Siren Attack

Lori eased back, relaxing against the bow of the boat, listening to her shipmates tell stories of their own "cunning" and "genius." As the only girl on the boat, she was also the only one not obnoxious enough to tell tales of "single-handedly killing a lion." Rolling her eyes, she was about to get up again when the boat hit something underwater. Odd, she thought. We're in the middle of the sea.

That's when the singing started. The men's faces instantly took on dreamy looks as they rushed to the rails to get a glimpse of their pretty mermaid wooers.

"Men!" Lori muttered under her breath and rushed to the wheel. Checking the navigation chart, she saw that the next patch of shark-infested waters was 132 feet away. She grinned evilly. There's nothing sirens hate more than sharks. Lori spun the wheel and turned the ship toward the west. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the captain, Donson, leaning over the rail, gazing into the eyes of a sharp-toothed siren.
    
"Oy!" Lori yelled, diving for him, and in grabbing his waist, she pulled him back and knocked him unconscious with a punch to his forehead. "That should keep you from getting your face chewed off, for a while at least." She sighed and looked up into the face of the now glaring siren. "Scram!" Lori snapped, picking up a stone and throwing it at the siren's head, effectively breaking her nose.

Lori jumped back to the wheel and, glancing at the chart again, she saw that they were now in close shark proximity. She looked around with triumph; the mermaids were screaming and swimming away rapidly. Down on the lower deck, she could hear the men groaning at the fact that they had been caught off guard by sirens. That should put a dent in their egos, Lori thought to herself.

Something tapped her shoulder. Turning, she saw Donson staring at her. "May I have my wheel back?" he asked.

Lori smiled and stepped aside.

"Nice job," he said gruffly and then smiled as she passed him.