Though it ate up a good chunk of her energy, it didn't take long for Ada to transfer her report to the closest portal. She also obtained their vow to continue transmitting the message across the country, then the world.

"I've never used this as a means to communicate with Guides in other countries," she said, pace-floating back and forth in front of Avery, making him dizzy. "In fact, I've rarely communicated with other Guides at all. This is unprecedented. A world-changing event, for certain." She shook out her arms. "And I made sure they were aware of the urgency."

"Oh," Avery snickered, "I imagine they've been feeling the weird shit you have, right? Your message will come as necessary, I bet."

Ada scoffed. "Necessary, right. And terrifying." She didn't slow her pacing, but craned her neck to glance at Avery, who'd opted to stay seated on a log. His legs were still wobbly and jelly-like from digesting the news about dinosaurs. "I hope they're able to locate and convince humans to help them. I got lucky; you weren't hard to convince—you're part of the prophecy that started all this."

Avery growled. "Hey—"

"—I didn't mean that as a slight, Avery," Ada waved her hand at him, "merely as a statement. You were on board faster because you're involved in all this in a deeper way. I had fate on my side; other Guides might not."

"Yeah, because who the hell wants to battle dinosaurs?" Avery shook his head. "Seriously, how the fuck do we get dinosaurs back into their portal? How did they wander out into our world?" He struggled to envision how massive, toothy monsters such as them would be ordered around by little blue beings with a bit of power. Were the dinosaurs immune to powers, or was that the only way they could be persuaded to enter their assigned portals?

"We don't know if it's dinosaurs, plural," said Ada, lifting a finger as she swung left to right, accelerating her paces. "The news reports what it hears, but no one is certain what was spotted was a dinosaur. There's no way to confirm until a Guide gets eyes on one."

"One rumor came from southern California." Avery sneered at her. "Maybe you should travel down there to check it out."

Ada wrinkled her nose at him, almost mockingly, childishly. "Someone is already headed down there, as a matter of fact. You think I'd take a human's word for it? After I transmitted my message, I ordered a Guide to go investigate. Shouldn't be long before we have news of what he saw."

Avery didn't relax at the idea—he'd half hoped no one would go check it out, so he could remain in the dark and learn to pretend he'd had no inkling dinosaurs were living in a realm adjacent to his all this time.

"How was it done... back then?" He rubbed his arms for warmth; a permanently cold breeze had settled in the clearing, and he wondered if it had something to do with Ada's mood.

"I wasn't in charge of that," said Ada, her voice softer. "When I arrived on earth, the portals had already been sealed off, and humans were everywhere. My goals were tethered to those humans, and them alone. I don't know what type of being was responsible for locking scary beasts into cages with solid but transparent doors. To be frank, I don't think those beings are still in existence." She sighed, slowly blowing air out of her thin-lipped mouth. "We, the spirit Guides, are the only ones of my kind left, as far as I'm aware."

Avery's head pounded, thumping with knowledge he'd never, in his entire lifetime, expected to discover. Ghosts, he'd gotten on board with a long time ago. To get confirmation of their existence, to know they were around and he had captured some on video; that was satisfying. But demons? Guides? Monsters? Dinosaurs? He was petrified of wondering what else was out there, what more might escape those portals. He wouldn't dare ask what could be worse and what might come next.

"I wish I knew more, truly." Ada stopped swirling to and fro, and instead hovered in front of Avery, bobbing up and down. "For your sake, and for mine. Until my message is blasted around the world, and until my emissary returns with news from southern California, there's little we can do but... wait."

And wait, they did. The sky darkened, the stars sprinkled over its navy backdrop, the air grew colder. Avery fetched a sweatshirt from his car, and peeked at his phone—more news notifications of more ominous sightings around the world. Mostly dinosaur-like creatures, as far as he could tell, but also more natural catastrophes ravaging across the globe, disintegrating communities and cities, engulfing people. There were thousands of deaths, so far, mainly in Europe and across Asia; and more and more sightings of enormous monsters in Africa. Most of America was only experiencing the catastrophes—earthquakes and tornados, so far—but the dinosaur stuff wasn't mentioned anymore.

