Chapter Eleven

THE TYRANNOSAURUS BELLOWED from the cover of the jungle. Mia was looking through the window as the men were getting to their feet and adjusting their gear. The plan had been to use the Jeep to lead the Tyrannosaurus around, waiting until the tranquilizers took effect and the giant beast gave up and fell asleep somewhere. That plan wasn't going to work anymore.

"Too late." Mia said as she saw the trees moving. "It's already here."

Kelly swore as he ran up the stairs, looking out the window next to Mia. The bushes and trees quivered with each step that the Tyrannosaurus took. He readied the tranquilizer gun and pushed Mia aside. "Get downstairs."

Mia panicked. "What are you doing?" She began to argue with him, but he was already unlocking the door to the bunker. When he cracked the door open, she went silent.

Davies and Mathews stopped moving as well, standing in the bottom of the basement trying to make as little sound as possible. Mia slowly backed down the stairs until she joined them.

Kelly quietly crouched and positioned himself at an angle. He opened the bunker door just enough to let the tip of the gun's barrel through. He waited.

The Tyrannosaurus emerged from the tree line, sniffing the air. It's huge!

The head was at least five feet long. It stood nearly twenty feet tall as it walked out of the cover of the trees. Kelly began to get quite nervous. Each of the dinosaur's teeth looked almost a foot long. He started to pace his breathing.

The giant dinosaur smelled the air again before looking toward the bunker. With a short growl, it began to walk toward the Jeep.

Kelly waited, his finger on the trigger. He wasn't going to have time to shoot two darts. Hopefully, one was enough. He was skeptical that it would work, but he weighed the risks in his mind and accepted them. The bunker looked like it would probably withstand an attack and if he got the chance to neutralize the dinosaur – well, that was one major problem they wouldn't have to deal with.

As he watched the giant beast, his mind wandered to Dodgson. That little prick should have told them to bring bigger guns. The .223 caliber CAR-15 that he handed to Mia wouldn't have done anything against this monster. No way. Now, he wondered if he or any of his men had actually wounded the raptors earlier. He was sure at least a handful of shots had hit their targets – but how much damage had they done?

The Tyrannosaurus slowly approached the Jeep, letting the smell of blood guide it. It lowered its massive head at the vehicle, trying to pinpoint the source of the smell.

Kelly watched it in awe. There couldn't have been much more than a few ounces of blood on the back seat – and yet, this gigantic predator and sniffed it right out of the air and found the source. It was truly amazing. Terrifying, but amazing.

The Tyrannosaurus opened its jaws slightly and began to make growling noises as it became frustrated. The giant beast tried to angle its head to reach the blood on the seat, but it couldn't fit between the roll-cage bars. It became louder as it became angered. Finally, it pulled its head back and stared at the Jeep for a moment, then rammed the vehicle with its nose.

Oh, don't do that! Kelly worried it was going to flip the vehicle over. The dinosaur was treating the Jeep like prey – checking the underside to see if that portion is easier to eat. Kelly didn't know there were other Jeeps inside the Visitor Center, and he certainly didn't want to have to travel to the docks on foot.

He silently lined the barrel up with the dinosaur's massive neck and pulled the trigger.

Just as the Tyrannosaurus had the Jeep propped on two wheels, the tranquilizer dart found its mark. With a heavy thud, the dart punctured and released its entire vial of sedative. The dinosaur immediately pulled its head back in confusion – the Jeep rocking back on all four wheels, upright – and roared.

Time to go downstairs. Kelly quickly slid the gun behind him and rotated the wheel that locked the door shut. The Tyrannosaurus heard the noise and crossed the fifteen-foot distance in a single step.

Kelly slid down the stairs and pushed himself into the corner – Mia, Mathews, and Davies all huddled into another corner.

The dinosaur banged its nose on the metal door – growling, snorting, roaring. The beast was frantic. The only thing Kelly could see through the window was brown scales and yellowed teeth. The whole building shook as the dinosaur tried to fight its way in.

I can't believe it, Mia thought, the door is holding. Though the concrete building vibrated, and sand and dust fell from the ceiling – the door was still locked and holding the dinosaur back. They would just have to wait it out.

The pounding became more frequent as the dinosaur became more frustrated. Finally, it backed up and roared at the bunker. Even buffered by the thick concrete walls, the roar was painful in Mia's head. She instinctively cupped her ears with her hands, and Kelly and his men winced. The Tyrannosaurus fell silent and watched the door.

Mia knew that the dinosaur reacted to movement. It wasn't that it had extremely poor eyesight – it could pick out prey quite well - but it relied on its prey moving to identify it. This was probably the reason the Tyrannosaurus vocalized so much. If it was confused, or if it lost track of its food, it would roar loudly. This terrified the prey animal, which fled in terror – allowing the dinosaur to see exactly where it was and chase it down. The best thing to do was to stand completely still. Easier said than done, with a five-foot mouth filled with steak knives roaring at you.

"Nobody move." She whispered coarsely. To her slight surprise, they all listened. The dinosaur stared for a moment more before shaking its head and backing off. It worked!

After a moment, Mia quietly walked up the stairs. She could see – and feel – the dinosaur walking away. The impact tremors from its footfalls getting less and less intense. It paused to raise its giant head in the air, sniffing again, before bellowing and walking off. She noticed it shake its huge head again. The tranquilizer must have been taking effect. It probably wouldn't knock the beast out, but it might be making it drowsy.

The Tyrannosaurus walked its way past the Visitor Center, and Mia could hear the Parasaurolophus calling out in panic as it waltzed through their enclosure. Mia let out a sigh of relief. "Well," she said, "I guess we'll be going now."