The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9PUq5MrmJ
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDic15Ztg48
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OJ0HaoWlo
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdnZPNRHCO
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckRBgoyZnY
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiORcIVoYx
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzTdgel3dE
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspF4LZ1j00
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOsVSjwf9y
failed.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1vDVwMvGM
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSaSI9Wuk2
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCk0Rqdi6Q
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWKd1vAoWL
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDKBfbABxf
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhW9XT5Iueg
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsXT4Blo3C
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPsW3ePckD
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAyO8LaGZZ
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUxC31Vvj4
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7Fky3z8XF
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMP4J02SKX
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPkHWplyGs
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtgZAJtGMM
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXptGrr1VP
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGf2zBQBdV
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eVay1dR09
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYoSZTIkta
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fPm9gORqd
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmBBd1CVgO
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYM0Nnzb2c
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡom11a4CvG2
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO41pvZQSJ
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTi3RJ9FmNF
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKyr17xQ8a
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcf2EwXpOBr
they knew it.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyjLS4gHwZ
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYE17VznOv
world of online communities, conventions, and the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUVN7rPJQ1
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzu0s2cley
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4jMXMUXBl
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGGKExtGTE
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCcu6MbIkX
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PzPjPtwU0
afford.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpCP6jyQtX
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WqAu6hT4s
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsprGfMcCZU
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l9nuQOqJm
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7WkGInX32
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVV9RrT3CYr
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDC2SRvGmw
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmmo60hb1c
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz7jG4jKu1
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErKv9OjvD3
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEScN6TY43Q
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3obHwAOti
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZv66gNXTP
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVpYmxHzgZ
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C2FCKwzU1
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchcsxlUS23
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMt1cG1BNgc
dreams. His own dreams.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOf9JUwHJ1j
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7GYyv2gcQ
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuBH6kJ8km
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaqxKqP5z2
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUprr0Cnxz
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl88HCdeDDV
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wqA4Tnh4q
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwnsKszjJK
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDXo79l6gU
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z8unpFvfg
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2rMICG5gq
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJT2x3RbCi4
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVLkSwDSn3
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcO7IAjggjT
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjLDTeYIQo
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp28loMibhu
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5vYiyUExg
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PfV82r0m0
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHKbpu1dUa
didn't know the players. He was alone.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UXVmon54F
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarfcpy72pG
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQK6kRLhmJ
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyBX2PG1Hr
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95FyMlMSwo
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7JyL9GafX
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR2cC5dLDI
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcRrUNm8xk
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IkNFTSFwf
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwBOEQ3Ewv
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuqkpgdiCX
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 the111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJP4KzyUKU
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jT3iagikQ
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYHbb6vSL2
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHswGienGC
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchVkTBDu66
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KvzIX9CoU
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iLPM8XzDc
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUe5OvQlsy
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWXEJZk43l
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.206da2
