As names were exchanged between the group, John narrowed his eyes, taking in this Doug's appearance with a new sense of weariness, cataloguing his features for analysis. That jawline did look awfully sharp, pointy like a dorito. His eyes were a deep blue, full of confidence and amusement, like this whole situation was just another piss-up with the lads. Hell, the Doug formerly known as Thug looked excited at the prospect of storming a portal.

Then came the obvious. The elephant in the room, so to speak. It took some supreme self-confidence to walk around in a pair of swimming shorts with a grin on your face even at the best of times. Doing it during the apocalypse? John could only be thankful this guy looked to be about eighty, or he wouldn't have stood a chance at retaking control of this situation.

That was the ultimate problem. This shouldn't have taken him so off guard, but it had. Of course there was more to coolness than what you, yourself, did. There was a hierarchy to these things, an invisible social ranking that determined who was most popular in the room—given he was typically at the bottom of that list regardless of what room he was in, he should have seen this coming.

The Aura system didn't just want him to be cool. It wanted him to be the coolest. This complicated things. Made matters into a zero-sum game. Faking his way into the persona of a mysterious and stoic badass was one thing, but battling against another man—a natural gigachad, at that—for the spot of alpha among their group seemed like a challenge designed specifically to torment him.

There can only be one alpha, John thought grimly, and if you're not alpha, you're beta.

He had to step forward. He had no choice but to meet the man's eyes. There was no other option but to say, "Name's John. We're going to kill every monster we can find, old man. No fucking around, here."

Well, there were, admittedly, other options than saying precisely those words, but the point still stood. Moreover:

+400 Aura

John's shoulders slumped a little in relief, and he had to quickly square them again.

"There's some rage in your eyes, lad," Doug said with a wide grin. "I like it. It's good to see. That was you back in the fields there, with the flashy light and the fire?"

"It was," John said.

"Good work," Doug said with a grin, stepping forward with his hand outstretched. "I'd like to shake your hand for that one!"

This was bad. John activated Accelerate on reflex, making sure to keep totally still and trying his best to slow his racing heart to give himself as much time as possible.

Handshakes were the bane of awkward people everywhere, second only to hugs. There were so many unspoken rules to them, and different people would judge different things about you depending on those factors. A weak grip would, to some, mean a weak man. Too strong, and he was trying too hard to impress. Duration had to be considered, as well. If he tried to draw away too soon he'd look timid, but if he held on too long the moment would stretch out to uncomfortable lengths. Even worse, he also had to consider things like eye contact, facial expression, and even what, precisely, to say. Rejecting the handshake was out of the question, too—citing some excuse like not trusting the old man would just look cowardly, and there was nothing the Aura system disdained more than acts of cowardice.

All these considerations rushed through John's head in the blink of an eye. The old man was still moving towards him in slow motion, and John realised he'd already messed up: from Doug's perspective, John would appear as if he'd frozen completely still, a deer in the headlights. A rabbit before a predator.

I need to move, John realised. There were still a few heartbeats left of Accelerate—he didn't know precisely how many, but it felt like maybe six had passed—but he knew he couldn't wait them out. He had to meet Doug's advance in a way that wouldn't look strange, giving away the fact he'd activated a Skill in response to such an inane situation.

After wiping his expression as best he could, John slowly, carefully, stepped forward, trying to match his movement speed to what he could see of Doug's. It was agonisingly awkward, trying to move his body in false slow motion. Even with his heightened Agility and Ninja Skill, he was sure he must have looked at least somewhat strange, like a videotape that was being fast-forwarded.

He was counting the remaining heartbeats, so he was ready when Accelerate ended, with his hand half-way risen to meet Doug's. Then there was no more room for thinking. Time resumed its regular course, John's hand was moving inexorably towards his opponent's. There was no backing out now.

Their hands clasped, and the battle began.

John met Doug's eyes. In them, he saw a burning curiosity fuelled by fiendish intelligence. The old man's grin widened, and his grip around John's hand became bone-crushing.

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Mere days ago, John would have cried out in surprise and pain, but the John of today was a different man, reforged in the fires of conflict and death, and a bit of pain was nothing to him anymore. He fought back. Level 4 Strength showed its prowess, and he felt Doug's bones shift beneath his grip.

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That's right. You're not the only one who can play this game, you old fart.

But Doug's grin only widened further, the light of challenge sparkling in his dark eyes. One eyebrow arched. The muscles in his forearm tensed as he began his counterattack, squeezing John's hand with the strength of a crocodile's bite.

-400 Aura

Withholding a wince, John pasted what he hooped was a smirk on his lips. Hoo? Is that all you've got?

John had plenty more in the tank, and he poured it into the effort. There was no backing down now. Doug's bones audibly creaked.

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They weren't even shaking hands at this point. There had been neither any upwards nor downwards movement from the moment they'd gripped each other's palms. This was just a contest. A battle of wills. Defeat meant humiliation. Only one could emerge victorious from this duel, and John was determined it would be him.

The world seemed to have fallen silent. Seconds passed. None of the others dared to utter a word, though he could feel their stares on his back.

"Strong grip you've got there, old timer," John said. There was no strain in his voice.

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"You're not bad yourself, sonny," Doug replied conversationally. The veins on his arms were visible. "Heck, you're almost as strong as my daughter!"

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"It's even more admirable in your case. A guy as old as you must have way more brittle bones, so it's impressive how you're holding it together like this."

