The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlmHdcKpZv
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqh8KZgVOb
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ISAYEUBwL
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9TQVu954G
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZSCrh4LHn
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIXh7ZQgfK
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxW64v7HWT
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvYkVLDbDT
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfSATUHL6n
failed.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDSyfXhd5j
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8y41r6rESO
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZZFIyO1of
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Qh7u2OcZZ
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxyCotY5d4
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKCAlly16N
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6HVxuT207
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRn3rvFGO4x
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UkdtjmOk5
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nhCOPEnvq
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEQ8abHwGE
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewa0TxTHLw
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4aZ7r1BjF
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TkWwUCdC7
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cOh8xu3nq
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRKiwHsYrc
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtsmAZMwB9
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSrm0wp6Jo
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfSvaCzmKu
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89KODRXjPa
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UXcArsbxa
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwxKlgCqGu
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucxWJCtroh
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttAFPCTwce
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvy51jiWv3
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5qCVRRsTJ
they knew it.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjlfbkgDqB
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfcVq0doaJ
world of online communities, conventions, and the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3dhxPofDn
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVZup1DQ8R
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjxIuZGr8t
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZpCiUg2w6
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXgQIJZbsl
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHqDCMbv0N
afford.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fUnmKb02X
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QQWUBebH7
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEyrc7psbv
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWEBh7aq9S
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjYGk0gNvW
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIw0F77cwNj
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnlkNsv7TL
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLZ4H8VPDW
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QuUkBWfHN
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSTcryXYyb
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGJvd5zq8M
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FjuT7cAxy
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp49uKRK8Je
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8Mo8a0QpY
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniRQybX0qI
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vWIJMopuL
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUQeKABDOy
dreams. His own dreams.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn50iDUItli
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHeSru4N9s
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC88cGik4aT
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2k5HGbvJtN
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kNcK9OKMv
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRK1f4UHILF
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCfD06iOr2
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBdSJ6yTN6
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFi1t7HPJz
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeyQxqM61b
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6pPDvGrCC
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dheI7j4JU
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRf41W2vAV
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMQ8H6JUbh
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lNNSlVWOU
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxR7Uh5xUuH
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0INRgOBFxo
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9eBhFa7Vs
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndesxZgyxB
didn't know the players. He was alone.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEfm7n46L3
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cbFlc0XXi
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOG5d9tiWbe
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCcnavkr91
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZM4aU1HSc
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2u8kSZ7Rn
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCmnNNYQ4M
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUeKFZ4kLX
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZozXR6gNc
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFFiZoEbZz
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUDxOFsS6N
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 the121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAhWmFDL5F
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV13uEGUVN4
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcswC5xPrKs
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnWYo8D4dU
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvYK1p9U0O
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaGPkuwrYb
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtwgInl2qO
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWd8FBlwqmT
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPA1FyY72ah
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.82da2