He returned to Ada, who hadn't moved from the spot where she'd been levitating. The sun had set, and Guides came and went with information for her. Shadows crept across the ground, and she stayed still, strangely solemn, silent. She'd said nothing since her last word, wait, and hadn't budged when Avery mentioned he needed something to cover himself up from the cold. She didn't budge as he came back, either, repositioning himself on the log.

Though his body temperature rose, his insides remained chilled. He couldn't warm up, couldn't stop thinking of all the devastation around the world... because of him. Because of Jessamine. All because of a prophecy they hadn't been able to avert, and with atrocious consequences no matter what he did. Letting Jessamine stay out in this realm would destroy it; throwing her to her doom was apparently going to destroy it as well.

Ada jumped, letting out a gasp that sent Avery falling backwards, off his log. When he straightened up, regaining his seat, he noticed the glowing white orb beside Ada, understanding why she'd freaked out. She stared at it with wide, worried eyes, focused on it as if it were talking.

Was it Amy, come to report more intelligence from Limbo? Or some other ghost who needed her help for something unrelated to everything going on?

Ada side-glanced at Avery, placing a finger over her lips, quieting him before he had a chance to ask his questions. "Don't freak out, but this," she extended a finger towards the orb, "is Jamie."

Avery froze. No thoughts passed through his mind. Everything shut off, shut down.

He fixated on the orb, imagining Jamie's body floating there, mangled and messed up, dried blood still caked on his neck. He'd be frowning, or pulling on his shaggy beard and shaking his head at Avery. But the blood; so much blood.

Fuck, no, I don't want to see him like that.

He'd seen enough of Jamie's wounds as he buried him, and had been working hard on focusing on a different image of Jamie. Their last laughs together, their last successful investigation, the last time they'd gone out partying together and ended up super wasted on Avery's couch. Those were the moments he wanted to relive forever; not seeing Jamie's fresh corpse on a concrete basement floor, then tucked into his car, then lowered into the dirt.

"He's saying something is up in Limbo," said Ada, breaking Avery's focus. "He agrees with Amy... it sounds like they found each other down there." She gave Avery, then the orb a weak smile.

Avery couldn't help himself from smiling, either. A few tears gathered at his lash-line, too; Amy and Jamie, together at last, in death. Maybe, if they were lucky, their Afterlife would be spent together. Avery had no clue how any of it worked, but he hoped, he hoped they'd never be separated again.

"Everyone in there has noticed something weird, which Amy told us. But now Jamie is clarifying." Ada cleared her throat and winced. "Limbo is... rocky, he's saying? Unstable, more so than usual. Ghosts are panic-converging around the area where the ghost portal leaks into their realm. Begging it to open and... let them through, in haste. Let them back out... here."

"The ghost portal leaks into their realm?" Avery scratched the back of his head.

"The ghost portal is technically in this realm, but it bleeds into Limbo, sort of like us Guides do." Ada spun away from Jamie's orb and gazed at the house. The ghost portal was nestled in there, somewhere in the middle; Avery wasn't sure exactly where, and didn't need to know. "Some ghosts don't go to Limbo, and as soon as they die they come straight to me, and I send them through the portal. Thus the need for the portal to be on our end of things."

Avery nodded, taking in her explanation, but eager for more news. "What else is he saying? He's still here," he gestured at what remained of his friend, in orb-like form, "so he must be talking, still?"

"He's not saying anything about the situation anymore." Ada gave the orb a quick nod, and it vanished.

Avery got up. "Hey, why did he leave? Did he say anything about me? Or to me, directly?"

"He... didn't." Ada grimaced. "I'm sorry, Avery, but there's more at stake here than you saying goodbye to your friend. He knows that, and that's why he was brief in his delivery. We don't have time."

She was correct, but Avery hated it. His arms tensed at his sides as he stared at the spot where Jamie had been, wishing they'd had an opportunity to talk to each other. He needed to apologize—on his behalf, for dragging Jamie into this; and on Jessamine's behalf, for not being in control of the demons inside her. Avery wanted to tell Jamie they were gone, she was gone, and he was working with Ada to fix things. It was too late, but better late than never, right?

He'd likely never get an occasion to speak to Jamie again, and the last thing Jamie had seen was the look of horror on Avery's face as Jamie's neck was sliced into.

