Excerpt from "The Survivalist" - Jack in his Bathroom

"Hmmm, you're not too bad looking for your age" said Jack to himself quietly as he finished shaving. At 46 years old he had kept himself together well despite years of personal abuse during his years of alcoholism. He had joked to himself that alcohol had been a good preservative and that was the reason why his skin had remained so soft and smooth. The real fact was that all the men in his family had remained young looking as they had grown older, a feature often liked by women they had met over the years.

Jack had a handsome but rugged face. Chiseled looks as a result of Irish, English and Scottish heritage. Years ago a broken nose as the result of the child accident had left Jack a permanent feature on his face. Not many people noticed it these days and Jack didn't worry about it either. A long time ago he had decided that it was a feature rather than a defect, something he had learned from computer software developers who, after finding something not quite right with their brainchild would refer to it as a feature, never wanting to admit that something may have been slightly flawed. Jack also saw an odd logic in this thinking.

He also had a dimple in his chin of his broad face. Blue green eyes that could look straight into the back of your brain gave Jack the ability often when dealing with people who may have been telling less than the truth to come clean due to Jack's stare. It was not intentional, it was just that, as a good listener, from time to time Jack got so interested in what the speaker was telling him that the totally forgot that he was "drilling" them with his eyes. Jack had a light-hearted attitude about most things and jokingly called this his biologist look, a look as if he was studying an insect in a jar.

Jacks hair was still mousy brown although over the last years flecks of grey had appeared here and there which seemed to give him a more distinguished look and add rather than detract from his overall good looks.

At 170 centimetres, Jack was of medium height and due to his heritage was thickset but still reasonably trend trim and toned for his age.

After splashing some cool water on his face, Jack took a towel from the brass railing and dried himself and walked from his ensuite into his bedroom.

Jack was a pleasant looking man. His light brown hair was cut short and he wore sideboards in the fashion of the day. His eyes were blue and set wide apart. His chin square and strong.