A Tale of Four Elements Pt. 2

Day 2: We got up late that morning, us two elder ones in the second-story bunk, and our parents down below, and our youngest brother out in the truck. I could barely eat my instant oatmeal and sausage, but my mojo would kick back in later that day, to be sure.
To say the day was a complete washout was an understatement. No, with all the local rain, it was almost up to Biblical proportions. Just ask the duck swimming underneath our shelter.
Meanwhile, I hooked up another rope to act as a lever between levels for my daypack since there was no room for it on the floor, and yet I still wanted it at night because it had my meds, light, and book in it.
Shortly after we ate breakfast and cleaned up the shelter, we got a break in the rain and made a dash for the van. Naturally, we had take Sara with us, except there was no Sara. I got on the phone to my two brothers to ask them if they had Sara. They're answer was in the negative. It was then my heart was in my throat and my stomach became nauseous. About 10 minutes later, we found her on the other side of the parking lot. It was then we realized she was a squirrel dog and she wandered off when she came across it's scent.
We went into Livingston in search of groceries. We wound up at Wal-Mart, and dad and I went in. When we went in, we hit a break in the rain. Now, as dad and I came out, we were getting caught in the next wave of rain. I was not at all surprised to hear Polk Co. was under a Tornado Watch. (Note to self: You are an Eagle Scout with nothing left to prove, once more, you are injured. Do a cabin next time. There's no shame in that!!!) We tried to get plastic around the shelter because the wind was blowing SW/NE and it was scheduled to come about to NW/SE. The floor around the shelter was a wreck while we got the additional tarps up. The wind was gusting 50-60 mph, and then a siren went off. Trust me, I've lived across the street from one for seven years. Every first Wednesday of the month at 1:00p that sucker would go off. Now I didn't know at the time whether it was the dam horn (for the lake) or the tornado siren. I still don't know. Both happened. The dam was opened and at least a tornado formed over a town a few miles North of our area. The front moved through about 8-8:30p dropping seven degrees in one minute. Also, to add insult to injury, Dan's truck broke down, and it was supposed to be OUR backup vehicle. It was the water pump which is not easy to do.