The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIdIXCutrk
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTotSg5eOZb
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgC9WhIYDaJ
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcCMeUkvgT
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLt74F8B8um
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZrFBYwbAb
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRGtW0j7DP
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclDPySZ0sJ
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMx6xxypsL
failed.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMOhUMbiQQ
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEBS3xYICV
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0QZTqsCiH
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAVNRUjpzs
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcylNAJwbk
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLg0c0FsCR
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeP0UoLKOa
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AsOqoZpeB
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGfBmVCXow
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxGS7x00tI
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITIRxV2EJY
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNTbFEyPnm
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWkr7ofTq0
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfYBUPbSsl
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsE6rWK7d1
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwU1E7kdYYf
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZu5p2R7pY
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2nplRHZXu
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCE7Vaq3QF1
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfp96TwB4y
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHAx8dkjs5
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7goG3yvaAE
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DQXGI7SIs
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOcW18UD40
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjwGUFabxl
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp97vtANaIw
they knew it.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wT8t0m8iA
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB95YphXrUe
world of online communities, conventions, and the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8TDazDKsr
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3dZLxLIrS
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkRGDgfIr2
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLZSjXpFGZ
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTB6qAGFr7B
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9gLDkQqUl
afford.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV259EDIOTc
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRK9L0NKYw
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfUNFvFQw8
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULOtvmpMM0
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27btPzsz8r
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdz0Gi4XBI
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrXwsL5dVj
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QRzghppgE
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnWqvYEsRM
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR91VMjFQK7
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUyPiQlH5T
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw181rsnYe
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcQ4pQHVa1
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3NkRBmXHF
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8YtiMp1FO
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNVxRfmlzz
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4xosSaMOm
dreams. His own dreams.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdf81XdBByR
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WF4ghANIQ
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKIyRjGFhD
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhtcyGSTGv
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVzFjizLFO
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFGinsXpwd
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBMpJNTHVw
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQAum4IQDF
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBj2xEEWYY
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4a5HHYMCI
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TqChRB2Vs
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmSUJcxgIc
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIq8x5gfYb
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgldtErJqeR
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CDe6vl5Qr
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYZR7ny1ub
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGycO3Qn9rs
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4aIT9Hk4T
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxGeQ4KIQ5
didn't know the players. He was alone.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC65Jf0pAZ
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8PxlSSon9
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjWBvLUC1Q
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuBFFl4Ukc
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvJaKllLA4
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYRF5OhODY
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqv9Y6AjDl
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7okOPQIl3v
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6639MrDNwF
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsPAAK16Td
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgdc52AgaD
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 the116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9t0dXQ7DvB
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Pmt4OhkLk
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lhG3ywEvI
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNV0ZhGzdh
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ5Q6DZOwF
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGaIJpNykR
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VnDmwKGBI
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXBuV0SU0z
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Vnj8fkuYU
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.82da2
