The parasite rode into town on the back of a fat boy.

The fat boy’s name was Kennith. Kenny to his friends. The same fucking friends who always leave him behind on Bull hill when he is forced by gravity and his love for Twinkies to push his bike to the top. Kenny doesn’t mind. After an afternoon at the river with those rowdy fucks, he enjoys the quiet of his own thoughts. ‘Every hill has a downside’ he mutters to himself, as he pushes his old Schwinn up the hill, looking forward to the long downhill slope on the other side that leads into town. His gang of friends will be lounging at the gas station on the edge of town, chugging cokes and swapping bullshit. They always do.

The parasite is not a local. It has traveled quite a way. It was dug up and ingested by some animal much further north. It was still part of a host, the body of a bird that it rode from a place even further north. The bird did not last long, its body unable to sustain the parasite’s energy demands. The scavenger was much larger with much more muscle mass. The parasite settled in its body, expanded in size to fill its new home and rode its new host south.

The coyote lasted almost two weeks. It could have gone a few days more, but was hit by an old Volvo station wagon on a rural road. The driver of the car riding a meth high, completely unaware that he hit something. The coyote’s body marinated for a day or so before buzzards set on it, allowing the parasite to extract itself from the coyote’s body and adjust its size to be able to hitch a ride with another winged host. The buzzard heads south, steered towards warmer climes, toward bigger and better hosts.

Eventually the parasite meets Kennith. Kenny to his friends. They meet when Kenny gets out of the water and lay down on the sandy river bank to ‘catch some rays y’all’. The parasite now temporarily without a host, buried in the warm wet sand. It was the size of a walnut, its last host had enough mass to allow this expansion. It flattens itself as it percolates through the sand towards Kenny’s broad waist, excreting a numbing agent allowing it to merge unnoticed with its host. Kenny never felt a thing as the parasite dissolved into his bloodstream, occupying its new home.

In the weeks that follow Kenny and his passenger establish a symbiotic relationship of sorts. The parasite enjoying levels of energy never before experienced. Kenny’s appetite reaching new heights, packing away the Twinkies like never before, drinking gallons of soda, eating his meals and his little brother’s leftovers.

Kenny started loosing weight fast after the first week since becoming a landlord. All the sugar Kenny consumed exciting the parasite to excrete large amounts of waste, and this waste for some reason triggering growth in Kenny’s body. Kenny’s parents were secretly happy that their chubby thirteen year old son was finally growing out of his baby fat. They attributed his ravenous appetite to him becoming a man, reasoning that this growth spurt their son is experiencing warrants the constant eating.

Kenny grew and transformed from an obese boy into a muscular teenager. His voice changed overnight from that of a boy to that of a man. This event made his family and friends realize that something was not right, that this transformation happened way too fast. Especially taking into account that Kenny did nothing but eat copious amounts of everything he could get. Kenny himself was oblivious to their concern, his brain still that of a boy, and his desire for food, especially sugar, occupying his mind constantly.

Things came to head one morning when Kenny came down stairs, looking for something to eat, and he grew taller overnight. Not an inch or two, but thirteen inches! His shocked parents not believing their eyes at first, his little brother breaking the spell with a simple question: ‘Jesus Kennith what is wrong with you?’

Now that the elephant in the room had a name things happened fast. Kenneth, now too large a man to be called Kenny, got stuffed into an old sweatsuit of his dad’s that was way too small but made him presentable, and rushed to the emergency room. This being a small town where everyone knew everyone else, explanation was not needed. The problem was clear as day. Kenny was becoming a giant, a muscular giant that wanted candy.

Blood samples were taken. His nose and ears swabbed. He was measured and weighed, prodded and poked and found to be in good health. Excellent health! His body in better shape than that of any elite athlete. This of course was very concerning.

The parasite was careful to avoid detection, but was unable to hide its waste floating in Kennith’s bloodstream. This substance was quickly isolated and sent off to the city for further analysis. During this hectic day Kennith was happily munching on snacks from the hospital vending machines, happy that this place of healing also employs vending machines that stock a variety of candy. At the end of the day Kennith sported a full beard, and his hair hung to his shoulders. He also grew taller and his muscles appeared larger, more developed. He looked like a cross between Paul Bunyan and a Viking.

One of the nurses made the connection between his sugar intake and his unprecedented growth, and requested another blood sample to check the levels of the strange hormone they found in Kenneth’s blood. It was much higher than earlier that day.

Kennith was immediately fitted with a saline drip and deprived of sugar. Within the hour he asked for sweets, eventually begging and finally demanding. Every time this desire was met with refusal. By now the parasite required a constant supply of sugar to feed its addiction. As time passed it suffered withdrawal causing a new substance to flood Kenneth’s blood. This caused Kenneth to become enraged, the muscles on his now six foot ten inch frame bulging against the bedcover that was hastily fashioned into a hospital gown, his mind becoming cloudy and his desire for sugar rivaling that of his passenger.

By the time the police showed up Kennith killed his concerned parents, the doctor on duty, three nurses and several patients and visitors that happened to be between him and the vending machines. Like a Viking of old he smashed heads together, broke bones with his fists and used a metal bedpan as a club, and then used the same bedpan to break open the vending machine doors.

The five deputies that showed up were not prepared for the carnage left in Kenneth’s wake. Blood on the floor and walls and the broken bodies leading them straight to Kennith. He was calm, chewing on a bag of M&Ms, sugar rushing through his veins, his passenger’s addiction satisfied for the moment. Kenny turned and smiled at the deputies through a mouthful of candy. They saw a blood soaked giant showing his teeth at them and promptly emptied their weapons into his body.

Kenny died wondering why the police shot him, and just before life left him he licked his lips, savoring the taste of chocolate, his last thought being how he will miss it. His secret passenger instinctively withdraws into his body, knowing this host is done.

Getting ready to transfer at the earliest opportunity to another body, another human body, so it can again satisfy its need for sugar.

Addiction is a powerful motivator, even parasites will evolve to feed it.