I work in the South Pole I'm aware that sounds exciting and it truly is but it's a difficult job with taxing hours we were sent to the middle of Antarctica with a thousand miles of snow and ice on all sides we worked a solid seven to five and with a lack of recreation we typically do 18-hour days however we do have slow satellite Wi-Fi which is what keeps me sane during those long days regardless all this wasn't the problem the problem was the sheer atmosphere of oppression the whole place didn't feel right many of the facility is subterranean with covered heaters atop the roof and an entrance into a cement stairwell the bunker is what you'd expect gray concrete square with men in women's bunking areas and a few couples rooms a large bathroom facility with the shower and toilet stalls plus three labs and a fully stocked cafeteria all with no windows there was a medical bay and - two rooms with couches for therapy after the double section entrance was the rec room it had a pool table and a bar the wall was knotty pine wood paneling like from the 1970s the rooms were all attached by a long dingy hallway including two offices with desks and chairs I spent most of my time there atop the station was an observation deck reachable with a ladder with windows where we could see and hear the outdoors button we usually only went up to smoke since it was nearly as cold as upside the whole place was poorly lit fluorescent lights and a few lamps and corners but overall it looked like a dingy green underground cement hell outside is exactly what you'd expect from Antarctica snow for hundreds of miles in all directions if you have a fear of open water it feels like that and except you have to walk in it I was a little surprised as to why they invited so many on this peculiar expedition there were 12 of us total usually six would suffice all professors in our field however the range of work each of us did was surprising typically it would be a singular field of study to accomplish a common goal but on this expedition there were several different professions the first was an older finished gentleman a medical doctor who was skilled in healing injuries and frozen climates the next was a physicist who was as surprised as us to be in the South Pole for their work is often theoretical and when in practice requires a team in and of itself the next two were a British husband-and-wife team both geologists there were three men in their 30s for maintenance and driving specialized in sub-zero conditions and masters in any repair field also there was a biologist a young black lady who wore her hair in a bun and kept her lab coat on at all times inside she was all work and no fun then there were two therapists yes therapists the first is what you'd expect a middle-aged lady with blonde bangs and a clipboard always wearing a warm smile the other well he was a tall lanky fellow he was gaunt and his hair was jet-black honestly I had no idea why he would be a therapist I myself was intimidated to even say hi to him I never saw anyone joined him in therapy unless he specifically asked them I usually tried to avoid him there was another man who I assumed was the cook until I saw we had to make our own meals he was an odd mousie looking fellow he didn't speak to anyone and when I tried he would simply ignore me I maintained that he would be my favorite person on this expedition since he kept 100% to himself me I was a chaplain yeah I know what you're thinking there are half a dozen professionals here and they need a chaplain well I didn't think it made sense but when I was contacted by the organization funding the trip I didn't argue they were offering a lot of money and in my line of work and that is a rarity the expedition was to be six months and then we were to each conduct specific experiments I don't know what the others were assigned but I was to journal on the religious implications of the expedition and provide any counsel for all the other participants on the trip of any sect or faith the council assignment I didn't have a problem with but the journaling that's the kind of thing college freshmen and journal on in theology 101 either way I was getting paid so I sucked it up and spent the rest of my free time downloading movies and games to pass the long hours in between counseling surprisingly a lot of people came to me for religious discussion by one over the maintenance guys approval when I cracked open a beer with them and talked Catholicism on the old red rec room couch I'm a Protestant minister so they were a little standoffish at first we became fast friends and even though I couldn't bless them and give confession I think it helped ease stress to feel like they could disclose matters of faith as well as just have a fun conversation either way I got along with everyone after enough time the physicist was a staunch atheist so we played pranks on each other frequently I would hide his laptop out of easy reach blaring Jesus take the wheel and he would wake me up half the days with no church in the wild I considered him my second-best friend in the compound even though that song did give me chills when I thought about how far away we were from civilization my best friend was the odd man he was always around the rec room when I was and he never spoke he wore an orange hoodie and jeans and doors and always seemed like he was drinking alone at the dimly lit makeshift bar I thought nothing of it and since our schedules were all different and I could absolutely condone drinking herself senseless in a place like this it was lonely most days we did our own thing at our own stations often eating lunch there frozen meals or MREs usually and it's been quite some time talking with the doctor he was a Buddhist so we spent many mornings meditating in his medical station under the buzzing fluorescent lights he said that the place gave him an odd feeling it was hard to be centered here in this cement brick buried in the snow it did get to me after a while when I was alone and the lights were quiet I swear I could hear whispering after one particular incident where I swore I heard clear words I started wearing headphones they helped quite a bit with filling my ears with noise and blocking out the outside world once a week supplies were dropped in from the coastal base hundreds of miles away we restocked the cigarettes whiskey and other non essentials like food and water I say that to point out whoever was paying for this was dropping serious money I never met the main client rather I was contacted through their representatives apparently the man funding it was very wealthy very driven and very religious and he was highly invested in this expedition he wanted a success but no one knew his goal with this ordeal he