'God, Help Us'

Todd Cooper and Matthew Hansen LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa — Boy Scout Ethan Hession wasn't scared until the windows shattered.

Sirens had blared. Lights in the cabin had blinked out.

The scoutmaster had burst in and yelled, "Everybody under the tables!"

Within seconds, Hession heard the sound of smashing glass and the deafening locomotive roar that means tornado. He felt glass rain down on his shoulders and back.

The 13-year-old crouched in a corner of a cabin at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, elbows pressed against the concrete floor, hands covering his face. About 50 or so other members of the "Red Team" did the same.