You are in the oceans of Europe, 145 million years ago.

The water in the strait was unnervingly calm, turning the late afternoon sun into a blinding mirror around your small fishing boat. It was too quiet—no pterosaurs, no leaping fish. Then, the smell hit you: a pungent, metallic tang.

You saw the wake before you saw the creature. Something vast was moving just beneath the surface, parallel to you.

As the boat lost momentum, a massive, triangular head broke the surface only twenty feet away. It wasn't a shark; it was far wider, with armored, dark skin and eyes that looked ancient and cold. It possessed a short, powerful neck, and you could see the massive, toothed jaws—easily designed to crush through marine life, or a boat.

It stared at you for a breath-holding moment, breathing out with a wet, forceful hiss that sent sea spray across the deck. You saw four massive, paddle-like flippers churning in the clear water below, maneuvering the creature with terrifying agility.