TheBurg

52 | theburg | 07.16 periodically, eBurg highlights the work of student writers from Capital area school for the arts Charter school (Casa). in this issue, we feature two essays and two short stories. S harp breaths scorched her lungs. She could barely hold herself up, but she refused to stop. e brown of the dirt on her clothes contrasted the brown of her skin. With a wobbly stance she knew she was weak on all sides, her balance compromised, but she widened her legs, stood tall and brought her sword up beside her face with both hands. "Raven, give it up for today. You can try to get your mark tomorrow," her husband, Eric, called out to her. e worry in his voice sickened her. She's stronger than this. "Mom, don't push yourself too much," her adopted daughter, Jade, yelled. Not her daughter, too. She sprinted forward again, eyes locked on her target. e pressure behind them told her they were changing to a glowing blue-orange. As the first born of the original mutated human race that is the Meta breed, the glowing eye color warns other second-generation Metas who lack her power. No one matched her speed or strength, until today. Lilith, Raven's mentor, vanished before her eyes, her speed too much for even her. Lilith's knee crashed into Raven's stomach like a steel hammer. She gasped, blood flowing from her mouth onto the dirt. Lilith's fists clamped together, slamming into her back, throwing her to the ground, an inhuman groan escaping from her being knocked from her lungs. Before she could even twitch, Lilith stabbed her, pinning her to the ground until the hilt was against Raven's back. Scarlet droplets stained the brown earth with tainted descent. Raven coughed up the blood that had pooled into her lungs, splattering more of its disgrace across the ground. is happens to her kind all the time, history repeats more than she wishes it would. Her mentor sneered at her, arms crossed over her old chest. Lilith's own dimly illuminated, blue-orange eyes bore down into Raven's glazed orbs. Raven tried to rise, pushing up on her elbows, away from the pool of her own precious fluid. If mom could see me now she'd probably give me the same look. Her thoughts hurt her more than the sword in her torso—robbed of this chance to be what she always dreamed of… She can't fail now by being beaten so easily. "Raven!" "Stay back!" Her voice grew weak; she was surprised she could still draw any breath at all. "Look at yourself. Useless." Raven looked up, her breathing slowed, mouth agape while she struggled to move. She saw herself in the sword, her right eye was bleeding, dirt all over her face, bruises purple and pink all along her cheeks. She could see the sword piercing her body. Still, she'd been through worse, so had her ancestors. She snared at her mentor, blue-orange orbs glowing brighter than any Meta in all the land. "Rebellious eyes. If only they'd help you now," Lilith said as she pulled up her own uniform sleeves. A marking on Lilith's wrist flashed across Raven's vision. A black-inked heart with wings in chains. Her own heart tightened in her chest, heat ran through her veins as the blood flowed from her wounds. She bared her teeth at Lilith's back. She pushed herself up from the ruby ground. Her limbs wouldn't stop shaking, but she couldn't stop just yet. What example would she be setting for her daughter if she did? "Don't look down on me, old woman." "Come on then." Lilith granted. "Raven, please stop!" Eric pleaded. Still, she stood her ground. " is is it, Raven. If you can't beat me, I'll have you dropped from the military." Lilith spoke again, Raven's eyes widened. "You'll become what you were before, a blood cow for the cure to the Meta disease." Please, not again! e pain that she felt while being used like that was worse than this pain 10 times over. tierra Woodford is a sophomore at Capital area school for the arts Charter school (C asa). to read the complete story, visit www.theburgnews.com. W hen most people picture heaven, they picture clouds and sunlight. Inhabiting heaven, they think, are little golden men in white robes. Some have died on earth, and some have yet to exist on earth. God exists, too. I'm the first one to tell you He's not a little magic man in the sky. He's very real, and he's my worst enemy. I used to be His right hand man, but that was before we started pushing each other away. It all started on a ursday, I think. We were sitting in one of the offices of the castle (yes, there are castles in the sky), the biggest one on top of the hill. It was a castle fit for a king—well, a king and all His archangels. I called Him in for a talk because I possessed enough power to do that back then. He trusted all of us equally, but Lucifer the Archangel, His favorite, was loved the most. "So, um… I overheard a conversation between Raphael and Uriel the other day. ey were talking about this plan you had. A plan to go down to earth? As a mortal?" He tilted his head back and laughed. It sounded like a melody. I always enjoyed that sound, except for just then, mostly because I was upset. I didn't mind worshipping Him, but I did mind worshipping one of the humans. Why should I bow down, give my praises to someone below me? A boss doesn't look to their worker; a teacher doesn't look to their student. Why should an angel—an archangel, no less—look to a human for anything? "Yes, Lucifer," He said. " at is my plan. For it will be written: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel.'" "I don't understand," I replied. "It will be you? You will be the son? You will become incarnate, human?" He nodded slowly, and I suddenly understood. He would be God, the father, and he would become God, the son. And I, Lucifer, would have to worship them both. "How shall I worship you? As an archangel, I mean. You'll be mortal?" "I would advise you not to let your pride get the best of you." I sensed a hint of irritation in his voice. "You may go." I slowly rose from my chair and walked out of the office and up to my sanctuary. I needed a plan of attack. I wasn't going to worship a mortal. I was going to worship a God. So, I began to talk. I talked to those I sat with at meals, like Alastor and Amaymon, and I chatted with Eligos when I saw him around. e conversations always sounded the same. ey started with "Have you heard?" and ended with "I can't believe it." It took only a few days to gather enough of a following, march right up to God's office and confront Him with my band of angels. "I have already stated my case with You," I said. "Now I have some back up." "Lucifer, Lucifer," he said, shaking his head. " is is disobedience of my plan for you, for the world. No plan of your own can change it. Now go." We shook our heads and left. As we were leaving, I passed Michael standing in the doorway, frowning. He couldn't wait for his time to shine, a time that should have been mine. marirose monaghan is a freshman at Capital area school for the arts Charter school (Casa). to read the complete story, visit www.theburgnews.com. WHEN HEAvEN TurNED TO HELL bY MArIroSe MoNAghAN rAvEN's sTAND bY tIerrA WooDForD

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