The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hGsmPRFmY
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhv6QdRC9M
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpUgEv8prK
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXqN2RAGHQ
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d6FwUdr0Z
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsisRr3oE7
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLRdJsuvG1
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKn4O6htZx
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUpnFzwP7V
failed.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWguYJkhH8
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXlWD0bH8F
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG8OPvwERE
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZQElJetOe
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRxTzscuoT
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqMWtMZTAY
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrZI3BsbTY
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkM2UgovtGA
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxQDKVyjvf
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JXES3ybq0
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eYVkCRIdE
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeHKYRbyHo
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcR2MfXLYOs
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGk3DCYomW
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb8fUnuxhf
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0mvktQVRn
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGubefN4uX
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcyZnLVAZW
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHAnZYzFqz
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgbKNT4XbF
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYwrqh1Wiv
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa0LR1XUDI
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQrjPDXErL
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24JLWpvzwd
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRkEaHDr54
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjx0EETuHv
they knew it.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr65tzcfJy
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlcCIBmXLT
world of online communities, conventions, and the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOXpTEyT7Y
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA16zbs3AI
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvOnbPMhCn
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7api1MP2Ns
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0RQe3OkZ4
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX03JkGYxIe
afford.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8wTqqtatt
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nd8226AVl
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnvhMngxE3
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlebfFD99WP
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUB1tPgNbx
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotVpEPGWcQ
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK4naONd15
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLesFxb1TJ
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8mhCb3dal
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWqQgnCenF
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfHxITwIB5
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4NNE99XNL
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXvVsFujm9
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytsZmTegpn
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuQ9FHOujx
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRloaDI0ZN
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zr3BxPSNk
dreams. His own dreams.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sI6hHYu6K
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlIofNTOCt
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVdAuBtfKW
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6fpRVsyA0
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXqdD5mNzW
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9agvqwFgpL
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2EUbm9Qsr
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHwjQq9J9o
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoA5eJ7VjD
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydxtRFP67s
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzA6XZJEkWk
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uWJUzYknZ
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRWFxPDpLq
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp9AAJv5Bt
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nJvp2hvoM
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgB8Ue3UIe
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ7c9u4tdR
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdnX5FJcRB
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwnKm0bCHx
didn't know the players. He was alone.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RwfQdnU1o
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hsz18JCAh
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK96Pqpv0vG
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQdhWZja4V
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkq8hXNX1oa
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8ILqGNuTW
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCY6QU9kfRc
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3z2ywFCE84
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFe60aslGJ
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGeT0ZiVUm
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUgOGfMHBM
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 the120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNE6xiGcC3
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ7v41z3gA
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBynS1wk8Z
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMDM7M8LWR
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonh5iYCdEY
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcj0ErViZoR
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXEylVZeeW
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVDsS3r1if
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUVzwKvpMI
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.82da2
