Dave’s Anatomy: My History As a Writer, #123: Vampires in Space: “Soil Samples.”

In high school, I read a collection of stories called Rod Serling’s Triple W:  Witches, Warlocks, and Werewolves. One story in particular fascinated me. Written by Joe E. Hensley, it was titled “Not Quite Human.” I never forgot the story, but I forgot the title, the name of the author, and the book in which I was published. It was forty years later (literally) that, with the help of the internet, I found it and got to read it again. It still impressed me after all that time. 

The story begins with the destruction of the earth. An alien race has destroyed Earth’s civilization and is about to report back that a new world is available for colonization. And something else will please the authorities on their home word:  miraculously, forty of the planet’s inhabitants somehow survived the attack. They are imprisoned on the ship and are being taken back for study. 

Soon, however, strange things begin to happen. A crewman commits suicide. You learn that the alien world is a repressive world. Anyone who makes a mistake is “exterminated.” The Captain of the ship will probably die due to what happened under his command. Soon others follow. The crew seems to be going mad. Everyone but the Captain is soon dead. The leader of the earth inhabitants that did not die tells the captain that this is because they are vampires. They were buried for centuries in the earth with stakes through their heart. “Your fire burned away the stakes,” he said, and they have revived. The story ends like this. But there is at least a hint that the vampires will force the captain to fly the ship home so they will have a new race of beings that can be their prey. 

This was the inspiration for a story I published called “Soil Samples.” Earth is not destroyed in my story. The aliens come as scouts. They land on earth, survey it, capture some its animals and collect samples of its plant life. They also bring soil samples in large boxes. During the course of the voyage, a wild boar gets loose and attacks one of the aliens. Bleeding badly, he climbs up on one of the boxes of dirt from Earth and dies of his wounds. Unfortunately for the crew of the ship, the blood revives remains embedded in the soil samples.

The Vampires—Rebecca, Hugh, Ethan, Mia, and Felicity—come from various eras. Like the creatures in “Not Quiet Human,” they have been revived—not by fire burning away the stakes in their heart, but by blood soaking down into the soil where they were buried. 

Rebecca transforms to a bat and flies about the ship. She hears someone speaking English, takes on her human-like form, and captures an alien woman, Devva. She tells Rebecca she has been inducted into the military to learn the English language. Rebecca tells her they need her help. She dresses in one of Devva’s extra uniforms and the two of them head back to the where other vampires are waiting. Devva decides to warn the crew when three of her fellow aliens appear. Rebecca makes short work of them and threatens to kill her if she betrays her again. Devva has noted that the earth beings are not harmed by the weapons of her people. 

She tells the group of vampires that the ship is monitored but puzzles that no one has seen them. Mia, a vampire who lived into the second millennia, suggests that just as they do not make reflections they also may not show up on camera. The vampires, aided by Devva, manage to take control of the ship. They learn of a rebellion going on. A prisoner on the ship is involved with the rebellion and will help them connect with rebel factions.

Rebecca

  

Rebecca feels badly that she has been so brutal with Devva and wonders why this human woman cooperated so much. Devva tells her that her sister got involved with the rebellion, was captured, tortured, and killed by the government. She has a family but despairs of ever seeing them again, knowing that because her sister was a rebel she will eventually be killed as well. Rebecca remembers how her crossing over into the world of vampires separated her from her husband and family. 

In the last scene, the ship is going to join other rebel ships. Their destination is the alien home planet—a new world on which the vampires can settle and find blood. 

“Soil Samples” appeared in Bloodbond, published by Alban Lake. Get a copy here.

For additional titles, check out my Amazon Page. Here is a link.

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