The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvgXpEqH4B
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6psCARxdb
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFAIebskLw
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoamTjYIsI
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfAysO1qme
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAdwb2Zd3i
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQyPxHQOmy
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd68XihdIB8
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS4FZh2LON
failed.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2ORfCIfm7
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48Ut16hzVb
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF67assp5iq
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEMD4mISsr
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tK3fGHPjO
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5EJwigulQ
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzefkVxmgOH
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIC5EE7qQ4i
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlJpyuz57h
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEk75tIfdsi
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdr6II4vlg
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJjpkmTGhd
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVl84GSNri
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxWJrQGrYD
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4vLCO4TI7
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9U78pmUxZ
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMexQ2OkhZ
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeo7cSzIQA4
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z1uN78XAt
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGT4v52Pov
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmizFH15nC5
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEcOC85rp6
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4tb9gu5ao
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOX9sfmtaA3
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWkC41sZ2p
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtB4Je2yXzi
they knew it.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRiFb9dDjx
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWSN4UlNVR
world of online communities, conventions, and the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYsG2iKOGu
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLuE87Fuw3
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVndBg6uKra
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk39fgaxL5
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp41YSTWCms
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1ebvtbq5g
afford.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRkPfZBcnh
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVx1xQxv6m
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSRxCfAPKQ
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaxblCewY7
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGald4c2IER
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVNbkW9Wa1
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfz48QdJcbg
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIf4duBIVB
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8b4zL9JxLI
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbrfe67XMW
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQtfT8euKo
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KZ3AowgnQ
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfxe99ne5j
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZF75ZOBoT
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡustNbavoB2
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSezRMNrlXs
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIuamGKoa8
dreams. His own dreams.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTwvtD9Cdt
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVLP9XDZFH
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEhNKn4OKs
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRKQcezFhE
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWYRIfXDPJ
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjOwYF9icn
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlOkJV62Mi
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsjcnPf1GX
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxBwCYN6f3
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB493mcaVXP
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdS6Th0ni2
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX87sKOb8FT
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Bx71WrZcB
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOshHVTZrN
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwWovLpPBn
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4RoBz13yr
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB5vzDoHnP
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSNuU5XadK
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1PI4X8poW
didn't know the players. He was alone.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3BAlI6hnY
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBystLbXqa
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLzRc8eIEb
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0BUmQ5erX
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8xstXahUF
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTeXS9EGDF
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGGTkSfkqe
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1M3WLWBLks
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiotjg8K9VC
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvv6Yd2rPNf
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RnC3E0AV7
wasn't just a number; it was a life sentence, a death sentence.
He felt like a puppet in a dark show of cruelty. This was the88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvbpe7zBp9
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7yeL7Kqi8
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufGjUZrKue
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wrOddZRLR
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pkdYwblR0
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKT4g9z2GVz
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDXSuNz5hp
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELBMp2ZjVQ
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m81n6mhEb
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.176da2
