[baby gurgling]
FEMALE NURSE: ls there a name yet?
EMILY: His name is John.
[airplane passing overhead]
It's slipping.
John. -Oh. I got it. I got it.
John. -I got it. I got it.
Somethings missing. -What is it?
I think I left it on the plane. -Left what?
The diaper bag. It's not here.
Okay, you know what, I'm gonna go back for it.
I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna tear that plane apart for you, all right?
First, hold this. Thank you.
You goober.
Daddy thinks he's so funny.
Because I am funny. [cell phone ringing]
Josh. Josh. -John.
Josh. Where are you?
Josh, where are you? Can you hear me, Josh? -John.
I can't hear you. -He's right there.
I see him. -I can't hear him. Where...
There you are.
Welcome to Utah.
[laughs]
How's my favorite niece?
You remember Uncle Joshy?
Yeah, your uncle Osh Kosh B'Gosh.
Okay, Mr. John Jacob Jingleheimer-
All fight, I'm done with the nicknames.
Hey, race you to the car.
WOMAN: Whoa.
Go ahead.
[music playing]
MAN: So, it's doctor's school. You out anybody open yet?
No, not yet.
Stuffs harder than it looks though.
Between the books and the diapers, I am sleeping
at least a few times a week, right, Ems?
Is he... Uh, who are you?
[Josh laughing]
I'm just kidding.
No, he's on some crazy new schedule, I think.
A 36-hour a day would make my life a lot easier.
What have you been up to?
Oh, just work and school, trying to transfer out
and get to a different environment, I guess.
Oh, you're still the kid that wants to get away from home, huh?
Yeah. -Well, I get it.
But for the record,
it'd have been nice if I could've stayed.
I'm glad you're still here, though.
I'm home.
It wouldn't be home without you.
Focus on driving.
Yeah, I'll try to. Well, you're almost home.
What are you talking about?
Hey, Em, there's a box back there.
It's a brown, rectangular...
Send that up, that'd be great.
Oh, wow. She's out.
That was quick.
She's a little juggernaut.
No way! You brought 'em?
Hey, yes, I did. -Yes.
I can't believe you still have this.
Does it still even work? -Oh, yeah. Yeah.
You know it's heavy duty if it survives Dad.
These things'll be good for another six generations, man.
This is awesome.
Yeah, thinking we've got a little bit of time.
We've got all this gear just sitting here, right now.
And Nutty Putty just opened back up.
Maybe it'd be... -Nutty Putty's open again?
Yeah. So I think it would be a great opportunity
to show Emily your great love for her
by forgetting everything I'm saying right now.
Damage is done, Josh. It's too late now.
But I get him for the rest of the trip.
Yes! Yes, it is on. Yeah.
You know, we have the whole
rest of the vacation to act like kids.
Let's chill tonight.
And then maybe tomorrow before I have to go back to Virginia.
After Thanksgiving we'll be too fat to fit in the cave.
Besides, you know Mom.
She's not gonna let us out of her sight
once she has the whole ﬂock under one roof again.
You're trying to hide it, but I know you want to go.
All fight, dude, I get it. I mean, caves are scary, so,
I mean, if you don't want to go...
It's whatever, you do what you gotta do.
You could be more obvious what you're doing.
Uh-huh. Okay.
I'm not scared. You know that, right?
I know there's a cave, we both want to go to forever, but like...
Hey, I said you could go.
All right, I'm in. Let's do it. Yes!
Yes. Whoo!
It's on! - [mouthing words]
Yes!
Okay.
For the record, that wasn't a win that you just had, okay?
You didn't manipulate me. I had to think things through
because I'm an adult, I'm responsible...
JOHN: I'm not scared of the cave. There's nowhere to be better than a cave.
It doesn't make any sense.
[ignition beeping]
[beeping stops]
All right.
Hey, you wanna...
You want to change the batteries in your headlamp just to be safe?
We're only going for a few hours so...
Mmm... -All right, fine. Yeah.
Hey, just give me a call when you're ready to come home, okay?
Okay. -I'd like to talk about some stuff.
Oh, thanks. Stuff? -Yeah, stuff.
What kind of stuff? -Oh, just you know...
awesome Thanksgiving stuff,
but I want to talk about it tonight.
About what?
It's married people stuff, man. You wouldn't understand.
I don't want to know.
I'm scared. I have no idea what you're talking about,
but you have my attention. -Good, then be quick.
Okay.
Ooh. I don't want to lose this in there.
Take that. Ah!
It's going in the diaper bag? I'm never seeing that again.
Stop.
Why don't you buy me a new one then?
All right, you win. I love you.
I love you, too.
Have fun. -I will.
[car engine starts]
Drive safe. -See you later.
I miss you.
Ready to go? -Yeah.
Let's do it. -Let's do it.
I really can't believe it.
I didn't think they'd ever open up this cave again.
Yeah, it's been like two years since they closed it.
Only started letting people back in in May.
They make you jumps through hoops for these permits.
Permits? -Yeah, dude.
It's like a Mo-week wait to get 'em.
That's a big gamble taking Ems about my health.
[chuckles] Dude, you're predictable.
You gotta be known for something.
You coming? -Yeah.
Good to be home.
What do you think? Six feet till it opens back up?
Oh, are you crazy? -Come on, man.
I'm the one scared of everything, right?
So what we're looking for is The Birth Canal.
It should be around here somewhere.
This is even one of the easier squeezes
'cause everybody has to do it.
[both panting and struggling]
Heh, and I give you the slide.
JOSH: Let's do this. -JOHN: All fight.
This place is unreal.
It's warm, too.
Yeah, I did a lot of reading on this monster
before I got the permits. -Yeah?
I guess, they haven't even explored all of it yet.
Back before they closed it, they were getting like
5.000 people a year.
That's a lot of people going to a cave that has no end.
Right?
Did they say why it's called Nutty Putty?
Yeah. I guess as you get deeper into the cave,
you'll see these nodules of chert
that are seeping out of the rock, right,
and as you get deeper in, it gets really humid,
so it makes it soft, so you can work it between your fingers,
and it don't... it feels like you're handling honey.
Rocks that turn into honey?
Are you kidding me? We have to do that.
Right? -Yeah.
Well, I don't think it actually turns into honey,
and I think you got to get pretty deep, too.
I don't know. -Well...
