'Stay down!' she yelled.
'Why?'
'The blast wave has not yet reached us.'
'There might not be one.'
'Stay down! Stay down ...'
She kept yelling and a tremendous thump smacked against the side of the truck. The wheels rose and it toppled over into a ditch. The force was far greater than she had expected. Roofs were blown off houses. Trees crashed down. Debris flew around and it was a long time before anyone felt safe enough to uncover their heads and look around.
When they did they couldn't hide their amazement.
'Look at that cloud. It's like you see in the old movies.'
'Yeah. It's spilling out at the top.'
'Mushroom clouds ... that's what they used to call 'em.'
'There must have been a nuclear bomb on board.'
'Just a small one.'
'Yeah. But big enough ...'
Liala listened as they went on talking. There was no point in going any further. Everyone agreed. Their mission had been completed for them. The centre of Elm Grove had been obliterated. The guardian's power base had been wiped out and a score of senior guardians had died together with the senior surrogates who helped them run their evil empire.
She climbed out of the ditch and looked around. Bryn's truck was directly ahead and appeared to have escaped damage. The one in front was burning furiously beside the road. Bodies were strewn around. People were trying to help the injured. Everyone looked dazed.
A cry went out.
'Allain is dead ... the commander has been killed.'
She staggered forward and saw his crushed body. He held a microphone in one hand and clutched a ray gun with the other.