A Joke That Nearly Killed Me

I'm a photographer who has been specifically invited by Native Geographic to hike up Mount Morac in order to take a cover photo for the next issue. Halfway up the mountain, I feel short of breath, and my heart keeps hammering in my chest. At the same time, I can feel my temples pulsing rapidly. Realizing that these are the symptoms of altitude sickness, I quickly dig out an oxygen canister and inhale from it sharply. But as soon as the gas hits my lungs, I realize that something is wrong. Immediately, I turn to look at my fiance, Julian Gray. "What the hell is this?" Strangely enough, my voice comes out shrill and high-pitched. I sound just like a cartoon character. As soon as Julian and his junior colleague, Bianca Reed, hear my voice, they burst out in laughter. "Ahahaha! Oh my god, you're too funny! Hahahah!" Both of them holler in laughter. Bianca even starts hammering the snowy ground in a dramatic fashion. I instantly realize that Julian and Bianca have secretly swapped out the life-saving oxygen canister to a helium canister instead just so they can pull a prank on me. Once they finally have their fill of laughing at me, I manage to hiss out, "Give… Give me… the oxygen… canister…" After Julian wipes his tears of laughter away, he waves a hand at me casually. "Oh, Bianca's physically weak, so I've given her the oxygen canister. You're a strong one—just hang in there, and it'll pass soon enough." I don't bother wasting my breath arguing with Julian. With trembling hands, I dig out a satellite phone. "Mr. Perez, someone has maliciously switched out my oxygen canister to something else. I'm suffering from a severe case of altitude sickness right now. Please arrange for a rescue team to pick me up as soon as possible."