I could be messing it all up my head.
Well, the more you know.
♪ Bam, bam, ham, bam I
That's absolutely not the jingle, but nice try.
[laughs]
Whatever, man. Whatever.
JOHN: I gotta be honest, I'm impressed
with your suddenly random knowledge.
I'm just reciting what I read fight off of the web page.
Oh, take the win, Josh. Oh, come on, man.
I really love it
when you accidentally show your awesomeness.
You don't need to clown me. -I'm not clowning you.
I'm not. You know, I'm only good
at anything because I get pushed.
Okay?
Like when I was a high school kid,
and you were just the kid, you know,
you used to show me up when you hung with the older guys.
But it made me look great, you know?
Like remember that one time at Scout camp,
where I came with a mascot thing?
Oh, yeah, yeah. Beav. -Yeah, The Beav.
You know, went and carved it
on all the trees where you were camping.
It looked awesome. -Yeah. Yeah, it did.
It did, it looked awesome.
You know, a large chunk of who I am
is because, you know, of you.
And that's a good thing, though.
Hopefully, I return the favor, even slightly.
Yeah.
Yeah. Let's keep going.
[imitating Yoda] Proud of you, I am, Joshwalker.
You can't just let a moment be a moment, can you, man?
I can't. - [Josh laughs]
It's getting harder to do, too. My throat hurts.
Ah, wait up. -All right.
It's got to be around here somewhere.
Still worth looking for? -Oh, yeah, yeah.
It's supposed to be really cool.
It's okay. I'm enjoying this, man. I missed you.
- [laughs] -Don't tell anyone. Here.
JOSH: Thank you. Here you go.
JOSH: Thanks. -Okay.
[deep breathing]
It should be close. Let's split up.
Let's do it. Yeah.
Scream like a pterodactyl if you find anything.
You spaz.
JOSH: Oh, man.
[III]
Ah. Come on.
[grunting]
Okay.
[groaning and deep breathing]
No kidding, Josh.
That first crawl was nothing.
Okay.
All right.
Okay. All right.
Okay.
We're gonna do this, and then...
[grunting]
Nope, this isn't good.
I got to turn around.
Oh!
[panting]
[heart beating]
You've got to be kidding me.
Josh.
Josh! Josh!
Josh, are you near me?
[distant mufﬂed] Josh, can you hear me?
Josh!
Are you kidding me with this?
Come on, Josh.
Josh!
Crazy.
Come on, Josh.
Josh!
Geez.
I can't even think.
Please. Josh!
[distant mufﬂed] Josh!
JOSH [distant muffled]: John?
Josh. -John, I can't hear you.
Josh, are you near me? -What?
Say it again. -What do you mean?
I don't know what tube you're down.
♪ Row, row, row your boat gently down... ♪
♪ The stream ♪
♪ Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life ♪
Oh, there you are. - ♪ ls but a dream ♪
- ♪ Row, row, row your boat ♪ -All right, where did you go?
♪ Gently down the stream... ♪ Got it'?
JOSH: Of all the songs you could be singing right now.
Holy crap.
[groaning]
Holy crap.
Of all the tunnels you could have gone in...
[grunts]
...whoo, this is the one.
John?
Yeah? -John.
On. Uh, uh...
Wow. -Yeah, I don't know.
Just don't come down here, okay?
Okay. -Can you reach me to pull?
Uh, not with my hands. That's not a good idea.
Um, let me try something else, okay?
, Okay" , Okay"
All right.
Man it's dark. Man it's dark.
Man it's dark.
Shoot.
One second.
Okay.
John, what in the world...
Not that I just... I can't even figure out how you got down there.
I'm actually kind of impressed though, like, I'm not even mad.
JOHN: Josh, you can't come down here.
You got to stop.
I'm not gonna let you sit there. I just got to figure this out.
Um...
Can you turn at all? -No.
[groaning]
I'm completely stuck.
Okay, I'm gonna wrap my legs around you and pull, okay?
Got n. -All right.
One, two, three.
[Josh grunting]
[panting]
Okay.
All right.
We'll do something else.
Okay, there we go.
Okay.
You know what, we're just gonna do it.
I'm just gonna pull you out of here, all right?
On three, I pull, you push, right?
One...
JOSH: Hey.
Are you okay? Are you hurting?
No, no, I'm fine. Why not, right?
Huh, yeah. For real, you're good?
I'm better.
Okay. -All right.
All right. On three. -Uh-huh.
Yeah. One, two, three.
[both grunting and groaning]
JOSH: Come on!
[both panting]
Oh, man.
We're gonna need help, John.
No.
Rookie mistake. Come on.
Yeah, okay, that's probably smart.
Yeah, just go, Josh. I'll be fine.
John.
John, I can't... I can't leave you down here.
Josh, go. -I'm getting you out.
Just go. Okay, I'm not going anywhere, right?
So don't think about me. I'll still be here.
Just- Just don't think. Just run.
It's okay. -No.
It's okay. I'm okay.
It's okay.
Okay. [sniff I F19]
Okay.
[deep breath]
Okay.
If you can get in, you can get out.
That's logical, fight?
They don't feel okay. Okay.
One, two...
[grunting]
I don't want to knock you off.
Okay.
A lot of good that's gonna do.
Come on, John.
You actually know what you're doing
unlike everybody else that gets stuck down here, all right?
Okay.
Breathe. Breathe.
[rain pattering; no audible dialogue]
WOMAN: John?
Hey, John.
WOMAN: Hey, John. Hey, open it.
You got to drink some water, buddy.
You've been down here a while.
[slurping]
Okay.
Yeah.
Did Josh find you?
WOMAN: Yeah.
Me and a whole bunch of other people.
Rescue crews are here.
I'm Susie, by the way.
And we're gonna get you out of here, lickety-split.
Heh. Hi, Susie.
I'm John.
Uh, did you say a whole bunch of people?
Oh, man.
Josh must think this is his fault.
Can we talk about this guy stuck in a cave under me?
[chuckles]
He tends to beat himself up, is all.
Really, it's, uh,
what my whole family think... That poor kid.
Great. Well...
you can be that worrywart, but I'm gonna check up on you.
JOHN: Okay.
Hey, can I... Can I out some of your pants off?
JOHN: Yeah.
It might give us some more wiggle room.
Yeah. -Okay.
