Tetrodotoxin is paralysing poison found in the puffer fish, the blue-ringed octopus, and a whole bunch of other venomous and poisonous marine animals.
Cases of poisoning have been reported all over the world; see https://arpi.unipi.it/handle/11568/1013333
I wonder what exactly goes through the mind of a person who knows he will die if he doesn't move, but cannot move. That's the horrible nightmarish thought that inspired this story.
As with many other of my protagonists, the narrator of this story is alienated and isolated, and that's why he allows himself to be led into a situation where he has no control.
I like my stories to have happy endings, because isn't there already a sufficient amount of misery in life with depressing stories adding to it?
But in this case, the narrator ends up in a situation where he cannot save himself. Will anyone else save him, or his he doomed? It comes down largely to luck, once he's made the fatal error of trusting the wrong people.
I'm experimenting with some new choral software synths and I've tried to use them to create an ominous atmosphere for this story. Also notice the "heartbeat" at the height of the story, which speeds up and slows down according to the narrator's thoughts, gradually working its way to a crescendo of terror. Actually it's me pressing a key on the computer keyboard while recording a bass drum ...
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