The Last Descent (2016) - full transcript

In 2009, John Jones explored an un-mapped section of the famous Nutty Putty Cave. After becoming stuck in a hole 18 inches wide and 150 feet under ground, rescue crews worked frantically and heroically to free him. This is the story inspired by not only the incident at Nutty Putty, but by the way John lived his entire life.

(BABY GURGLING)

FEMALE NURSE:
Is there a name yet?

EMILY: His name is John.

(AIRPLANE PASSING OVERHEAD)

WOMAN: It's slipping.

WOMAN: John.
Oh. I got it. I got it.

John.
I got it. I got it.

Something's 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, alright?

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 he is.

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 right, 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 cut anybody open yet?

No, not yet.

Stuff's 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 right, 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.

JOHN: 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 two-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 right.

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, bam, bam

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
right 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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.

I can't even think.

Please. Josh!

(DISTANT; MUFFLED)
Josh!

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.
♪ Is 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.

Oh. 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 it.
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.
(SNIFFING)

Okay.

Okay.

(DEEP BREATH)

Okay.

If you can get in,
you can get out.

That's logical, right?

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 cut
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.

SUSIE: 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 right?

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 REPORTER: ...loved
the outdoors and explored

caves before...
This one was different.

He's stuck head down,
that would tell me

that he was probably
still on his way in.

MALE REPORTER: The rescuers
had to squeeze through

narrow twisting passageways...

MAN: If we'd put other people
in that 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 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...
It 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 to through
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 we're
working with down there.

So I 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Hi, beautiful.

Nice to see you again.

John Jones.

Whoa.

This is new.

Okay.

John!

John?

Hey.

Hey.

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'll probably have to
break his legs to get him out.

JOHN: 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 right now.

You're probably thirsty.

Here.
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!

(MUSIC PLAYING)

No! No! No!

AARON: Don't move. It's just me.

Okay, stop. Stop.

(COUGHING)

It's just 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, right?

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 cavers in
close 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,

it's gonna have an effect
the person emotionally.

MAN: There's still 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)

SUSIE: It's as humid
as hell 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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, right 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.

Comin' 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.

Hey.

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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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.

Everybody's got a story.

YOUNG JOSH: You're so mean.

JOHN: I'm from St. George.

I have four brothers
and two sisters.

With my little brother Josh,

I 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 I had this idea
that it was my job

to help
toughen them up, you know?

Maybe I had a little
too much fun doing that part.

I still can't 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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,

I had the largest
fan group of them all.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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: It's just 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.

Comin' down.

Okay.

(CHUCKLES)
Go easy, dude.

(EFFORTING 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?
Where'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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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,
I've just 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.

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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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 I 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, I 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.

I 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 so in.

What?

I 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, right?

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.

I 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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 I went insane
waiting by the computer.

Okay?

Bye.

EMILY: See you.

Actually,
I did go a little insane.

(JOHN SINGING INDISTINCTLY)

I 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.

I knew I had to ask,
I had to try.

It had felt right
to ask that day,

and I 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.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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 pull 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?
When 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 right?

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 hate this cave.
I hate this cave.

I should be dead!

I hate this cave!
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.

I was scared
to mess up this perfect

natural flow to marriage.

I felt loose after the proposal.

I was gonna have to earn it now,

and I loved the challenge.

My family, not so much.
(PHONE RINGING)

Hey.

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't have school
and work and...

John, are you
with Emily right now?

John, why in the world

would you spend
another second with that girl?

She embarrassed you so bad, man.

I mean that's
a cold-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 right now.

(JOSH SIGHS)

So you'll be at Mom's?

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.

I told them I'd give it
until Christmas.

If she didn't say yes
by then, I'd give it up.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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't feel right before,
right? But it feels right 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.

EMILY: 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: 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 cliché, 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 bendición

♪ Ensalzar Tu gracia tierna

♪ Debe todo corazón

JOHN AND AARON:
♪ Tu piedad inagotable

♪ Se deleita en perdonar

♪ Sólo tú eres adorable

♪ Gloria a ti debemos dar

♪ De los cánticos 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, I am 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:
Part 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 he's 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 having another baby.

I wonder
if this is what it feels like

being inside of the womb.

Oh, you're probably on the right
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?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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!

Keep pulling!

It's working!
It's working!

Keep pushing.

Pull!
Come on, guys!

AARON: (ON RADIO)
It's working! It's working.

You're doing great, John.
Keep pushing!

(GROANING)

Keep going!

Pull!

Back it off a notch!

We can't lose a bit!

(EXASPERATED GROAN)

SUSIE: No!

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Hey, are you all right?

Hey, I got... I got you.

(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)

(HELICOPTER WHIRRING)

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...

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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: Is there a name yet?

His name is John.

(MUSIC PLAYING)