The Bloodied Man:

Some days at high noon, a man straggled to the front door of China House. His body is covered in blood as he held his hand over the open wound on his throat. His neck was also twisted as if it was broken. He reached out to those that had the misfortune to meet him.

“Help… me… Help… me…” he wheezed out. However, he ended scaring away his “victims.”

The man was named Lucas in life. He married or had any children. At the age of fifteen, Lucas inherited his parents’ fortune and the China House. Many did not like this young man due to his unstable personality. Some even called him the Brat Prince of New Orleans. The ones who ended up suffering worse from Lucas’ antics were his slaves.

The Brat Prince constantly tortured his slaves when he was in a bad mood. The poor souls tried to do everything in their power to keep him happy. Their wounds and lashes on their bodies proved that task wasn’t easy to carry out. Lucas mostly stayed locked up in his room. The slaves worried about their future with this maniac. They hoped that a divine force would put Lucas in his place. Their prayers too form into a man.

This man was named August. Not much was known about this slave. The records were lost during a house fire. Most common story about August was that he was a young man in love with a female slave. Not much is known about this slave either. Stories say that August and Lucas had interests in the same woman. The master saw her as a breeding cow and the other slave really loved her. Tenses built up around this woman. The other slaves waited for the worst to blow up everywhere.

One night in October, the worst finally came to head. Lucas was the first one to make the story turn upside down. The female slave was washing the dishes in the kitchen when he came up behind her and grabbed her by the waist. She screamed before he forced his hand over her mouth. Lucas tried to drag her back to his room and rape her. The slave woman looked up at him with teary eyes.

“Please let me go,” she begged. Lucas smacked her in the face.

“Shut up, bitch!” he snapped. The deranged man ripped open her dress. Her screams drew August from outside. His mother tried to stop from acting on his rage.

“Don’t go, my son,” she whispered to him. Usually, her words would calm him down. This time, his rage took over his mind. August pushed away his mother and marched right into China House. He found his master about to go down on the woman that he loved. The woman and Lucas looked up to see him panting like a bull. The latter raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” he asked. August saw the panicked look on his beloved’s face.

“Help me!” she whimpered. Lucas smacked her across the face again.

“Shut up, bitch!” he yelled. August couldn’t take it anymore. The abuse, tempers, yelling, arrogance, whipping, and tears—it just overwhelmed him.

“Don’t you hit her!” he shouted.

“What did you say?” Lucas asked. August rushed forward and ripped his master off of the female slave. Lucas fell to the floor with a crash. The female slave looked up in a panic.

“Run away!” August shouted at her. The female slave struggled to her feet and ran away as fast as she could. Lucas tried to go after her, but the other slave pulled him down. The Brat Prince tried to fight him off to no avail. He whipped around to August.

“You!” he shouted. Lucas grabbed onto the slave’s shoulder and dragged him up to the attic.

“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” he shouted. August tried to push him off, but Lucas dug his nails into his strong arm. The master intended on murdering him tonight.

“I hate you!” Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs. August gritted his teeth as he was dragged up the stairs. His rage kept him strong enough to endure this pain. He even hoped to get his revenge on the man that tormented his family, friends, and beloved for years. They made it up to the attic. Lucas pushed August down to the floor. The slave didn’t get a chance to look up before the whip came at him. Lucas had it out for him tonight.

“You filthy animal!” he barked. “You deserved to die like one!” August’s mind became as if possessed by the demon when he saw a hatchet lying inches away from him. Without a thought in his head, the slave darted forward and grabbed the handle. Lucas all but laughed at him.

“You think you can kill me?” he asked. “You can’t kill me! I am your master! I am god!” That didn’t stop August from picking up the hatchet and running towards his master. Lucas raised his whip above his head. Their fight didn’t even take long before the blade bit into the Brat Prince’s throat. Lucas only had time to gasp as he fell down the stairs and broke his neck.

The fate of the woman remained unknown.