Clinging to a rickety raft, hurtling through caverns on a glowing river, Dan, Jess, and Corey face an uncertain future. Will they make it back to civilization, or... Will the curse of Jonathan Swift's treasure claim three more victims? The river's speeding up! I missed you, Lorette! We've got bigger problems.
Stalactites up ahead. The ones that hold tight to the ceiling are stalactites. Those are stalagmites. Is this really the time for a geology lesson, Dad? It's important to be clear about the danger. Well, those stalagmites might smash us defensively. Hit them. Okay, snap off some wood from the raft and try to use it like an ore to slow us down. Turn left. Turn left. No, no, no. Right, right, right, right. Left. More left. More
Stay vigilant. There might be more. I think I swallowed some of that bioluminescent water. Maybe it'll make you a superhero. Do you feel any powers rising up? No. But I feel some barf rising up. Gross. I think I see a light ahead. Where? There. See? It's like a beam from the shore. Is that... a flashlight? Oh no. It's Grey. Do you think he spotted us? No, no, no! You're like cockroaches! Pretty sure, yes. And how did you get out of that cave?
Where did you get a raft? Paddle, kid. Stay away from the shore. Slow down! Stop! I'm warning you! I just pulled down a stalactite. It looks sharp! Hey! Those take hundreds of thousands of years to form. You will not beat me to the treasure. Watch out! Not so fast! He's running after us! You can't get away from me! I don't know. Dad, you're losing a lot of blood. We need to put pressure on the wound. I'm just going to... I'm going to make a bandage from your pant leg. That's good.
But we're about to hit the rapids! I think I'm just in shock that you actually paid attention to that first aid lecture I gave you guys. Well... Blood and guts in between bites of mashed potatoes at the dinner table was kind of hard to ignore. I haven't eaten ketchup since. Yeah. Thanks, guys. The river's getting calmer. I wonder where it leads. There's a light up ahead. Is it gray again? No. Look. That's not a beam like a flashlight.
Our cave is... shimmering. There must be hundreds of crystals coming out of the ground. I never knew they could be this big. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. It's supposed to be a legend. You know this place, Dad? It's the Crystal Cathedral. Your mom said she read stories about it. I half expect to see her walking through the archway over there. That beam of sunlight, it's shining on. Is that gold? And silver. Swift's treasure.
Chapter 8, Swift's Treasure. We found it. We actually found it. Piles and piles of gold coins. Let's go! No, no, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's not have another collapsing bridge incident, okay? Just stay here. I'll go look. Grey's alive. And he's climbing up onto the shore. That's right, Daniel. You left me for dead. But you forgot I was a champion swimmer at university, so the joke's on you.
This is no joke, Gray. You're right. It's deadly serious. Then let's end it. Right here. Right now. No more goons. No more weapons. Just you and me. Get out of my way! Make me. Should we jump in? I think... I think he needs to do this himself. Besides, I want to see Dad finally kick that guy's teeth in. We have to stop. The crystals are unstable. There could be a collapse. I am not leaving without what I came for. The right thing! This time! Come on, Dad!
It wasn't my fault! You said it yourself, it was the curse! You could have helped me! We could have overcome the curse! Dan, stop! Diamond, look! Oh my... Diamond? What diamond? That diamond. In the statue. That must be the world's- Largest diamond. Yes. How's that shoulder feel? But it's finally mine! I just need to get closer. But the curse! It's your curse, not mine. Let me see. But it's so beautiful. I can't see! I can't see! We got each other.
my kids have their mother's compassion. You're coming with us, like it or not! Let go of me! No! Hold the raft steady, kids. just on the raft. I do see a possibility. Look up. See that hole in the ceiling where the light is pouring in? But how do we get way up there? Help me push this giant crystal towards that opening in the ceiling. Maybe we can climb up and out. No! Okay, Cory, I'll give you a push up. It's not working. He's slipping. Now the angle is too steep. Let's try to shift it.
Reverse repelling. Now you, Jess. to shimmy up like a tree trimmer smart my dad's not smart he's a genius almost there They did it. They made it out. I mean, how about that? Our heroes have come through once again. A family united.
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They didn't teach us that in ranger training. Never get rid of that belt, Dad. Wow, I'm glad you warmed up to it. It's not so shiny now. I can't believe we made it. We totally made it. Mr. Jones? Uh, Miss Barry? Hello? What's Bart's mom doing here? That's my science teacher. Cory? And Bart, great. And my whole class. Oh, it's the field trip. Folks, I'm going to need you to step back. This ground is highly un... Everyone back! It's a Senko! Back, everyone! Don't let me fall in! Bart? I gotcha!