[scissors snipping]
My wife is gonna love this one. -Oh, yeah? Heh.
She gonna think I'm getting fresh?
No, she's gonna love it 'cause she hates these jeans.
SUSIE [chuckles]: Oh.
I tend to hold on to things till they're way dead,
and, uh, I thought I had a few more miles left.
Do you have a lot of saliva building up?
Uh...Yeah.
My mouth keeps filling up with it.
I feel like if I don't keep spitting constantly,
it will go up into my nose.
Okay, just checking.
This angle isn't good for my body.
I know, it's a curse of being in medical school.
Whoa! Yeah? -Yeah.
Okay, well, keep us up to date on how you're feeling.
I mean, you're going to know
how to diagnose you better than any of us.
JOHN: Unfortunately.
I wish I could get this a little tighter,
or a little higher up.
Hey, I'm just gonna... I'm gonna save this,
and some of our guys can get you out.
Are you ready?
[John gasps in relief]
Am I ever? -Good.
All right, give it a pull!
MAN [in distance]: Okay, give it a pull!
SUSIE: Okay, okay, hold up!
Hold up.
That was a...
That was just a test... -Mm-hmm.
...so don't worry, all fight?
Okay.
I'm gonna...
I'm gonna go talk to some of the guys
about seeing if we can get some more leverage.
You're leaving?
No, I- We'll get somebody here to be with you, okay?
I just gotta... I got to talk to the rest of my team.
Yeah. Okay.
We're gonna get you out, John, okay?
JOHN: Okay.
Wait a minute.
Hey, uh, Susie,
thank you for coming down. Thank you for coming down here.
Heh. I'm sure you had better things to do
the day before Thanksgiving.
[laughs] Are you kidding?
Better today than tomorrow.
Some of us wouldn't be able to fit in here
after some turkey and stuffing. We'd all be real...
[balloon sound]
[both laugh]
JOHN: Yeah.
Hey, can you reach your light?
Uh...
Yeah, I think so. -Well, I just...
It depends on what you can handle, you know?
You might want to conserve the battery on that thing
as long as you can.
Yeah.
Got it. Okay, yeah.
SUSIE: Okay. Okay.
Shoot.
We've never seen anything this technical, this tough.
FEMALE REPORTER: 26-year-old John Jones
went to BYU and was in his second year of med school...
MALE REPORT ER". "loved the outdoors and explored
caves before- this one was different.
He's stuck head down, that would tell me that he was probably
was still on his way in.
MALE REPORTER". The rescuers had to squeeze through
narrow twisting passageways...
MAN: If we'd put other people in the same location,
they could likewise get stuck or get hurt.
Where's Hodgson? -Right there.
Thanks.
And will someone get ahold of the news station,
and get rid of that chopper'? I can barely hear myself think.
How long you been standing there? -Not long.
How's our boy doing down there?
He's been trapped at least three hours.
He's got near zero mobility,
and it's next to impossible to get a rope on him
anywhere that gives us any purchase.
Well, how deep is he?
Pretty much all the way down in one of the unmapped parts.
About 100 feet below ground through a bunch of tunnels.
HODGSON: I thought they closed that place off.
SUSIE: They did, it's been closed to the public,
but it looks like his brother got a special permit to get in.
Sheriff Hodgson. -Dr. Doug Murdock.
I'm a trauma critical care, Utah Valley Medical.
How is John doing physically?
It's hard to say. He's gurgling a lot.
What kind of angle's his body at?
He's pretty much all the way down,
maybe a 70-degree angle.
The body can't survive that long.
Blood has to pump backwards,
circulation slows, capillaries leak.
I mean, things start to fail pretty quickly.
Well, how long has he got?
Considering how long he's already been trapped,
he's gonna get delirious in another two hours.
Six to eight hours from that, his body starts shutting down.
So once we get him out, is he going to be okay?
There'll be toxins built up in his blood.
So if you take him out on the wrong angle,
that could rush to his heart and kill him.
So the faster we act, the better his chances.
Let's get our guy and get him down there.
Who's taking point? -Aaron.
SUSIE: Are you sure he's ready again?
I mean, he hasn't been the same since Crandall.
HODGSON: Yeah, none of us have been.
I know, and he thinks he should have been in there.
This feels all too similar. Should we tap someone else?
HODGSON: Aaron's the best we got, you know that.
Besides that, he loves that place.
He's been down there mapping it for years.
That place is unique. It's got to be Aaron.
Are you ready? -Yeah, I'm headin' down.
What's the guy's name? -John Jones.
Okay. -How are you feeling?
Good. -Are you sure?
Yeah. See you down there.
Hey, Aaron, you know this could be a while.
It doesn't look like you're taking a lot with you.
You've been in this cave, Susie.
You know she doesn't like to be stuffed.
HODGSON: Whatever you think, Aaron.
Look, Susie gave us an idea
of what we're working with down there.
Sol need you to get to him,
find a way to get him free,
and when the time comes, we're going to have
to get real creative on this one.
I'm not coming out without him.
[III]
Hi, beautiful.
Nice to see you again.
John Jones.
Whoa.
This is new.
Okay.
John!
John?
H 6Y-
I'm Aaron.
How are you feeling, buddy?
Can you get me out of here?
I'm kind of done with being on my head.
The question is, what are you doing on your head?
I wish it was a longer and more interesting story.
AARON: I bet you do. I bet you do.
Real story, it's gonna be the one about
how we got you out of here.
[scoffs]
SUSIE: John's body is too big to just be pulled out.
He's so deep, it's hard to get any leverage.
It looks like when he went in, he sucked in air
to squeeze in where he's trapped.
So if we're going to get him out, he's going to have to do it again
and push while we pull.
But there's a problem, the tunnel bends
right against his back.
Meaning what?
Meaning we probably have to break his legs to get him out.
JOHNI That bad, huh?
AARON: Eh, I've been a part of
a lot of search and rescues that seem near impossible.
We'll figure this out, man, no doubt in my mind.
JOHN: Okay.
Here, you don't need this fight now.
You're probably thirsty.
Drink coming down.
Got it. Thank you.
Is that lemon?
I always wondered who bought that awful ﬂavor,
and now I know it's you search and rescue guys.
Hey, I didn't buy it, all right?
I get what you mean, though. It's disgusting.
It takes like dish soap or something.
