PJO/HoO-I Can't Breathe

                                    

                                          
Jason drew his sword and faced the oncoming monsters. He kept berating himself mentally for doing something so stupid.
                          
Shouldn't have left camp alone. He told himself once again as he ducked a crudely shaped club.
                          
Could have stayed in bed today. His mind reminded him as he kicked away a trident wielded by a dracaena.
                          
Could be hanging out with Piper. He slit the throat of the scaly snake-creature.
                          
Should have told someone where you were. He snarled mentally and slashed his sword across the neck of an encroaching hellhound.
                          
Just had to get a solo quest out of boredom. He leapt over a clawed paw that swiped at his legs.
                          
Should have brought your gods-forsaken inhaler! He screamed at himself as he began to funnel air through his nose and mouth when he felt his lungs begin to clench up.
                          
It wasn't like he meant to leave the stupid thing in his cabin. Sometimes he just forgot to grab it.
                          
Today was one of those times.
                          
He contemplated the pros and cons of fighting from the air.
                          
Pro?
                          
He'd have the advantage of more maneuverability and attack speed.
                          
Con?
                          
Breathing would be harder than it already was.
                          
As more monsters surrounded him, Jason made the decision.
                          
He shot upward, working harder to breathe as he flew around, slashing at the demons below him.
                          
"What the Pluto is wrong with me?" He muttered out loud as his chest constricted again. "I've had that stupid piece of plastic for years yet I still forget it on a regular basis!"
                          
There was an animalistic shriek and something shot out of the crowd beneath him.
                          
Jason tried to dodge the harpy, but three more burst from all around him, forcing him upward.
                          
He had no choice but to fly up. The harpies herded him the whole way.
                          
When Jason hit the troposphere, he was panting and cursing himself. He wouldn't be able to pull enough oxygen together to breathe, even without his condition.
                          
His vision began to blacken as his lungs began to starve.
                          
"No, no no no no!" He murmured, feeling his body slowly begin to go limp. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the harpies had retreated back down towards the monsters for obvious reasons.
                          
Jason didn't have enough energy to hold himself up anymore. He barely had the energy to take a breath.
                          
Collapsing backwards, he fell towards the earth.
                          
Jupiter must have had pity on him, or maybe it was Apollo who saved him from becoming a human comet. While he could feel his body heating up from air friction, he wasn't bursting into flames or anything.
                          
Not that he could really tell, he was struggling to stay awake.
                          
Jason became dangerously aware of how close he was to the ground.
                          
This was the end of him. There was no way he would survive this fall. He hoped Piper knew he loved her with all his heart.
                          
"Jason!" A column of water hit him head on and he felt his progress slow to a halt, just barely slow enough to keep him from getting whiplash or some other injury.
                          
Nevertheless, Jason hit the ground hard enough to crack a rib. He groaned in pain, coughing roughly because of the water in his lungs and the asthma itself.
                          
"Jason, you complete moron." 
                          
Piper's voice had never sounded more beautiful. 
                          
"He probably cracked something, Pipes, you might want to check him!" Percy's voice rang over the sounds of battle. It seemed that the seven had found where he was.
                          
Jason, still unable to open his eyes or move, felt Piper's hands moving on his stomach and chest, assessing damage.
                          
"Just a cracked rib, nothing else. Open your mouth."
                          
He tried and received a sigh in response. "Never mind, I'll do it." She wasn't angry, he could tell. She was only stressed about the situation.
                          
Jason felt fingers grasp his jaw and slowly force his mouth open. Nectar trickled down his throat, tasting like cheeseburgers. (I have no clue what it actually tastes like to him!)
                          
"Thanks Pipes," He grunted, having trouble even speaking.
                          
"You know, I can't always be bringing this along." Piper said teasingly.
                          
"The nectar?" Jason's eyes finally began to open and his girlfriend came into view, holding something in front of him.
                          
"No, this." Piper smirked and Jason's gaze flicked to the object in her hand.
                          
"Thanks again." He smiled weakly.
                          
Piper's dark fingers were curled around his blue inhaler.