Thankfully, the next couple were fairly easy. She only had to balance herself as she walked across narrow beams over another mud pit and then crawl across a large section of rope netting. Both were a piece of cake. Especially compared to the one that followed. This one was tough. She moved hand-over-hand across a set of rings that were hanging in a straight line over a small pool of ice water. But some of the rings were greased so, of course, she ended up back in the cold water. Though she had expected it this time and rushed out of the pit before the freezing liquid numbed her limbs and paralyzed her.

“You’re doing awesome,” Adam told her as they continued on their way. “Only one more obstacle to go.”

Thank heavens.

The last obstacle was a huge pit. They’d have to army crawl in the mud beneath barbed wire, through a dark tunnel, and then dodge a bunch of hanging wires. This was their big grand finale? Weird. It seemed too easy. She had expected the last obstacle to be the hardest, but apparently she’d been wrong.

But as they lay in the mud and began crawling, Preslee changed her mind. The mud pit wasn’t easy to navigate. She made it under the barbed wire with no problem, though her muscles ached from fighting her way through the thick, sticky mud. But though she wasn’t usually claustrophobic, the tiny, dark tunnel that was half filled with mud had a suffocating effect that left her gasping for breath before she made it out the other side. The guys looked unfazed though, as if they did this kind of stuff daily. In fact, both were even smiling, enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Adam nodded toward the hanging wires. “Last section of this obstacle.”

Preslee rose unsteadily to her feet. “What are the wires for?”

“They have electricity running through them. Ten thousand volts.”

She gaped at him. “They’re going to shock me?”

Michael chuckled. “Not if you don’t touch them.”

Preslee glanced again at the wires. There were so many of them that there was no way to make it through without touching at least some. “That’s impossible,” she argued. “No one can make it through there without touching them.”

Adam grinned. “That’s kind of the point. But it doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s tolerable pain. Just crawl through as fast as you can. It’ll be fun.”

Fun? This is supposed to be fun? Haven’t these people heard of Scrabble?

Preslee followed Adam and Michael as they crawled through the mud and made it to the wires. She followed Adam’s advice to scurry through as quickly as she could, but screeched loudly when the first jolt of electricity ran through her.

Ow, that hurt! Who comes up with this sadistic shit?