was funding also once a week we would get out in the snow Rover a giant SUV that could ride over snow and ice we would take a sample of the ice and examine the previous dig site from the last crew I cannot imagine the crew that had come all the way out here to build the facility but I bet they got paid crazy money some days we would all go and just get out and see the Sun and couldn't leave during a blizzard but most days only the necessary crew for the excavation would go whenever we went we had to wear a harness attached by a rope to the SUV to avoid slipping down the ice and being injured we can only go out once a week due to the outside conditions and distance to the dig site I mentioned both of these to say that we were alone out here and if a plane came Monday and we had seven days until it returned then was the first big shift it was exactly two months in the base the team who left that day with the geologists the biologists and one maintenance man to drive and man the harnesses they left in good spirits and remained at the site for hours however and they returned shaken they burst the door in while I was in the rec room with the therapist and we immediately noticed the fear in their rooms the lady geologists ran to the couple's room without saying a word her husband chased after him calling her name we asked what happened to notice the biologist was crying the other therapist entered the room like a ghost and without a word he ushered her into his office and closed the door the doctor burst out and boomed what on earth is going on said the first therapist she was anxious as was I where's jack the maintenance worker who drove the SUV wait where's the car I inquired opening the door to the outside I saw nothing but our flag a long set of footprints and miles of ice leaning in the sunlight we sat for what felt like hours in the rec room all of us who didn't go on the field expedition that is the others room the tall therapist office panicked voices could be heard behind the doors finally they all exited the geologists went into their room without saying a word the biologists out on one of the empty folding chairs the therapist stood behind her hands on the back of her seat she had clearly been crying since she returned they're ahead of schedule she started gathering her composure the dig site we arrived over 700 instead of 8 so we got to work early at first all was fine Jack was in the SUV minding the harnesses I was chiseling away at a small patch of ice when I heard the others call down from below we looked at her hanging on her every shaking word she continued I stood down to the base of the hole 30 meters down I think they had struck a hard surface we all dug together and pulled out a massive lockbox immediately we assumed it was left from the last dig but the design was old it looked like something from World War 2 it was heavy and sealed shut we took the rope to signal Jack but there was no response he started calling out for him but he never called back we couldn't see him from our vantage point after solid ten minutes of screaming we made our way up the hill using our tools we used an extra length of cord to pull the box up it took all three of us but we got it up when we reached the top jack was no weird he's found he searched the perimeter for well over an hour but with maximum visibility we would have seen him we checked for holes and the ice and signs of footprints but his earlier tracks never left the side of the SUV we loaded the box in the back and kept searching we noticed something then something we absolutely should have seen already when we climbed atop the vehicle for a better vantage point we saw a massive single message in this note run we looked at her in disbelief the mutual feeling of sympathy and that I could have searched better people tend to have she started tearing up again we panicked we drove away but none of us can operate a vehicle designed for snow and ice he crashed into a massive pothole about a mile south of here we left the car and walked back the find is still there and jack is somewhere in the wasteland after this she broke down and sobs and left to the dorm Jack hadn't answered a single radio call or even made an attempt at reaching us the dig site was an hour's drive from our base and we were thousands of miles from any other researchers we were essentially powerless to do anything first things first said one of the other repairmen and we need to get our ride back he suited up then he and the other maintenance worker left on a snowmobile designed for a short distance now I don't know how they did it but they managed to bring the SUV back safely in less than an hour by now it was getting dark and the search for Jack would be too dangerous to continue tonight we didn't sleep that night the odd man didn't even come to bed he just wandered the halls drinking my lay there listening to the music drown out the sounds of silent sobs coming from down the hall there's tomb in the middle of a frozen dead zone we were completely and utterly alone the doctor remarked before bed if jack is still alive he may be better off out there the next morning we set out all of us except the two therapists and the odd men who I assumed was sleeping off a hangover we dragged the lock box out of the vehicle and laid it in the rec room we loaded up and decided to deal with opening it later we searched the dig site in the surrounding area until evening and turned up nothing the message in the snow was nowhere to be found and there had been no snowfall that night we found no tracks no signs no body no nothing we returned depressed and feeling responsible for our missing companion when we returned however we were greeted by an odd sight a jet on the snow was a ski fitted jet not like the crappy junk plane that dropped us off this was an expensive private jet we entered the facility to the sounds of loud booming laughter a short bald man with a white goatee sat in the rec room with the shrinks he was smoking a cigar and wore a very nice suit two very large men and sunglasses stood on either side of the door we were slightly stunned well the man said turning to us if it ain't the rest of the party who I was cut short allow me to introduce myself he stood extending his ringed hand Earl pleased to meet you all finally we took turns awkwardly introducing ourselves realizing this must be the guy in charge he invited us into the cafeteria to have an official meeting this was the second weird shift in the trip he offered condolences in regards to Jack and expressed that it was no one's fault he went missing as for the message in the snow he said lowering his voice I would say this whole place tells you to run at some point don't let it get to you he finally revealed