“Cass! what do we do?” Delia shouted, fear trumping her desire to stay quiet. They would wake anyway, given by the cries of the Siren. She only hoped their frenzied screech didn’t have the same effect as their singing.

“I got this,” she said, running back towards her silver suitcase. “You and Jonah focus on the Sirens. I’ll deal with the crew.”

Delia nodded, pointing at the encircling shadows and instructing Jonah who stared at her with worry in his eyes. He was smart, catching on quickly and returning his attention to the monsters as he began moving.

If only he enjoyed reading as much. Well, he had done plenty of that whilst bedridden, she supposed.

“Shelby, Gavin, Karl,” Cass shouted, “Get over here!” The three senior members of the crew obeyed the doctor's command without complaint, moving with urgency.

Delia watched with astonishment. How they heard her calls and not the Sirens, she didn’t know. She stood there, gazing at them in the event they rebelled against their will. The only involuntary movement they seemed to make was a slight cough. She would need to ask later.

Satisfied Cassie had it under control, Delia focused back on the clouds and the circling shadows, sending straying shots to anything that appeared to move towards the ship. Reloading, she noticed she had roughly thirty bolts left, giving her 5 bolts per Siren — if their numbers didn’t increase at least. They were moving away from the island, which was no doubt the home of the creatures, so their numbers shouldn’t, she convinced herself.

Delia provided cover fire for Jonah as he staggered towards the sword embedded within the Flightless Owl. When her Pa woke, she didn’t doubt that he would smack Jonah for using the ship as a scabbard. But that was a problem for later.

Bolt after bolt flew from her crossbow, the air violently parted as Jonah performed his signature move; and slowly, the vestiges of the crew crawled awake.

“Cassie?” Delia shouted. They didn’t have long left.

“Give me a sec!”

“We don’t have any seconds left!”

“You seem to have time to complain, Del!”

“It’s called multitasking, Cass,” she said, aiming her weapon at a Siren swooping towards a waking shipmate. The shipmate raised his hands, like a child begging to be lifted by its mother, clearly still entranced. So the shrieks still had the same effect then, Delia concluded.

With perfect accuracy, the bolt pierced into the creature's hide. It twisted midair, flying away and abandoning the hypnotised sailor.

Delia turned her head in search of any other daring creature before she froze. The shipmate had lowered his arms and started walking.

Walking towards the hull.

A wave of fear rushed over her as the man inched closer.

“Cassie!”

He was one step away. Delia didn’t wait for a response, triggering the crossbow. The projectile rushed towards the man and drilled into his thigh. He collapsed, blood leaking like a fountain, but he didn't cry or complain as he continued to crawl towards the waters.

Before she could scream the doctor's name again, a gravelly voice called out to her. "Del,” Gavin said. She turned to the boatswain who handed over a piece of cloth.

“Wear it,” he instructed.

Delia did as she was told, wrapping it around her mouth and nose as Gavin had himself. As she did so, she looked around and noticed every other conscious member of the crew was doing the same.

“What’s it for?” she asked.

“So you don’t puke.”

She didn’t have a chance to respond as a rancid smell filled the air. The scent was overpowering, filling her nostrils, and making her gasp for breath — that only worsened the effects.

She choked, the sudden smell causing her eyes to water and her stomach to turn. Even her mind felt hazy, the world doubling in her vision, swaying as though they were in the heart of the storm. And then the world became mute.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A wave of fear consumed her and the ground beneath her feet seemed to disappear. Were it not for the hunched-over figure of Gavin, she would have thought she was dying. A chemical was being employed here — Cassie’s handiwork.

Broken was the momentary stillness as the crew began to retch and heave, the deafness transforming into a ringing background noise.

“What the fuck cass!” Karl shouted. “You could have warned us!”

Delia felt like punching him in the throat. The fact he could talk meant he was far enough away from the source, and his shouts only worsened her debilitation. Still, she shared the sentiment.

Body still shaking and eyes streaming from the noxious fumes, Delia glanced upwards, away from the deck where she and Gavin had somehow drooled.

Everyone was awake now. Gagging and retching, but awake.

