Last Day of the Dinosaurs

In the Maastrichtian of the Pacific Northwest, a Quetzalcoatlus spots an unguarded T. rex nest and sinks its beak into a vulnerable hatchling. The alarm scent draws the father T. rex back to defend the nest, triggering a brutal clash. The Quetzalcoatlus injures the tyrant by biting its foot, then pecks at its eye and escapes into the trees, leaving only one hatchling alive.

Two adult T. rex units stumble upon a mating dispute between two Triceratops and decide to intervene. By coordinating their attack, they topple the defeated adversary and claim the carcass for themselves. The scene shows a stark, carnivorous alliance born of scarcity in a world where food is hard to come by.

On the Mexican plains, a female Alamosaurus lays a clutch of eggs as a distant asteroid impact erupts into the sky, sending heat-hazed air across the landscape. The planet shudders with a massive earthquake, and the herd is swept away by the catastrophe. Yet some eggs remain buried underground, quietly surviving in the hope of a new life.

In Mongolia at a watering hole, a herd of Charonosaurus guards their eggs as tension rises. A Saurornithoides steals an egg, prompting a confrontation with the mother; a second Saurornithoides presses the chase, forcing the Charonosaurus to flee. The predators press the pursuit and the mother is brought down, underscoring the brutal costs of survival.

The asteroid ejecta cloud begins to form and travels toward the Pacific Northwest, while a remorseless earthquake shakes the region again. A mated pair of Quetzalcoatlus attempt to lift off, but the debris shower tears holes in their wings and ends their escape. A pair of Triceratops reach the mountains, only to be burned alive by the searing ejecta cloud as the climate ignites.

Heat from the cloud ignites fires that race through forests, driving large dinosaurs—T. rex, a cluster of Triceratops, and an Ankylosaurus—into flight. Smaller creatures take shelter underground, seeking refuge from the scorching conditions. The female Quetzalcoatlus glides away, a survivor who witnesses the fall of the forests she once called home.

Forty-five minutes after impact, temperatures spike in Mongolia, climbing by several degrees each second until 300°F (150°C) is reached. Three Charonosaurus and a pair of Saurornithoides seek shelter in a cave, hoping for safety. After five hours, the heat subsides and the Saurornithoides emerge to feast on the corpse of a Charonosaurus, while two surviving Charonosaurus return to the watering hole.

The dramatic temperature shift also triggers a massive sandstorm. The Saurornithoides survive by using their prey as barriers, while the third Charonosaurus remains hidden in the cave. When the storm clears, the two surviving Charonosaurus head to water, only to be ambushed; one Saurornithoides attacks the Charonosaurus, and in a brutal scramble, the herbivore collapses, crushing its attacker and ending the fight. The remaining Saurornithoides copes with the loss by cannibalizing its companion.

Four days after the impact, food remains scarce across the planet. In the Pacific Northwest, four Triceratops move toward an island seemingly untouched by fires. A megatsunami rapidly recedes the sea, revealing a temporary bridge of land. Three Triceratops cross, while the last remaining female Quetzalcoatlus lands to drink and catch a stranded fish. Just as she finishes feeding, the 300-foot wave surges toward the shore and pulls the crossing dinosaurs and the Quetzalcoatlus into the sea, where they drown.

Ten days after impact, the planet has thinned to a skeleton of its former life. In Mongolia, Charonosaurus succumbs to hydrogen sulfide gas rising from the watering hole, and a Saurornithoides moving in to scavenge the corpse is felled by the same toxic gas. The landscape remains a grey wasteland, while in the Pacific Northwest a final confrontation seals the fate of several heavy hitters.

In the Pacific Northwest, a final trio—Ankylosaurus, a Triceratops, and a T. rex—engage in a deadly confrontation that ends with their mutual demise. The moment serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of even the most formidable predators. With the big species gone, the region pivots toward a long quiet that hints at the next era of life.

In Mexico, an Alamosaurus egg buried underground hatches, offering a faint glimmer of continuity. Yet the fragile lineage—crippled by inbreeding and disease—soon dwindles, leaving no stable population to endure. The hatchling represents a fragile seed of life amid widespread devastation.

The planet's survivors include insects and other arthropods, small reptiles, crocodilians, amphibians, fish, and birds that sheltered underground or fled to water and air. Mammals, adaptable and prolific, retreat to burrows and proliferate, quietly preparing for the day life might be rebalanced. As the ejecta clears and sunlight returns, plant life—especially ferns—begins a slow resurgence, setting the stage for mammals to eventually rise to dominance.