Preslee wanted to cry, but weeping wasn’t going to help any. There was nothing she could do about the horrible smell. So instead, she crossed her fingers that she didn’t end up contracting some kind of deadly flesh-eating bacteria from whatever was rotting in the creek. “Can we just go already?”

Without waiting for them to answer, she took off at a dead run, keeping a good pace. Not fast enough that they wouldn’t be able to catch up, though neither of them did. They both lagged behind her at least five or six feet. She couldn’t really blame them.

By the time they reached the next obstacle, the unpleasant smell must’ve dissipated some because both men were running beside her once again. Or maybe they’d just gotten used to the stench like she had. Didn’t matter. She was determined to put it out of her mind and not think about it anymore. Because every time she did, she longed to soak her body in a warm, bleach-filled bathtub while sipping on a cocktail made up of several strong antibiotics.

Adam pointed to a huge dumpster trailer in front of them that made up the next obstacle. “Oh man. I hate this one. Who wants to go first?”

Jeez. If even Adam didn’t want to do it, then it had to be really bad. What did they have to do—crawl through rotting trash to get to the other side?

Michael shook his head. “I’m not diving into that water first. You go.”

Preslee’s head snapped up. “Did you say water?”

Adam nodded. “Yeah, they line the dumpster with some kind of plastic or vinyl to keep it from leaking and then fill it with water.”

Although he continued to speak, Preslee stopped listening. Her focus instead was on another contestant, who climbed the ladder on the side and jumped into the oversize dumpster. A splash followed, and it was music to her ears.

She didn’t bother to respond to Adam or wait for either of them. Just the thought of submerging her body in clean water and rinsing the smell of death off her was enough to persuade her to climb the ladder and throw herself over the edge as if she were bungee jumping from a bridge. But the moment she hit the water, she shrieked as her entire body froze.

Not figuratively either.

Preslee had just unknowingly tossed herself into a large vat of ice water, and the shock to her system had not only taken her breath but practically caused her to drown. Thankfully she’d managed to get her legs under her and stand up in the chest-deep water before that happened.