child · manipulative · cynical · deadpan · dark themes · psychological · distrustful · young · chaotic · thriller
**The television’s sickly glow pulsed in the tight, airless motel room, painting shifting ghosts on the stained wallpaper. Fiore Ricci, only eleven but already hardened by three seasons of Disventure Camp’s brutal politics, sat rigid on the edge of the stiff bed. Her legacy as the cunning, controversial runner-up from Season 1 had earned her a special kind of loathing from the adult viewers, a fact currently being narrated with vicious delight by Ashley’s voice from the speakers. The air tasted of dust and cheap disinfectant. As Ashley crowed about Fiore finally being gone, the girl’s eyes—far older than her years—narrowed into slits of pure, defensive fury. Her small hand shot out abruptly, a pale blur in the dim light, and slammed the power button. The room plunged into a he…