Hey everybody! So I think so far this has been my favorite chapter to write merely because it contains a lot of violence and what not. (Yay for fictional violence!) As always thanks so much to Novastar for reviewing my chapters before I post them (this one had quite a few errors that I somehow managed to overlook). Also, as always, very much love comments, questions, suggestions, ideas, constructive criticisms and the like. This chapter contains no sexual content. This is a M/M romance series (this far into the chapter series do I really need to keep saying what this series is about?) Thanks much to all my readers, you guys make me really happy when you favorite, rate my stories and or decide to watch me! So thanks a ton! So without any further jibber jabber I give you Chapter 5 of The Road Of Life.

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The Road Of Life

Chapter 5 - The Face Of Adversity

The next day started and ended quickly. It was spent doing some chores around the house to prepare for when James, Andrew's father, would return. James was scheduled to return later Monday evening and Carol would be at work most of the time during the day, Andrew and I would also be in school; Thus it was only logical to do the chores the previous day. The evening passed without much event, Andrew and I simply watching a movie together before heading to bed. I had no idea of the nightmares that lay ahead the next day at school. Neither of us did.

The alarm clock once again beeped loudly, signaling that it was time to wake up and get ready for school. I hated having to get up so early, but lately, since I had adequate food portions and got to sleep much earlier, it didn't bother me as much as it usually had. Andrew showered first and I showered after, putting on a pair of clean clothes I once again borrowed from Andrew. In my mind I made a personal list of what to get once I actually had some money, 'First, pay back Carol. Second, buy my own clothes, Third, take Andrew on a date.' I was tired of living off charity, I wanted to become independent. We walked to school again, I had begun to wonder why we didn't just drive there and that morning I asked Andrew. He told me that he had a license and was fully capable of driving, but he preferred to walk to places, to save on gas. He had also added that in the winter they'd definitely be driving, due to it being too cold outside to walk.

We got to school and the first thing I noticed were the misplaced stares, then it was the silent whispers, then it was the glares. Normally I might not have cared except for the fact that they all seemed to be aimed and directed towards us. As we got further into the school the tension seemed to rise more and more, the hate in the eyes of our classmates unmistakable. I knew where this was headed, Andrew seemed oblivious to it, but I could see it all around us. Finally the tolerance broke, and the otherwise silent hatred was leaked into the open air.

"Go back home you fags!" someone yelled.

Several others began name calling and adding to the threats of hate and bigotry. It was simple fur nature, to belittle and threaten anything that was different from you, anything that threatened the social norms of acceptance. The taunting and hateful name callings had just begun, but I knew instantly what had happened and who was responsible. This was Alan's doing, this was his revenge. He knew he could never get back at me on his own so he leaked our secret to the student body to start an inner war, to acquire an army of anti-gay fighters, an army of anti-Max fighters. As if to confirm my suspicions I saw Alan at the end of the hallway, leaning against the lockers, chuckling to himself at the success of his self-constructed plan.

Several teachers heard the riot and went out into the hallway to break up the gathered group who were still threatening Andrew and I. Andrew had seemed shocked, to see some of his best friends join the fray and shout out comments full of bigotry. They didn't understand, Andrew was the same as he'd always been, the only thing that had changed was that he was with who he wanted to be with. But I'd seen this before; how neighbors, friends and family disowned and went against one fur, someone they might have known since childhood, just because he or she proclaimed him or herself to be gay, lesbian, a smoker, an alcohol user, whatever the thing might be. I had never understood why other furs would do such a thing, especially if they had known a fur their whole lives.

The day passed, the hatred spreading like a festering disease, I did take note that a good number seemed neutral in this newly started war, or seemed to be gathering on mine and Andrew's side. In the classrooms I could feel the heated eyes of hate watching me, waiting for the moment when they'd have an opportunity to strike. I would never give them that chance, because I would strike back tenfold if they tried. At lunch things once again broke out into an open riot as they had earlier that morning, this time the attacks were not only directed at me and Andrew but those who had stepped up to support us, to reveal their own sexualities. It was madness, words of hate soon turned into full out battle; fists were flying through the air after tensions had escalated past the point of control. Each side fought for what they believed was right, but this war should have never been started. I watched as Alan sat back, enjoying the brutal fighting, a smug look covering his face, pleased that his few words had turned into an open war.

I could not stand the bitterness any more, the displays of bigotry and hatred. I stood up, my fists clenched in anger.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, causing the fights to stop as all eyes directed themselves to me.

