choice?

"Ahhh" I screamed as I leaned into him and rapped my hands around his long, shaggy fur on his neck.

The winds blowing past us was so strong that I was afraid to even think about how fast were moving. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Hey! You're missing the best part".

Upon hearing Andy's voice, I forced my eyes open. "Oh. This is so beautiful". I can't help but blurt out.

The breathaking view made all my fears vanish. I stretched out one hand and plunged it into a puffy cloud.

'This is worth dying for!' I thought. Tears came into my eyes, but not because of the wind. I started to cry and Lean more into the dragon as if trying to console myself. I was mourning myself. And my life.

"I'm dead! What about dad?" I cried my heart out.

Andy saw that something was off and flew closer. "Is everything alright".

I can't seem to hold it in me anymore. I want to tell someone, anyone.

"I don't want to die! I want to live!" The wind was so loud that I needed to shout so Andy could hear me.

His face twisted in a pained expression. He felt sincerely sorry for me. " I'm sorry but... you're dead. You can't go back. Give it some time. You'll make peace with it."

Andy was flying beside us. He fluttered his wings lazily and only occasionally, but that was enough to keep him afloat.

When he wanted to over take us, he strengthen his posture and pressed his arms to his sides. And if he flapped his wings energetically, his speed would Increase dramatically.

'Why isn't he afraid to fly this high?' I thought.

He flew back to me. "How did you die".

"I-i don't remember." Dread and panic took over again. 'How can someone not remember how they died?' I tried to search my memories---all I have left of that life that I can never return to.

"My name is Vicky walker. My mum died when I was five. I lived with my dad on parkyn street. I graduated from the University of Arts, and I was on my way home to celebrate with dad...I was driving... driving... come on..."

Bit by bit, my memories were coming back to me. I clung to fyr and clenched my teeth

"I remember! I remember!". I exclaimed excitedly.

"So what happened?" Andy asked me.

***

The steering wheel. The road. The boring landscape. A piece of paper In a cardboard display, that took me years to earn. Sitting in the passenger seat. "I graduated!"

I look In the rearview mirror. There's nothing interesting, but something is bothering me. I turn onto the highway and look again. A black minivan turns behind me. I started to fidget nervously.

"This car's been following me the whole way." I speed up a little to test my theory. The minivan speeds up as well. "What the hell?" I'm anxious, but I try to stay calm. I turn the steering wheel. The tires screech, then groan as they rolled across a gravel path. The path leads into the forest and it likely to be a dead end. The minivan isn't falling behind. "I'm just trapping myself!"

I turn the steering wheel again and swerve back onto the road just before entering the forest.

But now I'm completely sure that the van is following me. The driver must have had changed their plan: suddenly, they accelerate, change lanes, and catch up to me."what are they doing?" I look around, but nobody's there. And suddenly...BAM! "Ah!"

They cut in front of me, forcing me to turn to the side. I loose control of the wheel. The car flies into a ditch. "NO, NO, NO!"

BAM!

***

"They killed me!". Andy was staring at my teary face instead of looking where he was flying.

"Yeah, the sky isn't a highway. I guess you don't need to watch where you're going..."

"Well it sounds like you pissed somebody off." Andy said, jokingly.

FYR must've felt my tears on his skin and started swirling around, forcing me to stop crying.

"Aaaah!". I clung to the dragon, laughing and completely terrified at the same time.

Fyyyyr! Fry make happy noises.

Andy broke into laughter, too. "He's got a beautiful laugh..." I said to Andy.

"Fur doesn't like tears. They make him sad."

I calmed down a little and started enjoying the flight. After a while, Andy stooped laughing and, with a strong flap of his wings, returned to glide around us.

"Here's the school". Andy said.

As the fog cleared I could see the school, but it's not what I was expecting.

" It's so gothic. It doesn't seem very... heavenly" I said to Andy, but he just he just smiled.

"Wait until you see the library in hell." Andy said.

I looked at the highest tower at the far end of the castle, and i couldn't help but gasp in admiration and awe. The sight of a seemingly endless edge maze took my breath away.

Andy changed position again and sharply dived down.

"Fyr, follow me!" Andy bellowed at fyr.

FYR!

The dragon lowered his head, and we start to descend Immediately.

I clung to him again.

Fry smelled like the ocean, but also something else, something ethereal. As if the sky and the cosmos itself were part of him. We were getting close. And the closer we got, the more nervous I became.

Andy has already landed and was waving us down.

"Come, fyr, come here". Andy called out.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The animal touched the ground carefully and shook his head with pleasure.

Andy patted him behind his ear. "Good boy."

FYR!

"Welcome to the angels and demons academy." A man was walking toward us with his head held high. He looked me up and down.

"Greetings, angel fencio". Andy greeted the man

"You must be Vicky." Angel fencio said to me.

"Hello." I just gave a short greeting. He doesn't seem to mind that thankfully.

"Andy will show you around the academy and give you a brief introduction. Once you've settled in, we'll start our lesson. I strongly recommend you ensure you're on time. Main hall, third door on the left. Is everything clear?" Angel fencio asked me and I nooded.

Angel fencio was about to leave. But he stopped, turned around quickly, and looked down at me. "Which side would you like to take upon finishing your studies?" He asked me.

"I beg your pardon?" I don't understand what he meant by that.

Andy stepped away from fyr and spoke "unlike the birth-right angels and demons, humans are concidered unclaimed during the time of their training. Neither hell not heaven has called upon us directly. But after training is done, we must join either the angels or the demons." Andy explained.

" That is if you succeed in graduating from the academy." Angel fencio said mockingly. His lips stretched as if he wanted to grin maliciously, but he restrained himself. "So which is it?"