text: 5. Air Inhale, exhale, repeat for as long as your brain functions, but what is it you’re breathing in? Typical air is a mixture of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and less than 1% of a mixture of other gasses and environmental particulate. Air’s malicious nature is that it doesn’t want to end you, it wants to prolong your suffering for as long as possible. There are those rare cases that air isn’t plentiful enough to allow it to continue your suffering, which brings our story to Tyler Mcible. Alone on an Alaskan peak, Tyler berated himself for not taking into account elevation sickness on his current exploration. His career as an influencer had become stagnant and he was running out of exotic locations to post. His follower count was dipping and he needed new content quickly, which was why he didn’t wait the few days to acclimate to this altitude. It was late spring in Alaska so air was maintaining its temperature in the high forties to mid fifties to help prevent Tyler from freezing. Air was enjoying his suffering. It studied Tyler as a mad doctor would study a rat being subjected to unethical experiments. Air had seen so many other cocky explores subject to the same conditions that air could almost predict every next move Tyler would make. Laying prone, Tyler gasped exhausted, his extremities tingled from oxygen deprivation. Air chuckled to itself, why would living things choose to utilize a component that was only a fifth of air’s composition? Animated objects had since their development had thrown that offense at air. Tyler looked toward the bottom of the slope, a valley filled with Nagoonberry plants about sixteen hundred feet down was the only hope he had to escape his oppressive lack of air. Air was skeptical of Tyler making it. Tyler grasped the snow cover, pulling himself inch by excruciating inch. Even with gravity’s aid he could only manage a few yards a minute. He considered even putting us body perpendicular to the slope and rolling, but thought an uncontrolled descent would be too dangerous. He’d just have to crawl for the better part of a day. This feat, air would enjoy spectating. Air was even so benevolent as to supply more of itself as a reward for the progress Tyler made. Tyler took this kindness for granted and went so far as to continue to curse air for its lack of presence. The journey took seven hours, but finally Tyler had made it to the bottom of the valley. The snowpack had given way to cold mud as Tyler crawled the remaining few feet to the lowest point he could reach. A cool breeze swept through the Nagoonberries carrying with it the fragrance of their flowers. Tyler, though exhausted and knowing he would have to sleep there for the night, allowed himself a deep breath of celebration at having not succumbed to Air’s demented experimentation. The scent, which Tyler had yet to experience being as it was his first time to Alaska was one of the most calming smells he noted. Calming, right to the point the tingle of the first sneeze sprang from his chest. Please remember that air is not only composed of gasses, it carries all the particles small enough to go aloft. Anaphylactic shock set in quickly for Tyler. There was no way he could have known that the fragrant plants he was among would have produced such a sever reaction. Air smiled, as much a smile as an inanimate thing could, in deep satisfaction. The gasps were sweet music to it.