Iain Kelly

Lucas finished folding the paper dragon and added it to the pile in the middle of the empty room.

Three hundred and sixty-five paper dragons. Three hundred and sixty-five days since he had last chased the dragon. A whole year clean. Three hundred and sixty-five days since Angie had chased the dragon too hard and followed it to another realm.

He looked out the window. Midday and in the broad daylight they were still there. A steady stream of customers came and went. The dealers were teenagers. He couldn’t believe they were innocent but did they realise how they were ruining people’s lives? Marcus was the real blight, the local gang leader who controlled the drugs on the street.

He struck a match and lit his last cigarette. The match sailed threw the air and landed on the paper dragons. The fire caught, the dragons breathed. Lucas picked up the large kitchen knife, the only weapon he had.

He knew he wouldn’t get to Marcus. His bodyguards would take him down before he got anywhere close. He didn’t care. If he died in the attempt he would be with Angie again.

Closing the door on the burning house he stepped out into the street.

Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Al Forbes. For more details visit HERE.

‘Chasing the dragon’ is a slang term for drug use – Wikipedia.

To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.