a gunfight and adding to the confusion. Shooting accurately in the dark was already going to be challenging enough. He wasn’t sure how much light the explosion and resulting fire would put off, but it would be inadequate at best. They weren’t in any shape to help, anyway. And as far as Ben was concerned, the lone guy in the far container who was less than pleasant to them earlier was a liability.
Once they were all loaded into the back of the car, Ben closed the door softly and motioned for Joel to follow him. He had a good idea of where he wanted them to set up. Now all they had to do was get into position before the show started. It was pushing seven minutes since he’d left the shed, and he doubted they had much longer until it was go time.

Chapter Nine
Ben followed the same route he’d used to get to the still and led Joel to a spot he’d identified earlier. It was a pile of discarded old tires and scrap metal apparently left over from the modification of the containers. It was a good distance back to the uncleared section of the camp but offered an excellent vantage point over the center of the compound and the communal firepit.
“Don’t worry about him. I took care of him on the way to the still.” Ben had noticed Joel looking at the old man’s body. His position in the recliner remained unchanged. Glad to see the area still undisturbed and quiet, he felt a whole lot better about leaving Joel on his own here.
Ben would have stayed and fought alongside his son, but he didn’t think that was the right move here. Coming at the moonshiners from two different directions would add to the confusion and possibly fool them into thinking they were being attacked by greater numbers. It would also be safer not to draw return fire to one location.
Ben tapped the magazine in Joel’s AR with his finger. “What do you have?”
“It’s at least half full,” Joel answered without hesitation, and Ben was impressed that he’d bothered to check.
“All right, good. I want you to stay put so I know where you are. I’ll be about 150 yards in that direction. Stay behind those old tires and stay low.”
“How will I know when to shoot?” Joel asked.
“After the explosion. I’m hoping there will be enough light to be accurate with our shots. Whatever you do, don’t leave this position. I’ll come back here to get you when it’s time, and I will never cross your shooting lane.” Ben made a large V with his arms to indicate the area he wanted Joel to concentrate his fire on. “If you see someone out there, I want you to shoot to kill.”
Ben made sure he was looking at his son when he said that last part and waited for confirmation that Joel understood exactly what type of situation this was. Not that the severity of their circumstances was a mystery, but Ben wanted to get a commitment from his son that he was all in and willing to do what was necessary. It was something that went against every fatherly instinct he had. But if they wanted their freedom back and to ever see Colorado again, failure wasn’t an option.
Joel nodded. “I understand.”
Ben believed him and started for his spot but stopped after only moving a few yards. He turned to Joel and took one last look at his son.
“I got it, Dad. I’ll be okay,” Joel assured him.
“I know you will.” Ben nodded and continued on his way. He had never been prouder of his son—or more worried, for that matter—as he was right now.
Ben turned and continued through the compound at a much faster pace than he’d moved through here the first time. He was worried he’d already taken too long and the explosion would happen before he was in position. The not-knowing was a little nerve-wracking, to say the least, and Ben was careful to keep his eyes peeled for an alternative spot to shoot from, should he have to. The last thing he wanted was to be caught out in the center of the camp when the still exploded. And if that wasn’t reason enough to move quickly, there was the fact that he was still in Joel’s line of fire.
These were all good motivators to rush, and although he knew better than to move this fast, he chose to push it. Besides, he was just another few spots of overgrown brush away from where he wanted to shoot from. It shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise, then, when he almost stepped out in front of one of the moonshiners. Ben froze in his tracks as the man stumbled by, blissfully unaware that Ben already had his knife drawn and was ready to strike. He couldn’t believe the guy hadn’t seen him already; he should have slowed down and counted himself lucky.
Thankfully, the man was two sheets to the wind and fully occupied with carrying on a conversation entirely with himself. Ben couldn’t understand a word. It didn’t matter, and Ben prepared to deal with him. As soon as the man was half a stride past him, Ben stepped out and prepared to bring his knife down, aiming for the carotid artery once again.
But before Ben could deliver the blow, the still exploded with a deafening boom, sending a shock wave that tore through the compound and made the ground feel like it was shaking under his feet. A ball of fire, along with pieces of the shed, erupted into the night sky,