Even though you've been bullying him. Bully? Bartholomew Barry! Is that true? I'm sorry. Good. You should be. Because my brother is amazing. And you'd be lucky to be his friend. Whoa. It's true. Jess? Brian? Oh, hey. Brian, um, how's the field trip going? It's kind of boring. Until now, how did you get here? Um, long story. Yeah, Miss Barry, any chance you've got a first aid kit with you? Yikes, what happened to your shoulder? He was impaired by a stalactite.
Right before he took down the bad guys. Whoa, cool. I think you might be kind of awesome, Mr. Jones. Yeah, and I'm just like him. Yeah, you sure are, son. You sure are. I'm sorry. I don't understand. What are you doing here, Dan? We were just on a little family adventure. Ever heard the legend of Swift's treasure? We found it! Seriously? Where is it? Right under your feet. No way. And I have this. Is that a flute? Cool, huh? I helped us find this.
How big is that diamond? You hit the jackpot. We sure did, but we'll be returning this to where it rightfully belongs. You're returning the treasure? I've got all the treasure I need right beside me. Dad! That's my name. Don't wear it out. Help. Someone help me. Who's there? I can't see. Please, help me. Hold still. I've got you. I can't have greedy fools rafting in my waters.
And I can't have good-for-nothing thieves going free. On behalf of the National Park Service, you're under arrest. Hands out, Mr. Grant. I have some pretty silver handcuffs to replace those pretty silver coins. I can explain. I'm an archaeologist. Oh, you don't say. Maybe you'll find someone in prison you can tell all about it. Our old minivan drives pretty well considering someone crashed it through a glass wall.
That was pretty awesome. Come on, Dad. I mean, we're almost home. You've got to teach me that thing you did. Jess? What thing? We were driving away from the bad guys, backwards. And Dad did this killer move with the wheel. What was it? Whoa! Woo! Whoa! Whoa! Like that. A 180. Right into our driveway. Do it again. No. Let me try. No. Oh. Shoo-wee. Mad dog. That was some fancy driving for a middle school science teacher. You still got it, Danny boy.
What are you doing at our house? I'm just dropping something off. Are those? The keys to our plane. Wait. We have a plane? Yeah. Fixed her up for you. Even put a seat in for Cory. Whoa! Cool! Knew I could count on you. Always. Well, she's all fueled up and ready for the next adventure. There's another adventure? There's always another adventure. At least someone remembered Fuel this time. What a novel idea. Speaking of novel, don't you have English homework? You can't be serious.
Hey, I may be a world-class explorer, but I'm still your dad. Now, who's hungry? Starved. Just go easy on the carrots. Dan Jones? Yes? I need you to sign for this package. You got it. Thanks. I've never delivered something from Guatemala before. Pretty cool. Have a nice day. Thanks. You... Dad? Are you okay? Boy, you look like you've seen a ghost. What is it? Who's it from? It's from... your mother.
What did you say? I should have warned you that was coming. But that would have spoiled the fun. My dear Jess and Corey have discovered the truth about their father and mother's adventurous past. Wow, it seems there's more to this story than even Dan could have imagined. What's next for this newly formed team? Well, that's a tale for another day. Full of possibilities.
You've been listening to Discovering Dad, a Gen Z Media production. A.K.A. a GZM shows production. They're the same. I told you that before. It was created and produced by David Kreisman, Ben Strauss, and Chris Terry. Also... Created and written by Kara Holden. How great is she? I was getting there. Supervising producers Claire McClanahan and Amy Cervini. Also produced by Jen Levine. Fine. Do the credits by yourself.
Whatever. Scooch over then. Sound design, music editing, and mix by Chris Terry. Voice edit and additional sound design by Darian Newsome. Engineering by Darian Newsome and Jason Sheasley. Original music by Daniel Nissenbaum. Production manager, Sharon Michaels. Jess, can you come back? I'm getting tired of reading all these hard names. Okay, but do you promise you're not going to hog the credits? Promise! Okay.
Director of Audience Engagement is Jessica Fisher. And we were directed by David Kreisman. Now it's our credits. Wanna start? You go ahead. I'm generous like that. Starring Christopher Sieber as Dan. A.K.A. Also starring Adam Godley as Gray. Boo! And Banks Pierce as Cory. Yay! I think he was the best one in the show. Five stars for Banks Pierce. And Alexa Nisenson as Jess. Boo! Oh.