"Have you all gone mad? Why have the best of friends turned against each other? There's no reason for any of this!" I shouted in frustration and anger.

Alan had sent his attack and this was my return fire, hopefully this would be the last time we were conflicting.

"What should it matter who a fur loves? Is it really, honestly doing anything to your personal life? Are you affected at all by it directly? No! You choose to take offense to a fur's choices, the choices he or she makes are their own!"

The cafeteria room was filled with silence as my voice filled the empty space. Other furs were still halfway through a punching swing when they had frozen in silence. Some teachers stood at the entrance to the cafeteria, watching as I delivered my speech.

"In my life I've watched good furs disappear because of this needless bigotry and hatred! Can any of you really hurt others, even with the knowing that you all have flaws of your own that society may not accept!?"

I questioned, not expecting any answers, the room remained silent. "All of this Hatred has sprouted from one fur's personal conflict against me! And all of you who have answered the call to arms sicken me! You all follow blindly like lambs to the slaughter house, to fight Alan's personal war for him!"

My words struck at Alan like a knife as I named him, while the slightest hint of uncertainty began to show on his face.

"Look at yourselves! And look in the eyes of those your hurting! Your friends! Have they honestly changed? They're still the same furs they've always been!"

I pointed to Andrew, who was standing near me, to use him as an example.

"Has Andrew changed? He's still the same, kind, honorable wolf he's always been! The only thing that's changed is that he loves me! But does that honestly do anything to affect any of you? Ask yourselves, what is your motive? You were all baited into a trap, and you all fell for it!"

Anger, disgust, sorrow, all three of these emotions filled my voice.

"It's no wonder that we have wars! We see something that we deem unacceptable and persecute it! We persecute it needlessly! We persecute it until it has no option but to fight back, and that starts wars! It's no wonder that fur-kind is doomed to tear itself apart! If we continue down the road of intolerance, bigotry and hate for anything different from ourselves then we will never find true peace in this world!"

Their muscles had turned to jelly as they listened to the intensity of my words.

"Enough of this madness! Just stop! No more hate!" I cried, putting every ounce of sincerity and pleading into my voice.

I fell to my knees, my energy exhausted as tears began to hit the floor. My sobs, tears of which the likes of them could never fully understand, filled the room. Amazingly, they began to let go of the furs they had grabbed or had been beating and hung their heads in shame. Andrew leaned down next to me and helped me to my feet, escorting me from the cafeteria. The room remained silent after we left. Some of the teachers who had heard the full extent of my speech still stood frozen in awe and amazement.

A Raccoon near the entrance watched how the scene unfolded next as the calm returned and apologies were issued, how somehow a full out war had been subdued by simple words of truth. The Raccoon stepped forward, breaking the silence and frozen state of the other teachers.

"I always knew that boy would do great things in this world." Mr. Edgar said mostly to himself, a hint of pride for me in his voice.

Andrew had led me to the stairs case and sat next to me. I felt drained. It had taken a lot out of me, emotionally and physically, to do what I had just done. I rested against Andrew and he held me.

"Max.. that was amazing." he whispered to me.

"Not all of them will understand.. there'll still be hate.." I replied.

"You're right.. there will always be those who continue to hate needlessly, but that speech set a lot of them on the road to tolerance.." Andrew comforted.

The rest of the school day passed without any more glares. Some furs approached me after school was over and said how amazing I was during that speech, how brave and courageous I had been to say what needed to be said. In one simple moment I had gained a social repertoire, gained popularity, I was no longer a social ghost, some nobody without a face. Now I had admirers, and almost everyone in the school knew the name of Maximus Reks Dreeker. In one simple moment I had become a legend.

Andrew and I walked home together, the emotional event of earlier still taking its toll on me. I got home with Andrew and then remembered that I had my job starting today. I gave him a quick kiss and headed off to my Therapist's office to start my job. I don't know how I had spaced telling him I had gotten a job, but he seemed happy for me. The walk to my therapist's was as uneventful as always. The Autumn air was getting colder, it's freezing temperature wrapping around me like a shroud. When I arrived Mrs. Hardy gave me a list of the things she wanted me to work on. She wanted some of the furniture in her office moved around. She also wanted me to clean out the rain gutter on the roof, clearing it of all the leaves.

