The Carrion Cone

For sixteen-year-old James, the familiar jingle of the ice cream truck was the sound of summer. But in the shadowed woods behind his grandparents' house, that melody became a funeral dirge. He and his cousin Kenny witnessed something impossible: a monstrous parasite birthing from a man's back. Now, the town is changing. People are smiling too wide, their eyes are vacant, and they all crave the same pink, slimy treat from the ever-present truck. As family and friends fall to the sweet, corrupting song, James and Kenny must flee a plague that wears a friendly face, discovering that some treats aren't meant for dessert, but for harvesting.