his focus of the expedition that we were to discover any signs of past visits man had ventured he also expressed that he wanted to colonize the South Pole but needed to know the psychological effects of people living here that's why he sent the two mental-health associates and a minister he pointed at me saying this making me feel exposed and awkward he again thanked us and sent us to bed after the best steak dinner I've ever had this guy was serious he flew in a personal chef to thank us for our work the next morning after a bacon and eggs breakfast he took us into the tall therapists office one at a time to shoot the [ __ ] as he delicately put it when it was my turn he was very respectful a gesture I appreciated when no one knows I'm a minister but it feels forced at times when there's pretense how are you Reverend he asked softly well I replied not sure how to answer that question in light of the past days I'm glad to hear it he smiled at the ground son I'm gonna level with you you're the most important person here how's that I inquired wondering if he's flattering me or not well he started looking for the right words this trip is more forms psychological research than anything what he cut me off we wanted a religious figure and at least two therapists to log the mental strain on living out here we want to build a new civilization but we have been testing different groups in small segments of time but why me it was the foremost of many pressing questions well he said smiling I'm a Methodist boy myself but I picked you because of an article you wrote a while back you said in the final line that you have the same philosophy as me what's that I inquired as I had written a few articles in my time and wasn't sure which one he meant to truly understand God we must also understand his counterpart I immediately knew the article to which he referred it was an article I wrote after seminary on demonology in modern society I shuddered as this was an unpleasant field of research either way and the man had done his work on me but I still wasn't sure how a short article on demons qualified me for a mission in the Antarctic I left the room with Earl and we proceeded to rejoin the others we predominantly listened to him rant on than talk amongst ourselves we just didn't feel right we were here in the warmth while this man was bellowing on and our friend was out there cold and alone I overheard many times the biologists and geologists asked to leave at their first request they were simply brushed off but by the last request 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 sea 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 mrs. officialy where things went bad we decided to open the lockbox it was sealed by metal welding all the way around it took a little while but the other two maintenance men used blow torches on the chest until it finally came free they strained to pull the lid off its container we gathered around close I found myself 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 physicists leaving he was pale as a ghost so I chased him to ask what was the matter but pay I shouted as I caught up to him in the dorm are 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 two participants walk down the hall to the cafeteria only I noticed that the man in the orange hoodie was nowhere 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 I was I can read well enough Hebrew at least his voice shook I wish I couldn't and what did it say the book he said has 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 that no he shouted cutting me off you know as well as I do that this place is wrong it does things Tok God that 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 okay I wish I could say I was telling the truth but that box did have some sort of weird feeling around it that night around 2:00 a. m.
I woke 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 couples room but I 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've ever seen all the chairs and tables were scattered and flipped food was smeared all along the walls and ceilings and utilities 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 head to toe and blood and his eyes looked as if every vein had burst barbed wire covered his arms and legs and males were driven through his wrists and ankles he was bald and thin and when we made eye contact he shook violently then he screeched through spattering blood now was my turn to lose control I fell backwards and slid on the tile I must have been screaming my lungs out for everyone poured into the hallway asking and confusion what was happening nide urinated I pointed to the cafeteria through tears and panic 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 sobbing from the couples room again I realized in my stupor that they may need help and knocked softly on the door but the crying continued uninterrupted before I could knock again if 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 woke the next day to someone shaking my arm wake up my vision focused to see one of the maintenance men powers out and people are missing I stood groggily he turned to the hallway where I could hear voices in the cafeteria I saw the only other person in the room was the physicist he was facing away towards the wall Baird come on my slurred he didn't Stern 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 of our original group they turned and the other maintenance man said well look who it is are you gonna scare the hell out of us again I didn't smile or disagree I just sat besides the doctor and asked where the geologists were they I entered their door Jane said her aides truly beginning to show and her tired drawn eyes the other therapist is what house missing we're going to leave chime the biologist as soon as the buzzer dies down [ __ ] their contracts how my thousand miles from the nearest base I felt bad for saying but I didn't want to risk certain death for overall cabin fever well chimed the man who woke me we have a master sled will load with every tank of gas then we just have to get within 50 miles of the nearest base to be within radio contact we have GPS we'll drive in shifts we'll take our time as to avoid pitfalls is this agreeable I asked the doctor everyone nodded in agreement in that case he continued I suggested we spend the next few days together hoping the missing members return and if not and then I spent the next day sitting in a daze I had no clue why we were all so distraught we all layered up in the dark and hunker down we made small talk in an attempt to fill the void the dancing candle light played tricks on her eyes and the dark was oppressive the six of us sat there which is sitting just waiting finally around 6 p. m.
