When people die, who knows where they go? It's been a question everyone asks themselves at some point. It might be magic, but this wasn't one of her normal deaths from her memories.

Amaris groaned, rolling on her side to see herself in a sunflower field. The sky was bright blue with white clouds. This wasn't like her memories when she died; she would actually be unconscious for about three hours maximum. If this was another world, her head was going to explode.

"When one Rare twin kills another, there has to be a way to fix the problem. What motivate your sister may have had, and who the real person that created that delusion." There was an echoing voice around her.

She heard footsteps coming closer until she was staring face-to-face with two people. It was a man and a woman, both of whom she had never met in her life. Then again, she's most likely dead somewhere.

"Follow us," the women said with a smile.

Would this actually give her information? This didn't happen in the world where her mother is dead.

Amaris slowly stood, following behind them through the rows of sunflowers. When they reached the end, there was a large building that looked like a castle from a book her mother would read. It was high on a hill with a pathway that led up to the large castle.

"Hope Prices is correct about breaking the curse," the man finally said. "We didn't plan for it all to lead back to murder."

Amaris glanced at the pillars that spread out all over the hill. Some of them were broken with old swords that had been jabbed into the ground, while others were still in tact. Is this the place of creation?

"What about Kai and Jaxton?" Amaris blurted out when they reached the open doors. "Wouldn't they have to do the same thing?"

"Jaxton and Kai weren't affected by the same thing. Your sister agreed to take part in Hope's scheme." The woman sighed. "She's truly an evil person."

The inside of the place had checkered black and white flooring. In front, there was a double staircase that led to the top floor. The ceiling was high which hung a large chandelier that glowed. The entire place looked amazing, but it felt eerier.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Xavier and Madeleine; we're the creators of the Rare curse," she said.

Amaris stared blankly, trying to gather her thoughts. Documents weren't where they were going to get information. She had to stay dead to figure out everything, so she could figure out a way besides death for her sister.

"Follow us," Madeleine said, walking up the staircase.

Amaris followed behind on the staircase that curled. The top overlooked the front entrance and led down a long hallway with multiple doors on each side. There were small glowing lights beside each door as Xavier opened the first door.

Inside, there were multiple screens for different areas. There was one that Amaris recognized, which was Kai screaming at Alexandra, who was on the ground, glaring up at him.

"Wait, where's my body?" Amaris asked, pointing at the bloody knife Alexandra held.

"It disappeared when your heart stopped. You aren't some illusion," Xavier remarked. "Not even Hope will know this information, and she seems to know everything."

"So I'm stuck here?"

"Until those boys get that wicked soul out of your sister's body," Xavier implied, sitting down in a hovering chair.

Amaris slowly sat down in one of the white chairs, looking up at the different screens. She watched Alexandra and Kai shout and point fingers at each other. There was no sound until Madeline pressed a button on the top screen.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Kai yelled with gritted teeth. "Where on earth did she go, Hope?"

Amaris watched Hope stare with narrowed eyebrows through her illusion. Eventually she's supposed to get a regular body when they are older, but she had a feeling that was going to drastically change.

"I don't know," Hope finally said. "I should know this, but I don't."

"Pardon? Hope Prices doesn't know something for once." Jaxton mocked. "Usually, you know something like a brainiac."

"Give it." Hope barked, directly staring at Alexandra on the ground. "Who looks like the true villain now?"

Amaris lowered her head to the ground. She knew it would be nothing but screaming and yelling while her sister wouldn't bring her back. This was a rare moment where she had to bring herself to figure this all out.

"Think like Hope," she murmured.

Maybe that was the worst person to act like, but she never hesitated when she did something. Everything that had reason, even if that meant murdering someone or doing something for her. She did everything her own way, even if people got hurt.

"Can't you undo it?" Amaris asked, looking at the two. "You must have some way."

"Being transferred to those different worlds was about trying to stop the curse from being born. When humanity was destroyed, the before and the now were where everything came together," Xavier said.

"We failed to stop the meteor shower and those people we met there were killed..." Amaris trailed off.

"All four of you were supposed to work together. Hope, Aubrey, and Caine were supposed to assist, but that didn't exactly work either."

