The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kNE1VC7PR
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNKLo4kr1x
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0rCboUZn1
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3ibrH2ALF
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpC9uc6f9y
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaYcH8WGhP
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhvFNnBqPa
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3V0anUIJc
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzTfNYcyH7
failed.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHDy7V3AEw
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRektmQAyLw
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDk6M2Gj3Db
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA2Jr12MU5
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LhRdbnWIX
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOhbuVIYzI
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVeNlkkizz
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscjeVHr0b4
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgljm8E3jry
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJObd9Nwdg
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr6MCbmbzx
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUcoXLoAK8
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzDUDOyYj2
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGTCbgzq2b
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzDPoz5oWA
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESOXVDuHVQ
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PqG0CyMBJ
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3JJ92mRn4
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMkitBcEac
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlJj1dk0AB
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHa2JWETZy
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5cuPioMEp
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhb7GGO8O4
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHsIqtBE3B
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkme2brNxi
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4djG3ebCVh
they knew it.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMCWFcWaKq
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dYP85IrnL
world of online communities, conventions, and the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8fRCY3AAV
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0BN4eF6Fl
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2bgsyAvzd
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzZs22UiPh
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACsYEdQzOt
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cwGwrboa6
afford.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcGouvIzXm
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVV7oRiJUd
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyW1q2LSODG
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfxngsPSMo
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttWyUAngUW
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPYvnhHvJa
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3o5sFzmy2J
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxd6mv03jU
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpka2jhyqdC
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv05DsBbmJZ
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALSpRBAX9U
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ632VBNhBXT
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GCDrWVXGP
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xiTKZMhNH
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHvTigm789
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ62DWZKUpd
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Z4nsx3kpD
dreams. His own dreams.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uUwZJF7pG
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1Qz2RbqMF
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOihWr1mAy
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNV83Uvssg
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbJ4btwXOx
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xeUBB1tnd
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sUj1s3AiO
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFoekQsk9O
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0a9InSeZxW
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDOXfXJYse
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyYg4nfti5
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwYP15XXi4
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOdrqD5w2D
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1MP1IXR0U
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCgUzjOBaD
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CpXS2VQjP
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjgFUNC463
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGPfJi2IhW
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLATQEgErTB
didn't know the players. He was alone.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfBkxoMs6k
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnbqbeyz5l
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJVHNXuyQ5
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGpX3wCreC
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6zj1xrOyo
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0jd4pb2yX
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmKjWjO4Vw
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8joIv7tFCw
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFJoHZJ6Ve
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb93yA14ZR
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvveq8ooz1
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 the99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tBro9kluk
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3VuVa06KR
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZ5si4Kj5t
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5AuqPHeZM
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQ0yLTFR9e
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErA8RinCIe
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmrAi9xEU7
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ms4hi4smp
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzDjzsK7nc
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.69da2
