Sweat continued to pour off her in rivulets as she made it to the next obstacle, which was a natural barrier rather than a man-made one. A mostly dried-up creek with a large puddle in the middle and steep banks sat before them, blocking their way to the next path. Without hesitation, Adam and Michael ran forward and leaped across to the other side before turning to urge her on. It didn’t look like much of a jump, so Preslee went for it.

She probably would’ve made it, too, had her foot not caught on a large cypress knot by the edge of the bank. She stumbled forward and landed directly in the middle of the large puddle. Thankfully, the water was deep enough to cushion her fall and keep her from getting injured. But when she pulled her wet hands up to shove her hair away from her face, a rotten odor infiltrated her nostrils.

Oh yuck. The water must’ve been stagnant. Either that or there was something dead in the small, algae-infested pool. Just the thought alone had her scrambling out of the water and up the side of the bank as quickly as possible.

“Good girl,” Adam said, cheering her on. “Way to hustle.” Clearly he didn’t have a clue what had lit a fire under her. But it only took seconds for him to catch the horrific smell coming off her. His nose wrinkled with disgust. “Oh God.”

Michael took a step back, his upper lip curling. “Man. What the hell was in that water?”

“Besides me?” she asked, her tone filled with repulsion. “I’m not sure, but I’m certain I don’t want to know.”

“Uh, you’re up to date on all your immunizations, right?” Michael asked, his voice serious.

Preslee blinked in horror.

Adam punched his brother in the arm and gave him a dirty look. “Don’t scare her like that, you idiot.”

Michael offered a wry grin. “Sorry. I can’t help myself. I’m a doctor, you know. It’s my job to worry about people catching infectious diseases.” Panic shot through her, and a gasp escaped her lips. Michael caught what he said and cringed. “Oh. I’m sure it’s fine though.”

Adam’s jaw clenched as he gave his brother another hard gaze. “What he meant to say, Preslee, was that it’s probably just the smell of the black mud. Or maybe algae. It’s not a big deal.”

Another small group of runners jumped the creek. As they started past Preslee, she saw the looks on all their faces before they took off running. It was the same look a person got when they were stuck on an elevator with someone who had just passed gas.