N is for Nacrolin

For the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I'm posting alphabetically on things related to Shayla's world from my (unpublished) novel, Ghosts of Innocence...

I talked earlier about drugs, which feature heavily in Ghosts of Innocence. One in particular stands out for pure nastiness. Nacrolin.

This is Shayla's weapon of choice for the final part of her revenge.

Nacrolin is extremely rare, and rarely used, even - or especially - by assassins. Assassins already have a powerful arsenal of chemicals to kill quickly and silently, to incapacitate, to induce robot-like compliance ...

The only reason to use nacrolin is as the harshest of punishments.

Nacrolin attacks the nervous system. It induces paralysis within seconds and then gets down to its real work. While the victim is helpless but fully aware, the drug eats away at the nerves, starting at the extremities. The dying nerve cells go into hyperdrive, sending wave upon wave of pain signals, torturing the victim beyond endurance, until the necrotic process reaches the brain stem bringing the release of death.

It is a slow death. The smaller the dose, the slower the process. A carefully-judged dose can keep a victim in torment for days.

There is no antidote.