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"Don't sell yourself short…ah… Jake, wasn't it? You've had far fewer years on this Earth, so building this much strength up in that short time is nothing to scoff at. If you keep up like this, maybe one day you'll be as strong as I was in my prime."

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"Well, we have a greater understanding of health and fitness these days. I'm sure if you'd had access to the science we do now, all the nutrition and guidance, you'd have reached your prime in half the time it took you, and then far surpassed it. Can't speak for myself, though."

+400 Aura

The old man's grin widened. John's smirk lifted. The world fell away, and the war raged on.

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"Uh, guys?"

But it was all interrupted by a red-haired woman in a chain mail shirt and a motorcycle helmet stepping into the corner of John's vision, peering between their faces with a look of trepidation.

"There are, uh, kind of a lot of monsters around here," Lily whispered. "Whatever you're doing, can you, like, save it until later?"

John and Doug looked at her simultaneously, still gripping each other's hand. Doug's arm was tensed so hard the strain was visible in his shoulder and neck, and John was sure the same could be said of him, beneath the red leather biker jacket.

"Good to meet you, John," Doug said. He didn't let go.

"Likewise, Doug," John said, squeezing harder, pouring the last bit of his strength into the 'handshake'. He couldn't be the one to back down, now. Not after everything he'd been through to get to this point.

I am the alpha male, he thought, staring into Doug's eyes. Then John blinked. Wait, what the fuck am I thinking? Alpha male? What am I, a wolf?

John refused to sigh, no matter how tempting it was. He knew this whole handshake thing would be a pain in the arse, but he hadn't anticipated the form it would take. Now, things were awkward in an entirely different way than he'd expected. It was a marginally better outcome than looking like a snivelling little coward, but everyone still thought he was a weirdo.

Well, Doug apparently didn't. Judging by his grin, he seemed to think this was the best thing ever.

John gestured to the portals with his chin, then fixed Doug with a stare. "Like I told you, we're planning to do a whole lot more than what you saw back at the fields."

"Yeah," Doug said. There was a hunger in his eyes, and, now that John felt he understood the madman a little better, it seemed more than a little wild. Desperate, perhaps. "I was listening. Had to make sure you weren't a bunch of little shits trying to trick us."

"Why would we trick you?" Lily asked.

"Oh, there's been some wankers who've decided this is a survival of the fittest scenario, or a holy fuckin' test, or whatever." Doug's eyes darkened, though his grin never shifted. "Had a guy who decided it was easier to grow his power fighting humans than the monsters. Disabused him of that notion."

-400 Aura

John grimaced, and not just because he'd lost Aura. He'd expected that people would be assholes with the powers, but deep down he'd hoped it wouldn't be the case. Receiving confirmation he was right gave him no satisfaction. "We'll deal with anyone like that we come across, too. But monsters are the priority."

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"Good," Doug said. His eyes remained dark. "I can't lie to you, kids, I have some frustration to work out. I'm sure you saw those kids Sam was carrying?"

John nodded.

"If you heard the story of what they've been through in the last couple of days, you'd want to blow off some stream, too. Feel like a pipe waiting to burst, over here." He chuckled to himself, but there was no mirth in it. "But that isn't my tale to tell. Not while we're still strangers. So how about we get to know each other over some good old-fashioned life-or-death battle?"

John and the others exchanged looks. Eventually, it was left to John to say: "Don't worry, Doug. We've all got anger to work out, too."

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Finally, after a firm shake, they released each other's hands.

~~~

They decided against immediately enacting John's plan, even with the extra help. Doug insisted on bringing in the rest of his little group, if only to inform them of his intentions before actually executing the plan. John agreed, because it didn't really matter when they did it, as long as it was soon, and more firepower could only make it safer. They'd apparently taken refuge in a primary school while Doug went to check out the mad bastards who'd distracted the mob for them—his words, not John's.

"We could have dealt with the buggy fucks on our own, of course," Doug boasted as they walked down an alleyway, moving away from the high street. John had quickly realised that letting Doug take the lead made him look like a follower and thus harmed his Aura, so he'd made sure they walked side by side as they travelled. "But anyone who'd be willing to pull some crazy stunt like that merited a look from old Doug."

As they walked, he went on to explain the circumstances of his little group. "I met Alissa early on in this whole nonsense. She was a nurse or something, before, while I'm the only fucker to make it out alive from the retirement home I was in." He spat to the side. "Horrible place, that was. If there's one benefit to this apocalypse nonsense, it's being out of there. All the others would agree with me, even if they left by a different method, if you get my meaning."

"We met Sam a little later, trying to make his noble last stand at the train station. He hasn't said much, but I figure he lost everyone he had and wanted to take some of the demons out with him before he went to join his family, or friends, or whoever it was. Sadly for him, he's too strong. Kept just killin' 'em and killin' 'em. Was quite the sight." Doug fell quiet for a moment, then let out a sigh. The light seemed to dim in his eyes. "The kids… That wasn't a nice thing to see. Not nice at all. They were trapped in a car that had been overturned, parents' bodies right next to 'em. Except they had to be quiet, because there was monsters everywhere. Right in the city centre, they were. We only found 'em because Sam's powers come with some mystic mambo jumbo that let him sense them. He hates it, so don't make a big deal of the martial artist outfit."

"Why were you trying to escape towards the city?" John asked. "It's so much worse here."

Doug gave him a severe look. "If anywhere in the world is worse than Watford was, god fuckin' help us all."

Conversation dimmed until they reached the school.

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