But, hey, when we get on the surface,
you get me a bigger budget,
I'll come get the other guys with, I don't know,
blue, purple, whatever they want.
[Aaron laughs]
Yeah. You know, actually,
my legs feel looser, I think I can... try and...
[John grunts and struggles]
AARON: Whoa, whoa! Hey! Hey!
[III]
No! No! No!
AARON: Don't move. It's just me.
Okay, stop. Stop.
[coughing]
Ifsjust me.
What's up, man?
It's nice to see a face.
Listen, we're going to get you out of here, okay?
Well, sorry about that.
I kicked dirt all over the place.
AARON: It's okay.
Cleanliness is impossible in a wild beauty like this one.
Besides, it's crazy with walls getting soft and hard.
It's like this cave is alive sometimes.
Yeah.
Don't try it upside down, you'll start seeing things.
You seeing ghosts?
I don't know.
Hey, relax.
[John grunts]
And, uh, that's what you call it, fight?
This is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
It's the definition of insanity, right?
Einstein I think, huh? Brilliant.
Being stuck in here has nothing to do with my waistline, does it?
[chuckles]
Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but, uh...
[Aaron laughs]
Did you just call me fat?
AARON; Oh...
It is what it is.
Once we get up there, if you need a workout buddy, I'm game.
You promise?
Promise.
MAN [ON TV]: We were able to send
one of our savers in dose enough to him
that they were able to chat.
FEMALE REPORTER: The Nutty Putty Cave is in
an extremely narrow offshoot known as The Birth Canal.
MALE REPORTER: His body plugged in a narrow tunnel,
10-14 inches wide.
MALE OFFICER: Anytime you're in a position where
you don't have control over when you come and go,
ifs gonna have an effect the person emotionally.
MAN: There's stiff some more tight spots in the cave.
Gravity was really working against him, and he didn't have any leverage.
SUSIE: All right, give it a tug.
[Susie grunts]
SUSE: H's as humid as he“ down there.
The moisture's constantly working on the outer layer of rock.
It makes it both slick and soft.
If we can't get those anchors in far enough, we've got a real problem.
We haven't tried cutting the rock free from around him.
And there's other options.
Like what, take out the peanut oil?
What, guys?
Another rescue agency ordered four gallons of peanut oil,
hope that they could pour it on him and he'd just slip free.
It's either that or drilling.
The time it'll take to get the equipment down there,
it's going to take five times as long
to set up a good pulley system.
We don't have that kind of time.
Sheriff, it's your call.
Okay.
[III]
No!
No! Stay away from her!
No, stay away from her!
[John jerking violently]
Calm down, John. -Get away from her!
Calm down, John. Hey! Hey, it's okay.
Hey, hey, it's okay. Just, just let it pass.
Okay, just feel it, and let it pass, okay?
[John coughing]
AARON: It's gonna be all right.
Look...
I'm not leaving here without you.
Okay, but when the time comes,
I need every ounce of energy you've got to help me push.
Can you be with me on that? - [John coughs]
Yeah.
Man, your job really sucks.
[both chuckle]
You know, I thought that about everyone else's job.
I get to visit cool places and help people,
but, granted, fight now, yeah, this really sucks.
Yeah.
So what's your track record, anyway?
Like, how many have you tried to free
and how many actually made it out?
Like a percentage?
How many?
Well, we all go for 100%.
It just doesn't always go that way.
JOHN: You know, uh,
I could actually go for some more Gatorade right now.
[chuckles]
You sure it's not gonna make matters worse?
That stuff really isn't that bad anymore.
AARON: All right. Hold on. Just a second.
All right.
Comm' down.
Thank you.
AARON: You got it?
Got it.
Yeah, that stuff really isn't that bad.
I used to think it tasted like dish soap, but...
JOHN: It's becoming my favorite.
AARON: That's a good sign.
H 6Y-
Hey, Aaron. -Yeah?
How are you doing?
I'm great, man. -You good?
AARON: Hey, don't worry about me, okay?
You just focus on breathing.
You just breathe.
Very slow. Slow and easy.
[Aaron grunts, exhales]
Well, we've got a little bit of time here.
Why don't you tell me about yourself, John.
Where are you from?
Oh, and, uh, make sure you take a deep breath
before you start talking.
I want you to breathe slow and easy for now.
Slow and easy.
[III]
JOHN: I've had a pretty normal life.
Kind of boring when it all comes down to it.
I'm just your average guy. -YOUNG JOSH: Give it back!
AARON". Oh, come on, John, heh,
there's no such thing as average.
Every/body's got a story.
YOUNG JOSH: You're so mean.
JOHN: I'm from St. George.
1 have four brothers and two sisters.
With my little brother Josh,
1 just did what any older brother does.
That's mine! You can't take it!
What, this?
Make life as miserable as possible.
Is that all you got?
You're supposed to be an example to your brothers.
Take care of them, teach them stuff.
But! had this idea that it was my job
to help toughen them up, you know?
Maybe 1 had a little too much fun doing that pan.
1 still can'! figure out how my mom and dad did it.
It was nuts.
I look at it now and it's not "How did you do it, "
but more, “Show me how you did it.“
They're amazing.
And, man, we broke everything.
[III]
You know what's funny? We would fight and tease.
But we were always there for each other.
Josh is the closest to my age,
so naturally, we did the most together,
for better or worse.
I'm probably the most competitive
and crazy one in the family.
I played basketball and football in high school.
And thanks to my family,
1 had the largest fan group of them ail.
[III]
Hi.
What the...
Who are you?
JOHN: Who are you?
YOUNG JOSH: Give it back!
- [John jerking violently] -AARON: I need you to listen!
Come on, hey, hey!
Nothing's changed.
Hey, it's just me and you.
AARON: lfsjust me and you. It's okay.
Gosh, I'm so tired of that.
[drill whirring in distance]
What's that sound?
It's just the drills.
They got the first two into position.
AARON: Let's get you more to drink, okay?
JOHN: Okay.
Comm' down.
Okay.
[chuckles] Go easy, dude.
[effoning exhale]
That's actually pretty good now.
Try to cast the cable back right.
Seeing one of those takes me back into my mission.
I think that's the first time I used one.
Mission, huh? V\/here'd you go?
Ecuador. How about you?
Look at you assuming things.
You know, not everyone in Utah is Mormon.
