She walked back to the campfire, sat down, and smiled for the pixel-eyed god in the trees.

Last night, Kendra tried to run. The jungle swallowed her whole. The production lights stayed on, but the camera drones just hovered. Watching. Recording. The red lights never blinked.

Nobody answered. But the camp's comedian, Greg, knew. He'd been a film student before the scandal. "Old-school video codec," he'd said, face pale. "High compression. Low quality. Used by pirates in the 2000s."

Season 13 would be their last. But the XviD files would live forever.

In the distance, Ant and Dec's voice echoed from production speakers, rehearsing a link for tomorrow's episode: "Tonight, tensions rise in camp... but who will crack first?"

That's when the screaming started.

"...the real finale airs on a streaming site nobody's heard of. And we become legends. Or cautionary tales. Depends on the codec."

Now, as Carla stared at the camcorder's blinking eye, she understood.

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