The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpUIw5wRg8
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvRBXAO6pu
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicA3R9NGCN
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ9nNOKDfK
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7I3nMsGuvf
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICB8OVlcms
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQr5c7tnMY
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnoUU6QNlq
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9TXnYEW77
failed.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQfclwsCgu
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2H1p3n4qG
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFF46JhUG0
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JGThjsX0P
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn7ybUG2ME
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfmtGK4AKH
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo0I2x1m1Z
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UYasaRNZa
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQPVixjEhB
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtWJebtPEG
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2pY1Q9wdC
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe07h3qSlx
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuFCRCmk4S
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmDecgT1kB
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwuK8DjSGb
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYH7IdEZY7j
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eoejVuk4f
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCI8k4eseV
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQIdjbV61V
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDc9nuH4H0
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NVrmeCHxH
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnmqooC1nC
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMSrd4tDc5
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVxNBTFLPs
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSeCTwqZbu
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1O4C5whQbx
they knew it.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9vGdKysnN
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTq047MlI2D
world of online communities, conventions, and the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGKhqtGLjA
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPujykUpAr
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArsP0wLfe7
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtchPSdINj
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUINXC92Umz
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ODwjR1ClO
afford.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKwotjKzyM
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGmmpZ2xdd
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3wmYOuxyo
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWane9OI5Cd
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BbWE4Gzn4
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHu9x8xiCg
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoa0z5cWFOp
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhk1VGj9Je
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwMQzksYGC
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9OrXGAKuv
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXRCRxINiO
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorCNcJxleS
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhiaEBaZjX
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWsMhXydNb
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkyz90h9uE
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRsVySBEWl
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5FClltKVD
dreams. His own dreams.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwN5EaeYFb2
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcOJ4sszoK
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMu6tw4TBj3
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4kV82tkU0
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTaEITv9GQ
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPD9KX10Hd0
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qGuewL9gw
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgKrUP6Owj
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCENVIRmrj
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuucMwmhTBC
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTmVr4XJn1
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Jsc8PKrr
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcukD4hgPMU
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XOxEG0h0e
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4XiYJVXBH
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLufVrwf4n
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZ8xhb5DHH
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Hfrdbuyya
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1aczoy1y4
didn't know the players. He was alone.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡai6VzytYq5
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Vrjp597q1
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYe00JJ4cv
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeK5LPqFoul
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETkjlPW0gC
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpVx6L3Lqz
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwdLhB2SyR
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVgJyhK7bE
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46yYWpcoP6
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfT61iFAhZM
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoPqcIQL6x
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 the47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2glLQpKqK
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYCg50EzW7
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCZt5HnHGz
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSoQO47Kxl
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrMB4NpzwB
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0V7fdDWDW
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTQknUfy1r
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV8qIn9p7V
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJkTPEGTvD
this place was capable of fostering.
ns18.117.135.125da2