That's my bad, man.
You got to ask though, right?
There's just tons out here.
I live in Virginia, where, I'm just saying,
a mission would throw most people off.
[exhales]
Yeah, you can't really assume anymore.
Vegas. Spanish speaking.
Thanks, man.
I thought I killed the conversation, man.
Nobody wants to be that guy, you know?
So you had to suffer through Spanish?
Oh, yeah, it was pretty rough.
No. No, it just sucked. Yeah, it sucked.
Do you still speak it?
When I can. I sound terrible, though.
Did you ever, like, dream in Spanish?
Yeah.
It's funny, I spent so much time out there
talking about life and death
with anybody who'll listen. - [distant drilling continues]
Try to teach about something
we may not truly understand
until we die.
And now...
Boom, here I am.
John? -I'm pretty sure I literally
have been staring death in the face.
Hey, John,
promise me you won't talk like that again.
It's just...
We just don't need to talk about it.
I'm pretty sure you get to talk life and death
with people like me all the time, right?
[sighs]
Well, I try to avoid it.
To be honest with you, man,
I haven't really been into the church thing for a while.
Really, any kind of church.
Just wasn't your thing or...
I don't know.
I'm just living my life a day at a time,
just trying to do my job right, help people.
They can learn about all that life and death stuff
when they're on the surface, when we're not involved.
So helping people»
Look at that.
You believe in something, right?
Yeah, sure.
I thought you were gonna start preaching to me.
[chuckles]
No. To each their own.
It's fun to hear other people's thoughts
on this stuff, though.
It probably sounds lame to most,
but to be honest, it makes me feel at peace.
Yeah, that's the reason
why we do all this church stuff anyway, right?
To feel good? -I guess so.
It'd probably be good if more people treated it like that.
You know, as long as you find
what makes you happy.
Yeah? I mean, that's kind of the endless search
for everyone, it seems, and every time...
[laughs] Wow!
[John chuckles]
AARON: Look at you sneaking that in on me.
Man, you want me to save you first,
and then you can do your rescue on me.
No, I'm just conversing, is all.
That was obviously...
They were suggestions, so I'll be sticking you to it.
[groans]
You're something else, dude.
[drill rattling]
[grunts]
Come on!
[drill whirring in distance]
That sounds like it's going well.
Yeah, it better be.
So what brought you down here anyways?
I mean, I'd assume you're pretty used to caving.
What tipped you off?
Well, you're sporting some fantastic vintage headlamps.
Besides, most people are too afraid to get down this far.
I guess I could never turn down an adventure.
That's probably how I ended up in Virginia.
Really? What's in Virginia?
I'm going to school to be a pediatric cardiologist.
Oh, so you're working with kids?
Yeah.
Well, at least their hearts. -Phew.
What made you want to do that? Isn't that like 50 years of school?
JOHN: Give or take.
My...
My sister, uh,
my younger sister had heart surgery when she was four.
And I wanted to...
You know, it's sad.
You have to be on the edge of losing everything
to really open your eyes
and... see the beauty in the simple things.
Hey, I thought we weren't gonna talk like that, John?
I've been studying to be a doctor
the past few years, and...
I can hear my own breathing, man.
Yeah, I can't sugarcoat things for you.
Obviously, John, I know this is bad,
but you're gonna get out of here, you have to.
I wish I could believe any fib you could give me.
I don't want to die down here.
I told you I can hear my breathing.
JOHN: Please, just stop.
John, look at me.
Why didn't I spend more time with my wife?
No, hey, John, look at me. Listen, look at me!
Eyes on me, right here.
I believe you.
[III]
Such a John thing to do.
Always pushing himself just a little too hard.
Well, that's why he's so strong.
And that's what's going to get him through this.
He's gotten himself into some crazy situations before, right?
Rock climbing, scuba diving.
Getting married?
Yeah, that's one he's not getting out of.
I don't care how deep of a hole he crawls down.
Yeah.
The guy on phone told me there's already
a bunch of people there working to get him out.
And as soon as I hung up, I knew it was gonna be okay.
And I still know it.
They're getting him out.
Look, Em, Pvejust been down there,
and I know how it is.
And I don't want to take away hope.
He will, Josh, he will get out.
How do you know? -Because...
Because he has to.
AARON: All right, you're obviously a stud.
You're in med school,
which takes serious foresight to make it work, let's be honest.
I bet that wife of yours
feels pretty lucky that she snagged you, huh?
Uh-uh. You got it backwards.
I had to win her over.
Yeah.
She made me fight for it.
Really? Like a fight, huh?
Yeah.
I'd have preferred a fist fight.
It would have been less painful.
Easier on my heart. Heh.
Well... Wait, wait, wait, you're going
to leave me hanging right there'?
Come on.
You've got to tell me about this girl
that completely owned you.
Oh, she is, uh... She's everything.
It's one thing to find a girl
that who you want to marry.
And it's something completely different
to find a girl that you have to marry.
[John coughing]
Damn.
- [car honks, tires screeching] -EMILY: Hey!
You're gonna get yourself killed.
This is the first time I met you.
At a crosswalk.
I'm sorry?
We realized we were going to same class together.
You're in O. Chem, too?
You must be a glutton for punishment.
I'm John.
Emily.
JOHN: I immediately wished I had something more to say
but my mind drew a complete blank.
You were just so beautiful.
See ya.
[light chattering]
Hey, guys, I'm taking off.
Where are you going?
Home.
Wow, Mr. "Let's pull an all nighter" is leaving early.
A little distracted. I'm sorry.
See you at class.
[III]
Oh!
I am so sorry.
Here, let me get those.
Is this like a normal thing for you, running into things?
No, destiny did this.
I swear, I'm usually like really... I'm nimble.
Yeah, for you, destiny's kind of a jerk, if you ask me.
Taking away your grace, throwing you at cars, at me.
Yeah, you've got a serious issue
with that destiny guy, too, I guess.
Taking away my nimble,
my ability to be nim... and words.
I'm a funny person, I swear I am, but funny John was gone.
But! was determined to make her laugh.
Make the girl smile, and you got a chance, right?
This is cool.
Orange, that's...
You in kindergarten, or something?
Yeah, 1 had no game whatsoever.
And then finally...
Wait, we're going fishing
at midnight at the Provo Golf Course,
and you should... You'll love it, you should totally come.
