They took a few hesitant steps toward the trailer, lifted their heads, turned right and left, and then seemed finally to make up their minds. The animals moved quickly, almost aggressively, across the clearing.
Over the radio, they heard Malcolm say, "It's the lights! The lights are drawing them."
A moment later, the exterior lights were turned off, and the clearing went black. They all squinted in the darkness. They heard Malcolm say, "That did it."
Thorne said to Levine, "What do you see?"
"Nothing."
"What're they doing?"
"They're just standing there."
Through the night-vision goggles, he saw that the tyrannosaurs had paused, as if confused by this change in light. Even from a distance, he could hear their growls, but they were uneasy. They swung their great heads up and down, and snapped their jaws. But they did not move closer.
Kelly said, "What is it?"
"They're waiting," Levine said. "At least for the moment."
Levine had the distinct impression that the tyrannosaurs were unsettled. The trailer must represent a large and fearsome change in their environment. Perhaps they would turn away, he thought, and leave. Despite their enormous size, they were cautious, almost timid animals.
They growled again. And then he saw them move forward, toward the darkened trailer.
"Ian: what do we do?"
"Damned if I know," Malcolm whispered.
They were crouched down side by side in the passageway, trying to stay out of sight in the windows. The tyrannosaurs moved implacably forward. They could feel each step as a distinct vibration now - two ten ton animals, moving toward them.
"They're coming right at us!"
"I noticed," he said.
The first of the animals reached the trailer, coming so close that the body blocked the entire window. All Malcolm could see was powerfully muscled legs and underbelly. The head was far above them, out of view.
Then the second tyrannosaur came up on the opposite side. The two animals began to circle the trailer, growling and snorting. Heavy footsteps shook the floor beneath them. They smelled the pungent predator odor. One of the tyrannosaurs brushed against the side of the trailer and they heard a scraping sound, scaly flesh on metal.
Malcolm felt sudden panic. It was the smell that did it, the smell that he suddenly remembered, from before. He began to sweat. He glanced over at Sarah, and saw that she was intent, watching the movements of the animals. "This isn't hunting behavior," she whispered.
"I don't know," Malcolm said. "Maybe it is. They aren't lions, you know."
One of the tyrannosaurs bellowed in the night, a frightening earsplitting sound.
"Not hunting," she said "They're searching, Ian."
A moment later, the second tyrannosaur bellowed in reply. Then the big head swung down, and peered in through the window in front of them. Malcolm ducked down, flattening himself on the trailer floor, and Sarah collapsed on top of him. Her shoe pressed on his ear.
"It's going to be fine, Sarah."
Outside, they heard the tyrannosaurs snorting and growling.
Malcolm whispered, "Would you mind moving?"
She edged to one side, and he eased up slowly, peering cautiously over the seat cushions. He had a glimpse of the big eye of the rex staring in at him. The eye swiveled in the socket. He saw the jaws open and close. The hot breath of the animal fogged the glass.
The tyrannosaur's head swung away, moving back from the trailers and for a moment Malcolm breathed more easily. But then the head swung back, and slammed with a heavy thud into the trailer, rocking it hard.
"Don't worry, Sarah. The trailer's very strong."
She whispered, "I can't tell you how relieved I am."
From the opposite side, the other rex bellowed and struck the trailer with it's snout. The suspension creaked with the impact.
The two tyrannosaurs now began an alternating, rhythmic pounding of the trailer from either side. Malcolm and Harding were thrown back and forth. Sarah tried to steady herself, but was knocked away at the next impact. The floor tilted crazily under each blow. Lab equipment flew off the tables. Glass shattered.
And then, abruptly, the pounding stopped. There was silence.
Grunting, Malcolm got up on one knee. He peered out the window, and saw the hindquarters of one of the tyrannosaurs, as it moved forward.
"What do we do?" he whispered.
The radio crackled. Thorne said, "Ian, are you there? Ian!"
"For God's sake, turn that off," Sarah whispered.
Malcolm reached for his belt, whispered, "We're okay," and clicked the radio off.
Sarah was crawling on her hands and knees forward through the trailer, into the biology lab. He followed her, and saw the big tyrannosaur peering in through the window, at the baby, strapped down. The tyrannosaur made a soft grunting sound.
Then it paused, looking in the window. It grunted again.
"She wants her baby, Ian," Sarah whispered.
"Well, God knows," Malcolm said, "it's all right with me."
They were huddled on the floor, trying to stay out of sight.
"How are we going to get it to her?"
"I don't know. Maybe push it out the door?"
"I don't want them to step on it," Sarah said.