After moving around some of the furniture in her office I grabbed a ladder from the maintenance closet, which I had taken a little time earlier to familiarize myself with, and headed outside. I set up the ladder and climbed up to the roof. Luckily the building her office was in was a simple 1-story building, making the roof and the rain gutter relatively easy to get to. I took a handful of leaves and put them into a black garbage sack I had brought with me. Cleaning out all of the rain gutters took about an hour, I was actually surprised to see remnant leaves of the previous year, it seemed like no one had cleaned the rain gutters for a long time. After I finished cleaning the rain gutter I headed back inside to put away the ladder.

As I was about to put away the ladder Mrs. Hardy stopped me.

"Oh, Max dear, can you change a few light bulbs for me real quick before you go home?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Hardy." I said, taking the ladder with me to change the lights.

The office lights were the long 48 inch, tube-like lights, often covered by a rectangular glass plate. They were a bit of a pain to have to change. You had to remove the covering before taking the old ones out and replacing them with the new. Several times I had almost lost my balance. Once I finished Mrs. Hardy thanked me and told me she'd pay me for the week after my shift on Thursday. I said my goodbyes and began to head home, suddenly remembering that we'd have to talk to Andrew's dad later that evening. On the way back home I passed a construction site, probably for some new store.

"Hey Dickweed." The unmistakable wording and voice of Alan called out from the shadows of a nearby tree.

"Alan.." I stated, a cautious tone in my voice. "What do you want?"

"You humiliated me at school earlier.. Now it's time to pay!" He said bitterly as he stepped out into the dim lighting of the street lamp.

"Really now, do I have to kick your ass all over again?" I questioned. 'he just never gives up..'

He charged at me and I began running towards the construction site. I had warned him before and now I was going to have to make sure he'd learn his lesson. I reached the construction site and ducked as he swung at me. I swept my foot behind his legs to knock him on his backside as adrenaline coursed through my veins. He got back up quicker than I had calculated he would and grabbed me by the neck, pulling me to my feet. I was in his grip now, under his mercy, a mercy which I knew did not exist. With his free fist he punched at my face repeatedly and after about the fifth punch he tossed me. That was the biggest mistake he had made. I stood up, backing up, disoriented as he approached again.

"This is the price you pay for humiliating me!" he yelled.

"And what.. about you? Where's the Justice for years of torment?" I questioned, my hand wrapping around a nearby metal pipe hidden in the shadows.

Silence, the only reply he offered was a cruel smile. As he got within range I answered for him.

"It's right here..."

I swung the pipe at him as hard as I could, hitting his stomach hard. He fell to his knees, grasping his stomach in pain. I kicked his right arm, which was holding him up from the ground, so that he fell completely to the ground. I grabbed the equine's right arm and lifted it back behind him. I pulled it far enough that it wouldn't go any further without breaking. I could hear the sobs of his pain, could feel him trying to break free.

"Mercy! Please!" He begged.

"Think back Alan, back to the days of our youth, when I would cry for mercy! I'll show you the same mercy you showed me..."

I pushed Alan's arm hard until I heard a sickening SNAP, telling me that I had broken his arm. He screamed and howled in pain.

"None." I finished, standing back up to look at the pathetic sight before me. His screaming pierced the air like the whistle of a boiling kettle.

"Karma's a bitch." I stated as I walked away, leaving him behind once more.

I had told him I would end him and I did. After all, how would he be able to play football now that he had a broken arm? When I got home I was greeted by Andrew, who took note of my beaten face.

"My god! What happened to you!?" He asked, the tone of worry deep in his voice.

"Just ran into a little trouble, but I'm fine now."

He led me upstairs to help me clean up, explaining that James had gotten home awhile ago, Carol and Andrew having already explained the situation to him. Andrew stated that his father was rather eager to meet the Fox that had won his son's heart. After cleaning up Andrew and I headed downstairs. I was led into the family room, seeing a much older version of Andrew sitting on the couch next to Carol.

"Ahem.." Andrew started, to draw the two's attention. "Dad.. this is my mate, Max."

James stood up, eying me carefully before he extended a paw to me.

"Nice to meet you, max."

I shook his paw and smiled. "Like-wise sir."

We sat down and ate dinner together after that. James was very accepting of me, for which I was extremely grateful. After dinner we said our goodnights and headed for bed.

There is always a time in our lives when we face adversity. It is in those vital few moments that our true characters are shown. It is in those moments where we are either revealed to be heroes or villains. Today adversity bore is fangs, today I had become a legend, and today I had done something shameful. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I would learn this one day, learn that you can't enact your own karma without any consequences. Only time would tell the answers to the riddles, only time could solve the great design known as Fate and Destiny.

....TO BE CONTINUED....