The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhevMH6sxu
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mjf4E1DMu
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiysSeKsYS
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqx9uuxpD3K
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdL3lrDJRI
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAuqosTB1l
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOLv0G3rOb
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fMWu3TfWx
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhrFM3HPs0
failed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9B656P1ci
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2H064kHhzq
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IyqFtEc0Y
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigjH1Yh6Sk
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5huf2UZXv
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVW63pamC8I
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaKfDI6vc2
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OjDqKUroL
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3qoSGrljF
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbw6NkN658G
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kGWFtMSS8
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0YRcWxJFY
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgd0Gj0TDp
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ064yStaHW3
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8wxmfY6wc
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3v5bpfCim
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuVp5vZFHU
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrngNENj49G
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnValyoxNeI
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKkJ9k4oM9
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomkU5vcgmW
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dad3rd97b
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasuwIswXrX
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvHGl0dwAn
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6cw56v8Of
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9yPcdMTQh
they knew it.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZx9vzVMdNG
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOmdqv8lJU
world of online communities, conventions, and the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZizPjndXxp
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r1ysXzxZc
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppaCUdWS8G
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTK0mn2TQ84
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuer1Q1aPyJ
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3EHblNDjr
afford.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKXWVgZ6Ze
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwQrw4Yz3S
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarZRYUiVgG
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMOz5Xnyoq
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DcBLpxhU6
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTjMofczFj
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUB6UZ8xIG
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvi6oxqxj7X
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ94ujltWdo
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVS7QCuL8P
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpXjWK3oba
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqlgPaLMj1
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD54Fy8mNRC
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pv9TYzsSK
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VRICZEY9e
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nXmO3rYZE
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPdvcdBftr
dreams. His own dreams.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkilGUfIy59
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeVaI1U8Tr
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToikzlqo1m
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvPzAzKemI
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpT2rUAV6tG
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpmocuboP8
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXjNjR5mw9
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ukdgCRMkW
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZkEBR85Qz
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM967ZyjA7d
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxc8IckaQa
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiyulozlT9
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9z2N22j52O
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6uQJ4jzZX
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡui0bFBjoWU
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM9PDUAmWZ
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOMDW2e9TA
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPcyL2iAlz
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyODxMCt5QQ
didn't know the players. He was alone.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknDy8x8jTz
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxlyORQlQ2
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNCBK0URL1
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV19ZtHEzo
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGxPsZKrlo
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvkskz3AhT
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrdQe9Sod1
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR54gukZhot
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWZ8c1skXO
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YELDBZRsL
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcePUftcvEo
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 the101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7kKC3yyY5
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLabYBDQri
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8D8Y5BP8w5
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ898WePk8j8
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SNAYnlCQa
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIljc3Id7oF
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZpS6IdAua
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEw7n3AFc6p
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFmXf1JYj7
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.65da2