Caine. He wasn't caught up in their madness from the past, but he still had to witness her sister's behaviour along with Hope and Aubrey.

"Can I walk around?" Amaris asked.

"Certainly, but there is no escaping," Xavier said creepily.

Amaris stood, walked out of the room, and looked down the long hallway. The majority of doors were closed. She opened one of the doors to a room with long rows of book shelves. She grabbed one and opened the books with a cluster of documents.

Being in this strange place felt ominous. It didn't even feel real, but then again, she's basically waiting until one of them kills her sister. If anyone would do it in a heartbeat, it would be Hope.

One of the documents was about the world before—how wars were between countries and not just against another person. Evildoers got consequences for their actions in jail instead of their minds being wiped clean.

Now that she had thought it over, it hit her that she was dead. It didn't feel like being stuck in one of those time loops. No sinister actions of Aubrey and Hope or dealing with all the other lingering problems.

She thought about whether her sister would give Hope her body back. That would resolve her coming back, but Hope is Hope—power is everything to her, but she does help them.

Amaris picked up one document about old illnesses that the world experienced like COVID, which apparently were all difficult to deal with. The only incurable thing they have nowadays is Hope's blood disorder.

Amaris closed her eyes, trying to figure out if she could see anything that was going on there. Instead of seeing anything going on, she was on a beach looking over the blue ocean. The sun was setting, and nobody was around her. It was exactly like being in that place.

"I doubt they'll do it anytime soon." Amaris jumped, spun around, and saw the eighteen-year-old herself.

"Why can I see you, Hope?"

"I'm dead, duh."

"I thought you couldn't do..."

"Are you really surprised at this point?"

No, she shouldn't be. If she could see her, maybe she could bring her to that place. Would those people send Hope away? It could work, but the place she is in would be her own personal waiting room.

"So, where are you?" Hope asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Those twins are trying to figure out a way to somehow convince your sister."

"Why can I see you?" Amaris repeated.

"It's the connection, Mari. Since your idiotic sister decided to kill you for the time being, I can work in your consciousness," Hope said. "I'm still dead, like you."

Amaris tried to work everything in her head. She didn't physically see Hope die, but she did watch her sister be possessed by a sick girl. That means Hope did die again sometime between when they went to Walmart and now.

"I died when I possessed your sister. My consciousness was transferred into Alexandra, so my body died on its own," Hope sighed. "I'm not those creepy demons those television shows stream."

"I've figured," Amaris mumbled. "The people inside say the answer was stopping the meteor shower, but we failed that."

"Does that place have information? You normally aren't smart enough to figure things out on your own." Amaris flinched at Hope's words.

"Yes."

"Then bring me to that place." Hope reached out her hand.

Was this considered one of her many mind games? Sometimes she'll grab someone's hand to brainwash them of her crimes or if someone sees her murder someone.

Amaris tentatively grabbed her hand, opening her eyes to the room she was in. Hope started looking through the documents, pulling piles off the shelves onto the floor.

"Your birth documents stated that Dr. Ryers performed the procedure. There were four researchers from Clay that visited due to running various tests due to the identical twins vendetta," Hope said. "Well, well, look what we have here."

Amaris walked over, handing her a document. She looked down at the paper, slowly reading it over with her eyes growing wide. She threw the document to the ground and walked to the window to put her forehead against it.

"Why is death always the answer?" Her voice cracked. "Our overall death is the solution."

"Technically, one of the three of you won't survive. The obvious answer should be that your sister will die. If it's one of those two it doesn't matter," Hope said, pushing her long hair back. "Death is still the answer to everything."

Amaris pressed her lips together, looking out at the sunflower field. She couldn't do anything yet until her actual sister gave Hope a body again. She wouldn't do that since they aren't on good terms nor will ever.

Suddenly she felt Hope grip her collar, dragging her away from the window, and she opened the door of the room. She looked back and forth, being dragged toward the many brown doors that she didn't try to open.

"Bingo," Hope said, whipping open a door into a back staircase.

Hope pulled her down the narrow staircase lit by torches. The entire wall was brick until they reached the basement, which was stone all over the place. The entire place was quiet, with rectangular windows that gave a view of half the sunflowers.

