The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKTkP7O8MX
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqMd3KRzD4
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeJixDbkf1
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30A8mCPGU4
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVj3KvsHKDa
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KEJY3Cy7W
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtpDUWOtJs
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcEtuxKjPV
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM62KpaRlI5
failed.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwtHT6zBDa
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytrVN0wZnu
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJuVlynKUJ
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9g5T641dLO
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tVYS5mwD8
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4XB1jtwlJ
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHDUkiztWK
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6r1GPnaFN
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSXgpdA3FF
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvulhljJzN
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhr1MVMEECH
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBUOYaBrWU
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3ElTDQbxx
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJLSPDS3K1
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XOZ1vi90B
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCYn6QG14F
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVJuOcdyhA
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF4ufh5Y2P
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVUNjDNtyI
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXHAtz8d3I
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyngxtXq25x
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuSwsGeaUW
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwVGqDjake
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquSqlKtqbq
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5qoaCaFtb
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCuRtXufLt
they knew it.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5U3ZP57hC
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzvEO7byJ9
world of online communities, conventions, and the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHT6JVTq3wS
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7yIvm5SOC
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcYfHk4PYU
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Rga0Sn4Zl
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62Hkv9wGFS
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHI8bbZTxV
afford.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1pkG6IFFW
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF6eCRrfNj
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7eFP0yN8m
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfVwVBYiAB
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuFvdqelP9
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9V83NEii4
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorCIrywKca
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJKh2vPsju
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSuA1Z6wWP
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMqkmSF28h
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfJTpCehZm
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxdMRuzWJq
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG1sAIkKeE
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJKarkQLoX
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVIDBULQHe
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolTKD7cgKm
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJ4uGUKZIC
dreams. His own dreams.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqBu8xX58D
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouupZvDHZu
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBnRlclnd3
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPd9tRqfHr
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9g7jxomkR
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9WTvSI77h
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgJ5MwKtVn
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X3t8WJOYa
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGUnXQwzAm
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRi7Vizmuul
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVi08viW3Jq
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFVYuyY1Ht
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3Clt7uNXr
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPS242QOJk1
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99TznpM5vo
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9RQIsCftv
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1wLJeBUbA
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeZOFvHJ24
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SAzJb7EEP
didn't know the players. He was alone.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qUV1aS8Jk
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqdiXWYL1V
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYhSzy399c
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3LxoxsJEq
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJtm4J91WA
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeS9WV0ekl
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlptZeqD81V
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVxvfTaLg7
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfC4BE0Pgm
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCxYiTWnIP
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOJJUa9ZaK
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 the103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWvnNZBSu9
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtSsNLDHNu
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAizNHRXhK5
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOwqJpcbrf
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXECxwylFn
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJGex713tC
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgUAWQehy6
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUbWJoZH5J
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIBvXT4s1o
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.176da2