1 had no idea where that came from.
We weren't going fishing. I didn't even know who we was.
I'm 90% sure there's no fish in any of the ponds
that we'd have to trespass to get to.
Really?
Unfortunately, yeah.
I'm soin.
What?
1 pooled together the fastest fake tradition ever.
EMILY: This is crazy. You guys do this all the time?
Yeah, what else are you gonna do
in the middle of the night in Provo?
Actually, I kind of take you as a bookworm.
I'm pretty sure I've seen you
somewhere in that library every time I go.
Wait, you've seen me before?
Yeah, you're always there. It's not like I could miss you.
What was with this whole destiny stuff then?
This whole time you were tailing me.
Okay, destiny, first off, that's your word,
and second, destiny for you was a well-timed hit
that nearly ruined my research paper.
Yeah, I'm sorry about that.
Anyways, now here we go.
It is dark outside, so be careful when you cast.
Okay. -Because...
...you may hook somebody.
All right, got it.
So cast her and the hook in the water, fight?
Yeah. You've never fished before, have you?
No. Ha ha, but I've seen it in the movies, so...
Yeah, that's good enough. -Okay.
That's absolutely fine, so... -All right.
Geez. Calm down, stop, stop! -Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!
Stop. -I'm so sorry.
Okay, I think you're hooked to the ground.
You guys good back there? -MAN: We're good.
JOHN: Okay. -EMILY: All right.
JOHN: All right, let me slowly breathe.
Okay, I'm sorry. -Don't say sorry to me.
I mean, you already said sorry to them.
I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing.
I'm- I just...
I don't like not knowing how to do things, and this is just...
"I don't not like not knowing how to do things"?
That's a fantastic double negative.
Yeah, uh... -So, you're good at that.
Can you just show me
how to do this, so I don't go nuts
or hook somebody, or I don't know?
Well, yeah, I can.
We really got to focus on your technique,
so I probably should...
Yeah, you can do that.
JOHN: My game was so on.
I couldn't get a good word out of my mouth in the morning,
but had her in my arms that night.
Two, three...
JOHN: Let go. -EMILY: I did it!
You did it! - [Emily happily screams]
I did it! I can fish!
I can fish! -You can fish.
Usually, you need a fish to prove that, but you don't.
She figured out how to fish,
and we went fishing so many times.
1 mean, she never caught a thing
but it was never about the fish.
Absolutely. -Nothing to do with you.
JOHN: Nothing to do with me. Nothing.
[III]
And that was that.
It seemed like Emily and I just suddenly happened.
Two weeks dating and we were inseparable.
It was like one of those movies where everything just works.
The day didn't feel right if she wasn't with me.
We just did everything together.
But those movies where everything just works,
they don't exist.
Something always happens.
EMILY: It's just for a little while.
It's four months, the entire semester.
Okay, think of it this way,
you can get back to living in the library,
and when I get back, my Spanish will be almost as good as yours.
It'll be better.
None of that worked.
Her Spanish was awful
and 1 went insane waiting by the computer.
Okay?
Bye.
EMILY: See you.
Actually, I did go a {We insane.
[John singing indistinctly]
1 finally had a chance to sing a song
that I've been writing for her while she was in Spain.
In that setting,
under those lights,
Emily looked incredible.
There was no going back.
1 knew 1 had to ask, I had to try.
It had felt right to ask that day
and 1 just had to go through with it.
What in the world are you doing?
I apologize for my voice.
I was shaking the entire time.
It's fine. You're perfect.
I love you, Ems.
I love you. Marry me, Ems.
What happened to waiting a little bit longer'? I mean...
Oh, I know. I know, I know and I get it, okay?
Good heavens, we're young.
You know, and I know it's hard to step in
on so many things that you want to do,
dreams that you have, but... after Spain...
What changed?
I don't know, I just...
[groans]
I just feel that if I let you go again,
then I won't get another chance to marry you.
Now, wait a minute, I mean, if it's not going to work
in a year or 18 months from now,
how would rushing it right now be right?
JOHN: No, it's not like that.
I swear, whatever you say now, I'm with you, okay?
I'm behind you 100%.
If you think we should wait, then... I'll wait.
But... I just got to ask.
I never had a feeling this strong.
So, Ems, will you marry me?
I'm sorry.
I just can't.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. She said no?
Yeah.
Well, technically,
she didn't really say anything, I guess.
What?
And you wrote that song for her,
and the event over the city,
and it was just nothing?
Yeah.
I don't really have a good voice, though.
No...
It only makes sense,
you gotta fight for a girl like that.
Fight is right, man. Geez.
[III]
MALE REPORTER: Since Tuesday night,
rescuers struggled against
the unforgiving topography of Nutty Putty Cave...
One of the most popular caves in Utah,
but its narrow passages have
also made it one of the most dangerous...
Where he is trapped is on a bend,
so there's no way to really get a hold on him
to be able to put! him directly straight back.
MALE REPORTER: There's a small lip of rock
at a critical bend...
If you pulled against it,
you're pulling like against a fish hook.
HODGSON: Good work, Bryce.
Jason, how you holding up?
Look, guys, we're going on 20 hours straight here.
So if anyone's losing their edge,
there's no shame in admitting it.
Nobody's resting till John's out of there.
All right, then, let's get back at it. Let's go.
Authorized personnel! Hey, authorized personnel only.
JOSH: How is it looking, Sheriff?
We're getting close.
Look, I appreciate you wantin' to be here. It's a zoo.
The best thing you can do to help your brother
is just lay back.
Uh, I understand. I'll get out of your way.
But Emily needs to stay. -Who's Emily?
She's the one you're saving John for.
Listen, we know you're working hard,
and we really don't want to be in your way,
but she's been waiting for hours.
Emily, nice to meet you. I'm Tom.
Thank you so much
for everything that you guys are doing.
I know you're all working really hard.
How is he doing? Is he doing okay?
We got someone down there with him at all times.
You know, I know I can't do anything to help.
I just want to be there, that's all.
I just want to be there
when he gets out, I just want to see him.
How long can he last down there?
I mean, he's been down there a long time.
HODGSON: I'd be lying if I didn't tell you
the strain on his body is enormous.
It'd sure do him good to hear your voice.
You could do that?
Steve, let him know she's here.
JOHN: Emily?
Hey, deep breaths.