"Whatever is troubling us, in this dimension, those dinosaurs and other unknown monsters... it's occurring in Limbo, too. They're being attacked by monsters of their own."

Avery blinked at her. "How is that possible? What kind of creature can break into another realm while breaking into ours? That's... overpowering."

"I doubt the dinosaurs are breaking into Limbo, Avery. You see, from what I've gathered, there are different portals in different realms. The dinosaur portal is in our dimension... but there are other doors within Limbo. Doors concealing other beasts we have no clue of."

"You're saying... dimensions within dimensions?" Avery's temples pounded so hard they shot pain down the sides of his face, into his neck, pulsing into his shoulders. He hissed at the pain and grabbed at his upper arm to massage it, but nothing would do.

"That's one way to say it, yes. I'd be more inclined to call them adjacent portals, but whatever helps you understand." Ada joined her hands and set them under her chin. "Those doors in Limbo... I can't be clear on what they contained. Few beings have ever been inside Limbo aside from ghosts and Guides, so... rogue specters, maybe? Rogue Guides? I've never heard of such things, but the ancient ones had to tackle all sorts of threats before my kind arrived."

"Ancient ones?" The words jumbled about in Avery's brain, forming a tangled network of intelligence he didn't know how to handle. The agony in his skull throbbed against his scalp, and he crumbled to his knees as he gritted his teeth through the stabs of pain. "I thought you didn't know anything?"

"I call them ancient ones because I don't know what their real names are," said Ada, kneeling to Avery's level. She sprinkled some soothing dust over him, but it didn't take effect right away. "All I'm aware of is that there were others of my kind before me, with different goals, different powers. The knowledge was imprinted in me when I came to life, and I can't explain it... it's here," she tapped a finger to her temple, "indoctrinated in every Guide's mind."

Avery let her glacial touch flutter through him, calming his agitated insides. He fell back onto his behind, breathing in deeply. "Other beings, portals, that stuff, you mean?"

"Yes." She clasped her hands again, this time near her navel. "We're born, or created, knowing that portals were once opened, unleashing hazards of all levels. And they were later closed, saving the planet from dangers it was destined to face. Doors were locked in multiple realms, blocking off menaces to humans and spirits. The amount of knowledge of this varies by Guide; those of us who are older know more."

Avery let himself fall completely on to the ground. The grass' cool dewiness drenched his sweatshirt, but the moisture felt good on his overheating skin. "What kind of menaces?"

"That, I'm not privy to," she said, her voice coming from Avery's left. He'd concentrated on the stars, wishing they'd all collapse on him at once, knock him out, put him into a deep, centuries-long sleep. He didn't want to deal with this, didn't need to deal with this; but his fate was to be front and center in the apocalypse. "I don't wish to wait around and find out."

Avery's mind raced with questions, but one specific query zoomed to the top of his list, prompting him to sit up so fast he was instantly nauseous. "Phew," he said, gulping down bile. "So wait—if there are portals in multiple realms... does that mean there are gates opening in the demonic realm, too? Where Jessamine's body is? Dead, alive, or somewhere in between?"

Ada immobilized. She'd been pacing again, while Avery leered up at the stars; now she stopped, every inch of her still as stone. "Oh," she said, regaining herself as she turned to Avery, frowning. "Yes, there must be gates opening in the demonic realm, too. It would make sense." She swallowed, and her entire being seemed to shrivel, to shrink. "I fear to even think what kind of dangers were contained in there. What could be a threat to demons?" She shuddered. "As for Jessamine... was she wounded when you threw her in? Her physical body, I mean."

Avery sucked his lips in and closed his eyes. He didn't want to remember anything about Jessamine, not now. Not the snarl on her face, the coppery odor of the blood splattered over her skin, the red liquid drip-dripping from her talons as she drank up Jamie's life juice.

"No," he said, struggling to pry his teeth apart to speak properly. "She wasn't hurt, not that I could tell."

"Dead, alive, or somewhere in between, you said." Ada stroked her hair, pulling the strands over her shoulder, averting her gaze to the grass. "I'd say alive, but she can't get out. The prophecy was fulfilled, and she belongs in there, and there's..." She peeked up, her eyes twitching. "There's no escape. She's alive, and trapped forever."

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