"It has to mean something," Hope said. "They wouldn't just send you to some random-ass place. This has to be meant for those that are Rare."

"All they said was where I am for the time being." Amaris slapped a hand over her mouth.

"They?" Hope asked with a cocked eyebrow. "You weren't going to tell me that there were other people here?"

If she did, Hope would insist on getting information and trying to find a way to get a body easily. Maybe she wouldn't at all, and they'd have to just wait like normal.

"Well, I thought it didn't really matter because they weren't doing anything..." Amaris trailed off.

"Mari, those people have the answer to this situation. This could be the solution we need. All we have to do is stay here until—"

Suddenly, Amaris was on the ground on someone's lawn. The grass was high, and the sky was dark and cloudy. The blue siding on the house was falling off, and the wooden fence was broken in half. There was no Hope around or a single sound of anything moving.

"Amaris?" She jumped, using her heels to slide back and hit the wooden fence post. She looked up to see Caine with his eyebrows knitted together.

"How are you here?" they both exclaimed.

"I was just randomly transferred back from this place," Amaris said. "I don't know why I'm here unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Hope got her body back..."

Did that change anything? She still didn't know all of the information than that was given to her other than killing ends this whole process. So, why did she get a free pass when she was killed?

"Hope?" he questioned. "What about her?"

"The demon is back to fulfill her ambitions. She's probably off killing Jackson."

"Caine? What was that?" Amaris heard a female voice.

"Just a friend." Caine called, pulling Amaris to her feet.

Amaris looked over her arms and legs, which were covered in mud. She rubbed her hands over her dirty face. Nothing felt broken, but then again, Rare children's wounds heal faster than normal people's.

There was a woman who came out on the wooden deck, staring with knitted eyebrows. Well, it seems Hope didn't end up killing part of his family, at least. That meant most of her own killing spree hadn't been successful.

Amaris hissed in pain, putting pressure on her stomach, which still ached. Did more serious wounds take longer to heal because she was granted the right to be alive again?

"Do you have any idea what's happening?" Caine asked her.

"Well..." She didn't even know where to start.

"Telling him will get us one step closer to all this ending. He's a key, Mari; even you aren't stupid enough to know that."

Amaris closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Hope could enter her mind, but it wasn't through the mind control she used on everyone. This was different from everything else.

"I died," she whispered. "And I'm back because Alexandra gave Hope what she wanted."

Caine stared in silence before saying anything. "What? How did that happen?"

"Alexandra stabbed me. We aren't exactly on good terms. Well, she's never on good terms with anyone."

She still didn't understand how her sister's mind worked. If she kills her, it's just like what Jack has done in the past multiple times from her memories. Was Alexandra turning into Jack? Was she an annoyance to her sister?

"Amaris?" She froze at that deep voice.

Josh stood on the sidewalk, where she was in his direct vision. He was a normal teenager like her, but that meant she wasn't in Claymore. This was Stonewall, where Sydney, Josh, Caine, and Tamara all lived.

"Did you hear the news?" Josh questioned. "It's about Aubrey."

"What news?" Caine asked, turning to look at Josh. "Why is all this messed-up stuff happening?"

Messed up wasn't an accurate way to describe everything that has been happening in the past few days. Why couldn't she just live a normal life with happiness? This entire situation was hellish.

"Aubrey's sister is apparently back from the dead, Josh said. "I think that will be best for everyone."

Amaris felt her entire mind spinning. Nothing about this situation was great because the others still think she's dead, Hope's back, she has to kill her sister, and Jack isn't dead.

"How is that the best for anyone?" Caine asked.
"Isn't that just another reason to be scared? She's a damn serial killer!"

Amaris sat on her knees, closing her eyes to try and focus all of her thoughts. Maybe she had more powers than she thought, which she realized when she saw Hope in her consciousness again. She still had the same sly grin, with pride gleaming in her eyes.

"Finally figuring it all out?" Hope asked slyly.

"Why wouldn't you possess me then?" Amaris blurted. "Did she actually give you a body?"

Hope slowly walked toward her with her chin tilted up. She was a lot taller than her, but then again, she was three years older than her.

