From You Go Where It Takes You by Nathan Ballingrud:
“Alex touched the blade to his scalp just above his right ear and drew it in an arc over the crown of his head until it reached his left ear. Bright red blood crept down from his hairline in a slow tide, sending rivulets and tributaries along his jaw and his throat, hanging from his eyelashes like raindrops from flower petals… He worked his fingers into the incision and began to tug.
Watching the skin fall away from him, she was reminded of nothing so much as a butterfly struggling into daylight.”
– selected by Kyle Muntz.
#VERYSCARY: For the month of October, we are featuring your favorite scary passages, lines from poems, horror lyrics, creepy writings, etc. Send your favorite to janice@entropymag.org.