dinohigh, no humans allowed!

I was too tired to keep pedaling. Turning on the motor, I let the engine roar, carrying me the last few blocks ahead. As I took in the towering buildings of the school around me, the girl on the glider began her descent beside me, wings outstretched.

"You sure that's a good idea, landing on the main road?" I called out, raising my voice over the noise of the engine.

She shrugged, her eyes scanning the area. "I don't have much choice. This place is too dense. If there is a runway, I doubt I've got enough fuel left to reach it without a hard landing."

I nodded; that made sense. Better to land with some fuel left in case you needed to adjust or abort. "Hey, could you ride ahead?" she added. "You know, to make sure there aren't any cars?"

I raised an eyebrow, not really in the mood to play crossing guard, but then I figured it wouldn't be the best start to my first day if the first person I met ended up flattened on the road. "Fine," I agreed reluctantly.

I moved ahead of her, quickly gauging her speed and the amount of road she'd need to land. Pedaling alongside the motor, I sped up, my mind calculating her flight path. For most species, this sort of thing would be tough, but for a pterosaur, judging speed, distance, and landing angles was like counting your fingers. It was instinctive, second nature.

Some of the greatest aviators, rocket scientists, and missile developers came from our kind. If it weren't for those successes in the military and sciences, we'd have been forgotten when we lost our dinosaur status. But honestly, we did fine without it. I wondered if we even needed to be dinosaurs in the first place.

It wasn't like they ever liked us. When we were kicked out, and my family started doing business with other species groups, we actually thrived. If it wasn't for these biased laws overtaxing us, limiting how much land we could own, how many stocks we could trade… we'd be leagues ahead. We didn't even look like them, really. Maybe we didn't need them at all.

I shook my head, pushing the thoughts away. It wasn't the time to get lost in my head. I needed a distraction, which was probably why I agreed to help in the first place.

I approached the end of the road and stopped, swinging my bike sideways to block the center and the right turn. The girl needed enough room to land. I saw her hovering a few feet off the ground, but a gust of wind pushed her back. She hit the ground with a rough bump, her glider's wheels clattering against the cobblestones.

I watched her, leaning an elbow on my bike handle. Her smile seemed off—like it didn't quite reach her eyes. It felt wrong, just like everyone else in my life. People always seemed to want to be my friend, but it never felt genuine. Was it because of my money? My status? My body?

A shiver ran down my spine. I hugged my arms around myself, a frown settling on my face. Was that all people saw in me? I wasn't mad at them; I was just mad that was all they seemed to care about. Wasn't there more to love? My ideas, my company, my hobbies… Was everyone that shallow? No, maybe I was just being selfish. It wasn't shallow—it was natural. That's what Mom always said. Maybe that's why she always insisted I wear those revealing clothes.

Ugh. I hated them. They were so uncomfortable.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I noticed a car approaching, an old sedan with a massive water tank strapped to its roof. It didn't look like a delivery vehicle—just a regular civilian car. "Weird," I muttered. "Why would they need that much water?" I waved my arms, signaling for it to stop.

At first, it did. Then, suddenly, the engine revved, and before I had time to react, it came barreling straight toward me.

"Shit!" I gasped, scrambling off the road. I darted to the sidewalk, diving behind a lamp post and a fire hydrant. The car sped past, its tires screeching against the pavement. I could feel the wind from how close it came. If I hadn't moved, it would have clipped me for sure.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy?" I shouted. My wings twitched in agitation. Was it because they saw them—my wings? Were they pissed I had the sky to myself and thought I'd come down to take the ground too? These land-dinos never ceased to be petty.

I watched the car drive off, my heart still pounding. Then I saw it—heading straight toward Auzr. I waved frantically, yelling, "Get out of the way!"

She didn't see me. Her face went pale, her eyes wide with terror as the car closed in. She swerved, trying to avoid it, but her glider skidded off the road and crashed into a bush.

"Dammit!" I cursed, dropping my bike and running toward her as fast as I could. "Auzr!" I called out. "Are you okay?"