Where is she? V\/hen can I talk to her?
Radio's not gonna get through the rock.
They're gonna spool down a line,
rig up a comm system for you, okay?
Just a minute.
Can you... Can you tell her I'm sorry?
I shouldn't have come down here.
I'm so sorry to put her through this.
You can tell all that through yourself, all fight?
It's just a few more minutes, that's it.
[John panting]
I hate this cave. I hate this cave.
I hate this cave.
I should be dead!
I hate this cave! I hate this cave!
-Come on, come on, buddy!
I hate this cave! I hate the cave!
AARON: Hey, it's okay. It's okay.
Hey, hey.
[grunting]
AARON: I need you to focus on your breathing, okay?
That'll help. I know that sounds weird.
Just focus on it.
In and out, it'll help. She's here.
Just few more minutes.
I'm so sorry, Emily. I'm so sorry.
Hey, deep breaths, John. Deep breaths, okay?
You're gonna be fine.
I want to hear her voice.
I know. I know. You will. You will.
[groans]
Hey, you left me hanging, honestly.
[laughs]
I want to know how this girl got a second go at you, man?
I mean, I know that if I got stood up like that,
I would have just set sail.
How did your family take it?
JOHN: She, uh...
Trust me...
my family didn't take it well.
My brothers have very strong opinions,
and they're very vocal.
Emily became Enemy Number 1,
but I wasn't gonna give up.
JOHN: I actually liked it.
Dating before seemed too easy.
1 was scared to mess up this perfect
natural flow to marriage.
I felt loose after the proposal.
1 was gonna have to earn it now,
and I loved the challenge.
My family, not so much. - [phone ringing]
H 6Y-
JOSH: Hey Mom's just making sure
you're coming to the house for dinner this weekend.
Yeah, totally planning on it. -Awesome.
Hey, what you doing? Let's do a movie or somethin'.
Not tonight. Maybe later?
What are you doing this late?
You don'! have school and work and...
John, are you with Emily right nun?
John, why in the world
would you spend another second with that girl?
She embarrassed you so bad, man.
1 mean that's a odd-hearted woman, John.
Only a cold evil heart from the depths of-
Hey! Hey, wow!
Having a tough night, are you, Josh?
All right, hang on, hang on, hang on.
Can she hear me? 'Cause good.
Because she needs to learn how to appreciate a...
Yeah! -What?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure she can hear
everything you're saying fight now.
[Josh sighs]
So you'll be at Moms?
Yeah. -Right. Love you.
Love you, too.
That was Josh.
Yeah? -He says hi.
JOSH: You got to give up on her, John.
MAN: Yeah, she's giving you hell, bro.
DAD: Joshua, hell's not nearly a strong enough word
to describe what your brother's going through right now.
Message received, guys. Geez.
Can you please just let me enjoy another fantastic meal
made by my mama bear?
[whispers] Protect me.
All we're saying is that there are
a whole lot more fish in the sea.
Yeah, but there's only one Emily.
DAD: And there's only one John.
If she can't see that,
then maybe she's not the one for you.
1 told them Yd give it until Christmas.
h' she didn't say yes by then, I'd give it up.
[III]
Do you think that you could help me
with that Chemistry quiz tonight?
[John murmuring]
Yeah?
Hello?
Ems, hold on.
Uh...
Ems, I've told you everything that was in my heart.
And I knew you had your doubts
about me and about us and...
I know just as long as I could spend all the days I have
on this earth with you, then those days
would be good days... great days.
They'd be great because they would be ours.
And I couldn't imagine any future
more wonderful than one that had you in it.
Looking at me the same way that I look...
John, stop. -No, I have so much to say.
And I have this ring.
And I have a list. -John...
I have a list of words and I'm- -John. John, stop!
I want to get married.
You want to get married?
I know.
It didn'tfeel fight before, fight? But it feels fight now.
And marriage is a big thing. It's a huge thing.
And I can't just say yes or I couldn't say yes.
But I mean, I say yes now.
And, okay, I shouldn't have done that,
but, seriously, marriage is huge.
And we're really young, you know, and...
I don't know.
I'm really nervous.
John, just please, just say something
because you're the one who talks like this,
and now I'm the one that...
You want to get married?
Right now there's nothing else that I want in my life.
Right now?
Right now? Right now?
[Emily screams and giggles]
I'm not going to miss my window. -Okay.
Is this really happening?
It is.
I'm taking you to...
EMILY [ON RADIO]: John?
John, can you hear me?
John?
Emily?
Yeah, yeah, I can hear you, sweetheart.
I love you. I love you.
Everything is gonna be okay.
[Coughs]
I love you, too. Tell Lizzie I love her.
I love you so much. How are you?
Are you doing okay?
Yeah.
Why?
I'm so much better now than I was a minute ago.
Thanks for coming down.
How are you? How is the family?
John, stop.
Stop. Stop it.
Let's just focus on
getting you out of there, okay?
Yeah.
I'm so sorry for putting you through this.
I shouldn't be down here. Forgive me.
I miss you.
[sobbing]
John, I'm pregnant.
Yeah, I'm pregnant.
You're gonna be a father again.
I had the... This was a surprise.
Oh, Ems, I love you so much.
I love you. You have to get back up here, okay?
Because we're gonna tell everybody together.
I know. I know.
I got to get out of here. I love you. I'm so sorry.
I love you so much. I'll be up soon.
I love you. I love you so much.
[static crackling]
John?
Emily? Emily, I love you. Ems?
John?
Emily!
I love you. I love you.
JOHN: Get me out of here!
[sobbing] Get me out of here.
I want to get out of here.
I can't be here anymore.
I don't want to be in this cave anymore!
[coughing]
I got to get out. I have to get out.
Lift me out. Look, just pull me out.
Just pull me out of here.
[sobbing]
AARON: That's okay. Hold on, buddy.
Hey...
Are you there?
I just got to pray.
I know it sounds dumb.
No, it doesn't sound dumb.
It doesn't sound dumb at all.
Let's just try to avoid another one of those, okay, buddy?
We're going to need you to focus on your breathing.
I know that sounds weird, but I need you to think
about every breath you take, all right?
AARON: John?
AARON [grunts]: Hey, John,
I need you to focus on your breathing.
Okay, I know that sounds weird but I need you to think
about every breath that you're taking, all right?
