It was from this very experimentation that he was compelled to contact Lydia to obtain some advice in the field she had long ago conquered so successfully that she had been ridiculed as a madwoman and a reckless academic. In this regard she much reminded him of Dr. Nina Gould, strung up and hung high for being too passionate to control, but it seemed that Purdue was most attracted to women like this above all others. From the call he placed for her advice, he learned of her current condition which subsequently urged him to rather to visit the woman the academic world of Particle Physics and Quantum Sciences called a ‘loose cannon.’ Perhaps that was the case because he was himself a wild card in his academic circles. Only his fortune was his, well, fortune.
Had he not been independently wealthy he was certain that he would never have been afforded the amount of misdemeanor that he was, and most definitely he would not be called ‘eccentric’ for it. No, had Purdue been a man of average means he may well have been called insane for his ruthless pursuit of questionable theories to such an extent. It aided him well in his discoveries of the rules of the mysterious, but such knowledge as which he had attained also bordered on the freakishly dangerous.
A dreamless sleep overcame him just a few miles past the boundaries of Paris as the train travelled south toward Lyon, a trip that would last a few lazy hours for passengers to catch a breather from the day before arriving at their destination in the dead of night. Purdue had jokingly pondered upon the nature of people who chose this train as being coy breeds of vampires, maybe secret lovers, assassins or agoraphobic poets looking for an outing. The tracks were smooth under his train car, lulling him into a deeper sleep where the drizzle of the night wept against his tightly shut window.
In the corridor outside it was silent as most of the passengers were too tired to scuttle, apart from the occasional pee break or visit to the bar for a drink. Such peace was unusual in Dave Purdue’s life. There was almost a feeling of apprehension attached to it, as if he knew in his subconscious that there would be a penalty for the serenity. Perhaps this was a product of his lifestyle of the past few years, the danger associated with his affiliations and the constant recurrence of prophecies locked in antiquities he could not resist investigating.
On the good side of his mind sat Nina Gould, the woman he had loved since the day he met her, regardless of her dismissal of him from the get-go. He had briefly managed to win her over, had the pleasure of her carnal affection and her company until this all too familiar association with arcane societies forced him to abandon her and his life as he knew it for a while. And when he had returned, found her attentions turned away from him, directed toward the only man who truly challenged him for Nina’s heart — Sam Cleave, Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist and, as Purdue now reluctantly admitted, friend.
Though the memories Dave Purdue’s mind wandered, probing at long closed doors of terrible things to sate his masochistic appetite for moral punishment. His nightmares threatened just on the other side of those doors, the red light of hell falling in thin streaks on the floor from under them. In those instances he would hear his twin sister’s voice calling his name, speaking of his despicable betrayal not once, but twice in her life. When she would dissipate he would be lured to other doors where evil men he once treated like brothers would lurk, grinding their teeth and slamming their fists.
But Purdue would leave them all behind. Now he only looked forward, hastening towards the doors of knowledge and tranquility. He was done with the modern day Nazi’s and their relentless search for occult satisfaction and material gain. Corny as it was to him, he would keep his eye only on Nina, the feisty and petite historian who had unfortunately been at the receiving end of his reckless nature far too many times. This was why he elected to steer clear of her and Sam for a bit. In fact, he did not even care if his absence promoted their love for one another anymore, as long as she did not hate him anymore for endangering her. Purdue’s mind slid through this corridor within seconds and on the other side of the dark end there was a remarkable oblivion. No regrets, no nightmares pushing through and no guilt. He just slept.
At 2am a reluctant knock rapped at his door.
“Monsieur Purdue?” a lady’s voice whisper-asked.
“Oui?” he mumbled from the dusk of his slumber.
“Your sandwich and tea, as you requested, Monsieur Purdue,” she answered from the other side of the door. He shot a glance at the window. It was still thick night outside and the rain kept the glass wet.
“Merci,” Purdue said as he took the tray from her trolley. The small, young woman looked mousy and sweet, but her expression was indifferent.
“Would you like me to alert you before we reach Lyon?” she asked.
“No. No, thank you, I’ll be awake from now on,” he smiled and closed the door with a click. He listened for her fading footsteps before he sat down to nibble on the Italian bread and cottage cheese she delivered with his Earl Grey. For some reason Purdue felt anxious about the rest of the train trip, but he could not find any reason to substantiate his suspicion.
He looked forward to see Lydia, but he did not want to imagine what the illness had done to her physically. It was something he would have to face, but he was not a man who knew what to say in such awkward and painful situations. Lydia was always a crazy, mischievous woman who felt that nothing was impossible. Nothing at all. According to her personal point of view, physics and geometry were the keys to just about every secret the world found impossible.
‘Remember, David,’ he recalled her words, ‘just because we have not yet discovered the properties of the impossible, does not mean the impossible cannot be conquered. Mankind is a spec of nothing in the eyes of Creation and if science, as we know it, cannot explain something we deem it irrational.’ Purdue smiled, reciting her doctrine in his head as he had always done when he doubted his pursuits. ‘Don’t be fooled, old cock. Other dimensions run on other scientific properties, that’s all. As soon as we acquaint ourselves with the unknown sciences, we will function like those beings we now dismiss as figments of madness. We will become the impossible.’
“I hope you fight that final threshold until I have spoken to you, Lydia,” he said softly, enjoying his light meal in the solitude he so needed. “Don’t you dare die until I have seen you.”
He checked his tablet for messages. There was one from Nina, dated the day before.
Hey Dave
I am guest lecturing in Lisbon and it is stunning where they put me up. I’ll send some pictures later on. Met some bloke who is a technical genius and he wanted to exchange ideas with you regarding your laser research, so I thought to give you his number.
Don’t know what you are up to, but I hope you are staying out of trouble, for once. I’ll be home in Oban by month end, if you want to say hello. Let me know if you hear from Sam, alright?
Cheerio
Nina
Purdue smiled. It was good to hear from the beautiful historian again. Normally he had to establish contact first, so he felt flattered that she wrote out of the blue, with an invitation to her house, no less.
“So, Sam is not with you after all,” Purdue said as he saved the message and took down the number she had included. He did not want to admit that he was relieved, but knowing that she was not with Sam cheered him quite a bit more than he cared to permit. After Dave Purdue answered his other e-mails and texts, he sipped the last of his tea and checked his watch.