Please......Someone end me

I overheard many times the biologist and geologists ask to leave. At first their requests were simply brushed off, but by the last requests he sternly reminded them that they were under contract. They resolved themselves to their rooms after that.

Earl left that night, with the instruction to report our findings, if there were any. He then boarded his plane with his bodyguards and left promptly. Before bed I swear I heard whispering from the observation deck, but when I went to see there was nothing.

The next day a massive blizzard rolled in. We resolved that Jack had died in the snow outside, no person could survive a sub zero blizzard after three days. This is officially where things went bad.

We decided to open the lock box. It was sealed by metal welding all the way around. It took a little while, but the other two maintenance men used blowtorches on the chest until it finally came free. They strained to pull the lid off it's container. We gathered around close, I found myself the closest to the box. They flipped the heavy lid over which shook black soot loose from the chest. We coughed and when it cleared we saw the contents.

There was nothing.

Or at least nothing important. We found a piece of string, a thimble and salt scattered about.

We sat there rubbing our heads and looking at each other. We discussed why this would be out there in the ice, so many layers deep. We talked a little while until I noticed the physicist leaving. He was pale as a ghost, so I chased him to ask what was the matter.

"Hey!" I shouted as I caught up to him in the dorm, "you good?"

He stood there shaking his head.

After a long pause he responded, "no."

"What is it?" I was curious as to why he was acting so strange out of nowhere. Meanwhile I saw the other participants walk down the hall to the cafeteria, only I noticed that the man in the orange hoodie was no where to be seen. My thoughts were shaken when the physicist spoke up.

"Did you see the word on the lid?" He asked quietly.

"No," I was confused, I must have missed it.

"Can you read Hebrew?" He asked, choking back tears it sounded.

"No," I replied, "I studied Greek. Wait, can you?"

"Yeah, I'm Jewish, or was. I can read well enough Hebrew at least," his voice shook, "I wish I couldn't"

"What did it say?"

"Dibbuk." He said as a tear rolled down his face. I had never seen him like this before and frankly, I was a little scared.

"You can't buy into tha-"

"No!" He shouted, cutting me off, "You know as well I as do that this place is wrong! It does things to you! God, the first week I chased footsteps around the shower every morning only to realize I was alone every single time."

"Listen," I placed my hand on his shoulder, "we're going to be ok."

I wish I could say I was telling the truth, but that box did have some sort of weird feeling around it. I

That night around 2AM I awoke to the sound of footsteps. They were so loud I heard them over my headphones. I went to check around and no one was awake besides me. I heard soft sobbing from the couple's room, but knew better than to disturb them. They had it pretty rough right now.

As I returned to my bunk, I walked by the cafeteria and caught something... Awful.

I turned to see the most horrendous sight I have ever seen.

All the chairs and tables were scattered and flipped. Food was smeared all along the walls and ceilings and utensils and appliances were scattered about. In the center of the floor was a massive, rusted steel cross and nailed to it was... Jack.

He was soaked from head to toe in blood and his eyes looked as if every vein had burst. Barbed wire covered his arms and legs and nails were driven through his wrists and ankles. He was bald and thin and when we made eye contact he shook violently, then he shrieked through spattering blood,

"BELPHEGOR"

Now was my turn to lose control.

I fell backward and slid on the tile. I must have been screaming my lungs out, for everyone poured into the hallway asking in confusion what was happening. I had urinated. I pointed to the cafeteria through tears and panicked breaths.

The inside was totally normal. Nothing was out of place. No cross. No Jack. No destruction. The last thing I remember was showering and opening a bottle of Jack.

It was only three hours later I awoke in the rec room covered by a blanket. Jane, the therapist, was asleep on the opposite couch. She was sweet through all of this, and I'm sure she was disappointed in my lack of professionalism. I was still drunk when I stood. Everyone was still asleep and the blizzard still blasted our compound.

I wandered the hall and heard the sobbing from the couples room again. I realized in my stupor that they may need help. I knocked softly on the door, but the crying continued uninterrupted. Before I could knock again I had to resolve myself to the toilet. I ran and vomited into the bowl, now feeling slightly more alert. As I stood wiping my mouth I caught the brief glimpse of a figure leaving the bathroom. It was dark and tall, but I couldn't catch any more details.

I finally had enough and returned to my bunk. I fell into a restless sleep that night, but I slept nonetheless. I awoke the next day to someone shaking my arm.

"Wake up," my vision focused to see one of the maintanence men, "Power's out and people are missing."

I stood groggily. He turned to the hallway, where I could here voices in the cafeteria. I saw the only other person in the room was the physicist, he was facing the away towards the wall.

"C'mon," I slurred.

He didn't stir. He just laid there. I only left because I saw him breathing.

I walked into the cafeteria. It was lit by emergency candles on the tables, where I saw the Biologist, Jane, the Doctor and the two maintenance men. Counting me, this was less than half our original group. They turned and the other maintenance man said,

"Well, look who it is, you gonna scare the hell out of us again?"

I didn't smile or disagree. I just sat beside the doctor and asked where the geologists were.

"They won't answer their door," Jane said, her age truly beginning to show in her tired, drawn eyes, "The other therapist as well is missing."

"We're going to leave," chimed the Biologist, "as soon as the blizzard dies down. Fuck their contracts."

"How? We're a thousand miles from the nearest base," I felt negative for saying, but I didn't want to risk certain death for a little cabin fever.

"Well," chimed the man who woke me, "We have a massive sled we'll load with every tank of gas, then we just have to get within 50 miles to the nearest base to be within radio contact. We have gps, we'll drive in shifts, and we'll take our time as to avoid pitfalls."

"Is this agreeable?" asked the doctor.

Everyone nodded in agreement.