Vomit poured out of some members' mouths and splashed onto the deck, and others were on the floor, panting and gasping for air; she knew that didn't help. The unfortunate ones were lying in their own vomit.

Delia grimaced before turning her sight away, her stomach threatening to revolt at the scene. She turned her head towards Jonah's last location, finding him bent over heaving too.

“EVERYONE INDOORS NOW!” Cassie shouted.

Delia paused in horror as no one moved. Were they still under the influence? Her heart thrummed with the thought of the Sirens, and her eyes shot to the sky, the ringing silencing their screeches.

None approached. Were they also sensitive to the smell?

“IF YOU DON’T GO IN, YOU’LL SMELL THAT CRAP AGAIN!”

The threat met a chorus of complaints.

“What the fuck, Cassie?”

“Why?”

“Oh, for goodness' sake.”

Her heart eased at that. Debilitated then, not zombified.

Delia stumbled forward, following the rest of the crew as they made their way into the cabin. The putrid smell still clung to her clothes, lining her eyes with water and making her throat constrict. She could still hear the sounds of retching from all around her, but her mind focused on the sky as she made her way. The Sirens still hadn't appeared, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

As she stumbled into the main cabin, she caught a glimpse of Jonah, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. He stammered forward whilst his body shook, and Delia rushed to his side.

"Jonah, are you okay?" she asked, reaching out to steady him. It was futile, but an instinctive reaction; he was too busy retching to lip-read.

Delia watched in concern as he heaved, the contents of his stomach finding their way onto the deck. Once he had, he gave her a weak smile.

“I blame your cooking,” he said.

Delia poked his ribs, smirking as his smile disappeared.

“That still hurts!”

“Del, stop your flirting,” Cassie instructed, running up to the pair. “This worked better than I thought, but I don’t know if the Sirens will recover before us or not. Either way, we need to hurry everyone in.”

Delia nodded, looking around again. The crew was in disarray, their bodies wracked with the after-effects of the stink bomb. All of them were moving towards the cabin, but at a snail's pace.

Delia turned back to the doctor, who seemed perfectly fine. Before she could ask, Cassie handed her a piece of cotton, soaked in something.

“Smell this.”

Delia placed the piece of wool against her nose and inhaled. Soft peppermint washed over her, clearing the stinging airways and making her choke as fresh air filled her lungs again.

“Why didn’t you give it with the cloth?” she asked.

“Didn’t have time.” Cass nodded to the crawling sailor Delia had shot. “Couldn’t risk others doing the same.”

Delia handed the cotton wool to Jonah, who breathed in heavily just the same.

“Go drag the others in. I don’t have enough for everyone,” Cassie said, before running off to do the same.

Delia shared a look with Jonah, and after conveying the silent message, they both got to work.

It didn’t take long before the crew was below deck. Some slumped against the walls, panting for air, while others were lying on the floor, waiting to be seen by the doctor.

Her old man and the second mate were tied and asleep on the floor. She was going to ask why Cass hadn’t waxed their ears and employed their help before realising it was unlikely. The doctor wouldn't have been able to stay around for them to awake. And even if she did, their initial action would have been to take the wax out of their ear, succumbing to the influence of the Sirens once more.

“Everyone, shove some wax into your ears,” Delia said. “We don’t know when they’ll return, and we can’t risk you all trying to leave.” She pointed to the two sleeping occupants with her head. “Otherwise, we’ll have to put you out.”

“She’s right,” Cassie agreed, finally wrapping a bandage around the seaman's thigh. Blood seeped into the white cloth, despite the ointment smothered over the wound. Delia winced at the sight; she would apologise when she had the chance.

Gavin and Karl walked around, passing around the tub of wax, groaning with each slow movement. The sight reminded her of the previous question.

“Cass, how did they hear you without being hypnotised?”

“My voice is sweeter than the Sirens,” she said with a chuckle.

“Really?”

Cassie sighed, shaking her head. If Delia knew any better, it was at another poor joke unspoken. And Cass complained that she was unserious.

The doctor opened her mouth, and the sound of a deep voice echoed through the cabin.

A loud, amplified voice that didn't belong to her.

"Ahoy there!"