She was even better than that Banks Pierce kid. 100% certified fresh. Tokes Olegondoye as Nara. Vita Howard as Nix and Paul Gaillette as Cage. They were scary. Bill McGee is Mad Dog McGee. That's the... He's a real guy. Ranger Ronnie is played by Alba Ponce de Leon. Brody bet as Bart. And Ian Noctrov as Brian. Kathy Searle as Miss Berry. Aldo Marebe as Monday. And Graham Stevens as Swift. Banks Quinny as Young Cory. Hey, nice name. Huh.
And Halle Jacobs as young Jess. Loved her. Anybody else? Nope. I think that's it. Do you want to do the outro? You can take it. Thanks. For more great audio adventures, visit GZMShows.com and remember, tomorrow is a new day full of possibilities. Now that this story is over, don't let the adventure end here. If you loved Discovering Dad.
you'll love the podcast Six Minutes. But don't take our word for it. The New York Times said that children and their adults who love the X-Men and other tales of youths with innate powers will get lost in the Six Minutes fictional saga. Up next is a special preview of Episode 1 of 6 Minutes. Afterwards, look for more episodes on Apple Podcasts or find more information at gzmshows.com.
There are kids in this world who are different. Special. They look like us and they act like us. But they are not us. And one of them... is missing. I know twice as much as this lady. We know you do, honey. Dad, did you know that the humpback whale's brains have a neuron cell that's also found in humans? I didn't know that, Cyrus.
And he didn't really care, either. That's not nice, Bertie. Your brother loves science. So does your mother, by the way. It's why she became a doctor. But I don't want to learn about whale brains. I want to see a whale! I'm sure we'll see one soon, birdie. Maybe that helicopter scared them all away.
I read online that the scientists at Whittier are actually using whale cells to experiment with human evolution. Don't believe everything you read. But wouldn't it be epic if- Hold that thought, Si. Daddy- You said you were going to turn off your phone on the boat. Sorry, sweetheart. I have to take this. Hello? Yes, Admiral Grayling. What kind of activity? Doesn't the government ever take a day off? No, I understand.
Yes, of course. Monica, honey, can you come inside the cabin for a second? Sure. Be right back, guys. See how many whales you spot before we get back. Did that seem weird to you? What? Think Dad got a work call? He's always getting work calls. Especially since we moved. Then why did he ask Mom to come with him? Who cares? I can't see anything from down here. Bertie, what are you doing?
Trust me, if there's a whale, you'll see it. You're not supposed to climb the railing. Then, I'm gonna get nice and close. Look, I'm right in the blowhole in frame. Hang on, birdie. I'm throwing the life preserver. Grab onto it and don't let go. Swim to it. Good bird, good. Hang on. Cyrus, what's going on? Where's Birdie? She's in the water. What? She fell in. Help me pull her up. Go. Pull. Keep pulling.
She's right. There's a girl out there. Look. What? Cyrus, what are you doing? Cyrus! I'm going in. Cyrus! Come back! but she's breathing. My name is Dr. Anders. Can you hear me? Holiday? That's what she said on the boat. It must be her name, right? You two must be freezing. You're still wet. We're fine. Where is she? She's resting in that exam room. Has she said anything else? She hasn't woken up since we put her in the ambulance.
Cyrus, Bertie, you guys wait out here. Why can't we go in and see her? She's not ready for visitors. But you're going in. Please stay with your sister. Mom? What is it, Cyrus? What's that marking on her left hand? I didn't notice any marking. We'll be out soon. I can cover up the marking with a bandage. Good. I called around. There's nothing out there about a missing girl.
Peaceful lying there. It's a miracle she survived, James. Since when do you believe in miracles? Sooner or later, someone's going to come looking for her. You know that. What's happening? She's in distress. I can give her something to calm her down. Wait. I think she's waking up. Can you hear me? Do you know where you are? Holiday?
What happened? You were in the hospital. Hospital? Do you know how you got here? No. What's going on? Why can't I remember anything? It's okay, honey. You're safe now. You were in an accident. I... Are you... Are you my parents? Are we... Yes. Yes, sweetheart. Of course we are. We are your mom and dad. For more episodes, search for Six Minutes and be sure to start at Season 1, Episode 1. Now go and enjoy the most downloaded family audio drama in history.