I'm just so tired. -I know.
I know.
Just do some in and outs, it'll help.
So that's how breathing works.
How do you do it? -Huh?
Stay so calm.
It just comes with the job. You just don't think.
You've never been scared?
I'm a...
I'm a different case altogether, John, to be honest with you.
How so?
I...
I just think you can't care what happens to you.
You went down in this cave
with me the entire time, and...
...helping me,
trying to get me out of this hole.
And, man, don't do that.
Hey, I don't have a family like you, John.
And what happened at Crandall Mines a couple of years back,
it just... just shook everybody.
And to see families grow up without a...
without a dad, just...
makes you start thinking, "Well, why wasn't I there?"
We lost three rescuers that day, and they were good men.
Really good men.
Why did I live?
Eventually, you just gotta go into these situations
and tell yourself, "Well, if this is it, fine.
It's my life now, and it's working for me."
JOHN: That's the worst idea I've ever heard.
I mean, it sounds cliche', but...
what good is life if you're just waiting to die, you know'?
And I'm saying that from here.
What are you doing to me, man?
I'm so tired.
Yeah.
♪ Fuente de la ♪
♪ Vida eterna ♪
♪ Y de toda bendicién ♪
♪ Ensalzar tu gracia tierna ♪
♪ Debe todo corazén ♪
JOHN ANDAARON: ♪ Tu piedad inagotable ♪
♪ Se deleita en perdonarl'
♪ Sélo tu eres adorable ♪
♪ Gloria a ti debemos dar ♪
- ♪ De los cénticos celestes ♪ - [drill rattling in distance]
♪ Te quisiéramos cantar ♪
♪ Entonados por las huestes ♪
♪ Que viniste a rescatar ♪
♪ De los cielos descendiste ♪
♪ Porque nos tuviste amor ♪
♪ Tierno te compadeciste ♪
♪ Y nos diste tu favor. ♪
Man, lam rusty.
Sorry about that.
JOHN: It's the best I've ever heard.
Seriously.
Thank you.
It's no problem, man.
Hey, are you okay?
Yeah. It's...
It's a good anchor. Let's hope it holds.
FEMALE REPORTER: Emotionally drained,
rescuers try desperately
to continue the recovery effort.
MALE OFFICER: Pan of the problem is that
the only real options we have
are those that were employed yesterday.
MALE REPORTER: Rescuers bolted a pulley system
into the rock for more leverage.
MALE OFFICER: They have a raising system to hold him
in position to a level spot
where hes heading downhill
with his head below his feet.
MAN [ON RADIO]: Are we ready down there?
Ready as we'll ever be.
Okay. All right.
AARON: John, I want you to take a swig.
It's coming down.
Hey, you know, I want you to stay awake for me.
About ready to pull you out of here.
[exhausted] Good.
Well, we've got our to-do list.
We've got to hit the gym when we get out of here.
I guess you can take me to church.
[chuckles]
A win for me.
[John coughing]
And of all places to find out
you're havng another baby.
I wonder if this is what it feels like
being inside of the womb.
Oh, you're probably on the fight track. Congrats, though.
You know what still blows my mind?
I thought I had it all figured out.
A beautiful wife, family, career.
I wanted...
You know what I learned?
You want to know what it takes to be a real man?
[III]
Have a baby girl.
AARON: Hey...
You there?
Hey, you know, I want you to stay awake for me.
John? Are you there?
We're about ready to pull you out.
You with me on that?
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay.
JOHN; Wait.
Can I talk to Emily first?
They had to pull the cable back up
or it might get caught on the rope.
But she's here, John. She's with you, okay?
Okay.
JOHN: Can you promise me one thing?
Yeah, anything.
Can you promise to tell Emily
that no matter what,
I'll be there when the baby is born?
I thought we weren't going to talk like this, John.
I know.
Just promise me.
Please?
Yeah.
Yeah, I promise. I promise.
I'm gonna get you out of here, John.
Yeah.
Okay.
Emily, it's time.
HODGSON [on radio]: All right, Susie, it's all yours.
Here we go!
All right, here we go. -Okay. Okay!
One, two, three, pull!
[groaning]
You're doing great, John. Keep pushing! Keep pushing!
[groans and coughs]
You're doing great, John. Keep pushing!
Still pulling!
It's working! It's working!
Keep pushing.
Pull! -Come on, guys!
AARON". H's working! R's working.
You're doing great, John. Keep pushing!
[groaning]
Keep going!
Pull!
Back it off a notch!
We can't lose a bit!
S U S I E : Nooooo!
Hey, are you all right?
Hey, I got- I got you.
EMILY [ON RADIO]: John? John, can you hear me?
JOHN [ON RADIO]: Aaron? Is Aaron okay?
EMILY: They're getting him help. He's gonna be fine.
JOHN: I'm sorry.
I couldn't do it.
EMILY: It's okay sweetheart.
John?
You've been pushing so hard for so long.
Just rest a bit and take a break.
And then you can push again later.
What the...
Hello?
I think I can...
Oh, my gosh.
What the heck?
Hello!
Hey, can anyone hear me?
Aaron, I got out.
Hello!
Come on.
Okay.
Hey, buddy.
What are you doing here?
You got a name little guy, huh?
EMILY [sobbing]: John, I'm pregnant.
You're going to be a father again.
You're, uh...
JOHN: You're a boy.
Yeah, you're my boy.
You're my baby boy.
Hey, I'm your father.
You saw it. You saw it all, didn't you?
You saw how I, uh...
tried to be a good example.
I tried to be a good person for you.
I love your mother and your sister.
Oh, you're gonna love your sister.
You have to promise me something, okay?
You're going to be the man now.
You need to, uh...
You're going to promise me that, um,
that you're going to watch over them, okay?
You gotta be strong.
'Cause I can't...
I can't be there like I was before.
And your mother, um,
she deserves to be happy, all right, so...
She needs someone that will love her like I did.
'Cause you need that in a home. You do.
You and sister need to...
You need to see and feel love,
the kind of love that your mother can give
when she is the happiest.
'Cause there's no greater feeling in the world.
I'm so glad I got to meet you.
We got to get you out of here now.
Yeah.
It's my turn to watch you.
I love you.
[heart rate monitor beeping]
[baby crying]
NURSE: ls there a name yet?
His name is John.
[III]