As Alex continued running on the treadmill, he once again thought to himself, "I've got to cancel my membership."

He'd heard that gyms always make people jump through a bunch of procedural hoops when you try to cancel, but the gym just hadn't been the same recently. As Alex continued running, he couldn't escape the feeling that the entire fitness center had just gotten incredibly weird.

It was too bad because the gym had seemed to be a perfect fit for Alex when he joined late last year... Not too crowded, close to his apartment, and the clientele had seemed really cool and friendly. Going to the gym had become part of his daily routine, and he had really felt like he was making a change for the better in his life.

But after Alex returned from a week-long business trip, everything had changed... and not for the better. Now the gym was completely packed during the day, with all of the equipment constantly filled by the most intense guys Alex had ever seen. He didn't recognize any of these new members, either, and none of them seemed at all interested in talking with him or getting to know him. Instead, the vibe he got from them was a weird mix of "disinterested" and "fanatic."

The gym staff had also become much more aggressive, trying to get him to try samples of expensive new supplements or sign up for special one-on-one private training with a new set of trainers he had never even met. While he was happy the gym was doing better financially, it was increasingly clear that it was no longer the right fit for him.

Alex would have stopped going to the gym altogether, but a friend of his suggested he should try going to the gym late at night when it was less crowded and when there were fewer staff working. Since Alex had foolishly paid in advance for a full year's membership, he figured he should give it a shot before he threw all that money away.

And he had to admit that--although there had still been a really weird vibe from the staff member manning the front counter--the gym now felt much less weird without all the other clients around (although still a little weird). He had now worked up a good sweat on the treadmill and no one was around to bother him. As he reached for the towel the front desk guy had given him, he was able to maintain his steady pace. If this strategy continued working, maybe he hadn't wasted his money after all.

In fact, he began to feel more and more engaged as he continued his run. Maybe it was because he hadn't been able to exercise as much recently, but this run felt like one of his best in recent memory. Even though he was feeling a little light-headed, he felt like he could keep running forever.

As he continued, the odd feeling seemed to grow thinner and spread beyond his head, but instead of slowing him down or making him want to stop, it almost felt like the floaty sensation was making his body lighter and smoother. He realized he hadn't really hit the normal wall that limited how long he could keep up his current pace. Instead, he kept pushing and pushing, and soon sweat was cascading down his face and body.

Alex slowed down a bit to wipe the rivulets of the sweat off his face and out of his eyes. As he did he noticed for the first time how good the towel smelled... not in a cloying "springtime fresh" way, but in a way that just smelled ...right. He couldn't put his finger on what made it smell so good--and he supposed it was the sort of smell that you wouldn't really want coming out of an air freshener or spray bottle--but Alex felt like it smelled like it was made for the gym. No, wait, that wasn't quite right. As Alex really tried to figure out what made the scent so intriguing, he realized that the smell was... perfection. Like it perfectly fit into custom receptors in his brain, or was a vital nutrient that he had been lacking.

Alex dimly realized that his fascination with the smell had distracted him so much that he had stopped running and was just standing idly. He tried to rouse himself to start running again, but that impulse seemed to fizzle and dissipate as he took another deep breath and was again distracted by the smell emanating from the towel. A flare of worry sparked in his mind as he realized that this was not normal for him, but then that thought also fizzled and smothered as he took another deep breath filled with the perfect odor.

Alex didn't know how long he stood slowly taking in the scent, but after an unknown period of time he perceived that someone was grabbing his shoulder. The sudden, unexpected touch nearly roused Alex, but as he took a deep breath to question the man who was grabbing him (who he dimly recognized as the front desk guy... Tom, wasn't it?), his lungs were filled with an overwhelming blast of the perfect scent--far stronger than before.

"You can't get enough of those pheromones, can you?" Tom said quietly as Alex felt himself returning to his prior complete focus and placidity. "The special towel I gave you is nothing compared to the real thing, is it?"

Alex wondered briefly if he was supposed to answer Tom, but another breath of Tom's scent pushed the question out of his mind entirely. Tom smiled and nodded as he grabbed Alex's other shoulder and gently pulled him so he was facing him.

"Yep, looks like you're just about ready, aren't you?" Tom said amiably as Alex stood blank and unresponsive.

As Tom moved even closer to Alex, his eyes began to flutter and then roll back into his head. "Uuurrrrrrggggghhhhhkk" Tom groaned quietly as a black, segmented alien parasite slowly slid out of Tom's navel and gently pushed into Alex's.

"Ssssoooooo gooddddd" Tom hissed as the alien exited his belly completely and then disappeared into Alex's body. Alex still stared blankly and unresponsive as Tom looked into his eyes appraisingly. "Anyone home?" Tom asked expectantly. When focus and purpose returned to Alex's bearing and his eyes began to glow blue, Tom smiled happily as his own master made his eyes flash blue in response.

"Looks like you're in business. Enjoy the new you!" Tom said as he started walking back toward the gym's entrance. He called back over his shoulder, "Come by the front desk later if you'd like to really give your new body a thorough workout!"

Alex began to gingerly walk around the exercise equipment and consider what he wanted to try out first. The alien that now controlled Alex smiled as he thought about how much more Alex would enjoy the gym now that the alien was putting it's mind to it!