The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxRb9ipUUv
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1zxYiupdX
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6oDhqZu6p
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTODjxALK8
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruQmZ1eKAp
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHcwvuIe3h
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KZDOA2gzP
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIyVo8iWtH
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrwwMj9rvK
failed.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwd4ZzNAER
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBC219CX2z
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNx1Yv28ulq
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEV9AOQIjtQ
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqImJlNsOF9
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5T0RMgjh1Y
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfusgJWgFqJ
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xcUyx1quu
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQOIn38N9v
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl5d7dAojo
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffFolvB0xc
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuV3zbPNBg
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8BhZlsWfb
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ufWIXRfmC
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS1uGRQEu2
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lHvl4z0Gx
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIKzKluOGv
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31W23PSHih
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0mSxoBHl3
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhxxroydQN
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqSAv6JXa3
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FUQUqoflA
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZqnf17Q4h
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrakd09NtaG
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4DOcJa23K
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohFpdkxBkx
they knew it.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyaYmnPKOq
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAooOURNEqk
world of online communities, conventions, and the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3JXQ9WtXy
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNmEFn2lsS
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGXwrrYKk3
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjIW5Ga5j3
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPpdQS3OuV
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuDT0UWVJ8
afford.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEleejWAEpw
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkGxxjN2ke
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ixRYqZIVe
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0OLGOFZn7
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWOBnwDXtc
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fqJtpfxze
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xRUnbmwQX
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSP7wtfE6e
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3lotPY2t6
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS20P8lAGWy
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxnr8OpCwh
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOawPA8lGM
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YjDSuemdk
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCvW7AtGef
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvra3wAXxwV
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DZMoOY2iJ
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElZP0i6Snf
dreams. His own dreams.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jfOL1vpj9
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYIfmDAnQ0
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0wdWmNX6v
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkxGeUIcoc
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2CvwKBU8q
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKUpuNsajg
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJhVrkZ8xf
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh18AAfmol4
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX02yvl5Ysl
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8gw7DV0RI
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUpe0gfDC7
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3KzM3aT0A
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGezl4mP6d
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLdf7ULJWv
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRs2FL1BviS
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJMKeMGmgI
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEvW0yJUfW
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhajQUxVBOH
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiIzxRxRgA
didn't know the players. He was alone.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTYoipigKI
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUHPnnmtak
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRB2n4Ci76F
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RLzNS88sC
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVzJACy4Ia
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIEDpPRq0t
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrmGFtG8rY
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDv45j5UND
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjLN6ZePLW
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6FV3R5YmO
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxULXgQ9MLF
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 the53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdhWsYYZli
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XAStJcltd
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tp47RJfDX
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuXduMk6kb
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIorikX2Dr
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBI4cQPTmYq
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBqgZyusZH
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfG2gUvYovA
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXKzrscc96
this place was capable of fostering.
ns3.133.112.22da2
