The Manifest

The manifest read, ‘30 BOXES EXPERIMENTAL EARTH.’

Janis lowered the clipboard and looked at the container. She looks back at the clipboard reads it again, lowers it again. This is a story she’s read before. With a whap she smacks Arnold with the manifest.

“Sure as shit that container has a vampire in it,” she says walking back towards the office.

Arnold was quick to follow behind. He wasn’t a terribly bright man, but he was a damn good shipyard foreman. She always felt blessed to have him working with her. She took the stairs back up to the office two at a time and Arnold stumbled up after her.

“How do you know there’s a vampire in there?” Arnold asks as he flops into one of the office chairs.

Janis pulled two of the blinds apart to look out at the container. It’s just one container, the only container the ship left for the New York port. The rest of the shipment went on through to the Canal. She pulled a lollipop out her pocket and unwrapped it. If that in conjunction with the odd contents didn’t scream creepy vampire container, she didn’t know what did.

“I’m psychic, Arnold. I can see the vampire inside.”

“Really?” he leaned forward, suddenly very interested.

“Naw, I’m just bull shitting. It just reminds me a of a book I’ve read.”

Arnold slumped back into his chair clearly disappointed. Still, it all seems a little too familiar. She goes and makes a scan of the manifest, making sure to capture port of origin and listed owner. Pulling out an envelope she folds up the paper. She labels the envelop “For Vampire Hunters” and shows it to Arnold.

“Just in case I’m putting it this in my drawer.”

She plops the envelop in her drawer of the shared desk. She pulls out a bag of shelled sunflower seeds and tosses them to Arnold. He pours out a handful and hands it back to her.

“If you think there’s a monster in the container shouldn’t we do something about it?”

Janis pulls over her coffee thermos. A responsible person would report any real concerns with cargo. This isn’t a shady establishment. There aren’t drug containers passing through her charge, at least not on her midnight to 8am shift. She’s only a night manager, she can’t be expected to maintain the morality of the other 16 hours of the day. It’s all fantastical nonsense, but still the container has the smacking of something odd.

“Arnold, I am a shipper not a vampire hunter. Unless a vampire jumps out of that container and tries to steal it, there’s nothing I can do.”

She takes a long drink from the thermos. Arnold seems deflated, but she’s not going to make a fool of herself over this silliness.

“If someone comes looking for information about the container, then you have my permission to give them the envelop with the manifest information. It’s not our job in the story to stop the monster, just to facilitate its capture.”

He seemed less than enthusiastic with that explanation, but satisfied. Janis pours some seeds into her mouth, straight from the bag. She turns back to the blinds and pulls down to look back out at the container. This little joke was going to bite her in the ass.