The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYjFEm5Inq
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0b1sLMvTc
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnsk5z9eTE
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDJAzlE2gZ
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNp4nIRUvi0
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMshncNNz3
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ422XxI7y5a
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEoMrY9D0m
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwAvOjiaVO
failed.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP86zBpZxRT
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEvVSGf8Rg
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZ9H3uJKqX
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMAsPEvp3r
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLSi9JZkdC
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vyucghlBS
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODXltQ4gA2
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLyW5DXo7J
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUpwL6n1Po
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuDC0HtCl9
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfY5gqpFP9
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2DPbHLWEL
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7coqcdyNrK
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmPFlNOL4G
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66JnCeaBQx
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGojcWjH97N
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnvvexwmj4
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmfdsYesAE
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtD7w7EWSMr
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97hFcUhQ4A
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCZqL5MfKg
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKF2J9T50h
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dHLO8YdMV
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmK1aqkDGZ
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoP01EivVHe
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSq5SiSkKCD
they knew it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03bM0Npi41
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcrxwaTMlV
world of online communities, conventions, and the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fMtwMc0Kz
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahXATSWYY6
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIwRQzUT1r
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1n7mSrGQYo
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNJBeac7AJ
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwxu1rye22
afford.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8CUgO25kC
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hy86CbliH
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBg0vVHv4LE
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsO5YJSzri
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUGKSRlTRC
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVDdlh7nWb
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFYpuzHgWX
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0W9SjoaxT
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EO40rWWOP
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CTjWpho7n
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrdIHziM1X
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qbiEs3Gcz
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxmS9l1rz9
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlYQY2szpU
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsR3YxuR78
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNfgdKw2Lt
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12e7hMNDiD
dreams. His own dreams.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxpUmIJnwV
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKa4tfLZCy
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueeZlRzbL8
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHXY7P3X3f
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zexgX81zW
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zx8FWDlf6
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡim9LVTNnNB
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjsc40WRn6
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqSkKfiOuU
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNHoByG4Gf
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKp174NBqL
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJuU00nezl
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtpRdphQsM
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeKd0CbRQ3
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6aTNFDkgt
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zkopioVYV
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBP9d7Ipvv
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFVWrxzX4y
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaDNmEfRKb
didn't know the players. He was alone.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBx9n55Gvq
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KSVDSFkUQ
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6eVX8LsmQ
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmch9gplGbP
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUUhEaHEu9
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1riYoqUOF
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlSgyb5iai
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSmhEFYAcN
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmknxabftX
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZHuGTVTfN
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBBKZgPZbl
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 the65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkMOjn3sTX
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUdHYtQLIo
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipZyRRu6LD
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoHYNuqn9U
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWO4AgDNdvc
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaJGTb3UpH
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObEB259m28
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizZGZHhLNA
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt5lBz3Zad
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.3da2