"Your sister has more powers, but you're stronger than her. Haven't you noticed that since your personalities aren't identical, you're opposites like me and Aubrey?" Hope started. "Opposites don't attract."

"Isn't that for relationships?" Amaris asked with knitted eyebrows.

"Relationships aren't just romance, Mari. There was no relationship with your sister, even before I possessed her. Can you recall a time where you were truly happy?"

Amaris widened her eyes, staring blankly at Hope. When was she happy? Was there a time she forgot about who she really was? It would've been way before that, which she couldn't remember.

"Is happiness the answer?" Amaris murmured. "Finding true happiness?"

Hope started laughing. "Happiness? If happiness was the answer, this would have all been done long ago."

The only answer seemed to be kill her sister. The only problem was that she didn't have the confidence to do something like that. If she wanted to break this curse, she had to do the unthinkable.

"Can you help me?" Amaris asked timidly.

It was the worst decision she'd probably make. Hope possessed her sister and is probably still playing mine games.

"All you have to do is pretend you forgive her for killing her and then strike with a knife."

Amaris felt goosebumps form on her body. Rare twins are supposed to kill each other at the same time, but this was the exception. One of the four twins ends it all, and that would be her sister.

"Actually, that's too simple. We need a master plan that involves those other two because you can be a coward when it comes to anything with your sister," Hope sighed.

"Why are you going to help me?" Amaris asked. "Aren't you supposed to be the one everyone fears? Those people that created this curse are even scared of you."

Hope cocked an eyebrow at her, spinning around to look up at the dark area they stood in. The floor was black hardwood that reflected her still being covered in mud.

"Those are all titles given to her people who believe that everyone is mainly good in this pathetic society. We're all evildoers, but compared to regular humans, all eight of us are pure evil," Hope said with a sly grin. "Except there's a difference between being smart and stupid."

"So, what's your plan?" Amaris asked.

"You're going to pretend to be in a relationship with Caine."

Amaris sucked in a breath. She hasn't had a true conversation about when he kissed her. He said they were friends, which was fine because he shouldn't be getting caught up in this mess.

"You tell Caine, and I'll deal with those twins," Hope said with a grin.

She was back facing up at Caine, whose face was full of concern. She gulped because it felt like she was using him, but wasn't this just like what some books and television shows did? What did they call it? Fake dating?

"Can you help me with something?" Amaris asked, slowly standing on her feet again.

"I'm not murdering someone," Caine said.

Amaris shook her head at him. "I need you to be in a relationship with me. Remember when you, um..."

"Yes..."

"If we want to stop everything, we have to pretend we're dating. I'm sorry if it's a burden for you." Amaris chewed on her lip, looking down at the grass.

This was a horrible idea, but it seemed to be a solution that had worked in the past. Did that mean she was supposed to kiss him again in front of Alexandra? She felt her entire face heat up at that thought.

Caine grabbed her hand. "Okay. I'm slowly understanding this screwed-up situation. First, we're going to do something."

"My sister won't believe me if I go now."

"We're going for dinner, but first I'll help you with your wound."

Amaris felt her eyes water. Caine was nice, like Jaxton and Kai, but getting him involved with this all felt wrong. He should be spending time with his mother, who is still alive, just like her own parents.

"Do you like pizza?" She nodded her head slowly. "There's a place up town that's open, so we'll go there."

Pizza was one of her favourite foods, but Jack mainly starved her of it in the past. If anything, she got the cold leftovers that she sneaked in her room when he was working or if Didi and Alisha brought her some.

"And Amaris?" She knitted her eyebrows at him. "I promise we'll break this curse."

"Maybe," she mumbled. "I fear what Hope's going to tell Jaxton and Kai. They hate her to a degree, but they know her plans mostly go accordingly."

Amaris knew she'd get Didi and Alisha involved somehow, but she hasn't seen them since this new present started. The rewind of changing that world into the new one where they knew how to get rid of this curse. Yet, that place she ended up being in was another concern.

She looked back up at Caine, who gave her a small smile. Maybe this plan wouldn't just be about distracting Alexandra; she could maybe find what love truly is.