I listened to Data as he told me what to do with the candles. We had only just started, a little farther away from the rest of the guys. I had always admired Data's smarts. Sure he was a little weird, but he was also kind of a genius.

I was just thinking about how much I wanted a shower when I heard Mikey's yells.

"What?" Data and I asked.

Data looked up, "Oh, God!" And started running.

"What?!" I yelled, my head tipped to look up. There was a boulder hanging from the ceiling, the same one on Copperpots skeleton. There were a bunch all in a line, the worst part was that they were shaking like they were going to fall.

I immediately took off after Data, right on his heals. He tripped and I yanked on him to stand up. He looked up to the boulder in fright, making me look. I pulled on him again just as it fell and we raced on again. I could hear the others yelling for us. Data and I dived into a little cave with everyone.

I breathed heavily. Man, I'm out of shape. Gotta start working out more.

The boulders were falling in a line, one after the other. Mikey lunged out of the cave, everyone grabbing onto him but he got away.

"Mikey!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"

He fell next to the skeleton and grabbed some strange necklace and our lamp. Just as the last boulder fell, Mikey jumped into the cave, safe and alive. Maybe a little scarred, but alive nonetheless.

We were all packed together and breathing heavily, the adrenaline subsiding. We turned to face the other direction.

"That was close." Brand said. "Wait, wait, listen. It sounds like someone's down there.

Brand was looking at a weird rock, it seemed to be blocking a hole. I listened and there was definitely some sort of noise echoing down there.

Brand crawled forward to hear better. My brows came together, unsure of what was in there.

"Maybe it's a way out."

"Maybe it's the Fratellis."

"Maybe Chuck found a place."

"Maybe it's another one of Willy's booby traps."

"Maybe it's a ghost." I added.

Brand began to push it, grunting with the effort. It was a big rock....

"Brand," Steph began, "God put that rock there for a purpose and, um, I'm not so sure you should, um, move it, um." She trailed off, as Brand pushed the rock all the way back and stuck his head in.

"Hello?" His voice echoed and there was silence. Then, out of nowhere, a swarm of screeching bats flew out of the hole. They flew into our faces and hair. I screamed and swatted at them, trying to get them away. I could hear Steph screaming the loudest, "Rabies!" And Mouth from beside me, "Sit! Sit!" Any other day, I would have laughed, this was not that day. I tried to keep my mouth shut, in fear of one getting into my mouth. I didn't want to pull an Ozzy.

I was thankful when the bats cleared. When they did we began a long walk down yet another tunnel.

"If I survive this, I am never walking down another tunnel in my life." I grumbled to myself.

"Good thinking, gorgeous."

"Shut up, Mouth."

"You got it, Lux."

I hid my blush behind my hair. Oh, how dirty it was, so heartbreaking. For some reason we all stopped and I was left in the back.

"What's up, guys?" I asked....but was completely ignored.

"Oh, wow!" I heard Mikey and Andy marvel.

"You guys, look! It's a beautiful waterfall!"

I followed after my friends to stand before the smoothest waterfall ever. I stuck a hand through, and watched the water part around it. Then I looked beyond it and my jaw dropped. There were coins everywhere, just sitting there and glittering. They were even in the water.

"Wow." I breathed. I had never seen anything like it.

Mikey was the first to step through. He stood there, under the water and took in the sight before him, as did everyone else. Then Data and Mouth went through. Then me. I stood under the water, letting it clean my grimy self. It felt amazing. I grabbed a handful of coins to look at.

Everyone celebrated as they marveled. We found the rich stuff. All our problems were gone.

That is until I realized something. "What the...." I looked closer to the coin I held in my hand. "This is a penny. And a dime. Nickel. It's just change." I looked around in disappointment. Then I noticed a hole on the ceiling. I walked to it. Was that....the sky? It was! But then that means....we're in a whishing well.

I was pulled out of my discovery by Steph yelling. "That's President Kennedy you idiot!"

"Same difference! I mean, he played Kennedy once!" Mouth yelled.

"Oh, that's really smart, I'm glad to know you're using your brain!"

"Yeah, well at least I have a brain!"

"So stupid, Mouth!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes."

Mouth stood there not sure what to say but he'd try.

"Shut up!" Steph said before he could. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. This isn't gold. This is a whishing well."

Brand walked over by me, peering up through the wishing well. "Hey, you guys, look! This must be the old Moss Garden wishing well!"

"You know I always used to believe that when you through your money in, it turned into your wish." Andy said. I never believed that. Too many wishes that never came true to be real.

I heard the boys talking about who were going to take which coins.

Steph tried to stop them, "Wait, wait, wait, stop, you can't do this."

"Why."

"Because these are somebody else's wishes. They're somebody else's dreams." For some reason this made me feel like I was in some sacred place. I looked around and wondered how many people had poured their hearts out to this well. All the stories and history each coin had. I now saw this place in a different light. Mouth had to go and ruin my bafflement.

"Yeah, but you know what?" He held up a random coin. "This one, this one right here....This was my dream, my wish." How could you possibly know that? "And it didn't come true. So I'm taking it back. I'm taking them all back." Then he dove under water.

I looked around and spotted a silver coin on the rock, it had a smiley face drawn on the back in permanent marker, and a memory came to mind. A seven year old me, staring into the darkness of this well. My dad held me up by my waist so I could look inside. My hair, with the same boring hairdo, dangled down in a curtain around my face. I looked at the dollar coin in my hand, the smiley face laughed up at me as I laughed at it. I closed my green eyes and pulled it to my chest and made my wish. Then I dropped it and watched it fall into the dark.

I walked over to it and picked it up in disbelief. It couldn't be. But it was, right here. This was the first coin I was ever given. I smiled at the worn out black ink and stuffed it into my jean jacket pocket and went back to present time where a coin was thrown down the well.

"Huh? What the hell...." Brand said standing up, looking out of the hole. I went to get the coin and gave it to Brand who threw it back up.

A voice came down the well, one I had never been happy to hear, even now. Troy. "Hey, who's down there?"

Even yelling down into a well he still sounds like an ass.

By now everyone was gathered under the hole.

"Hey, guys, it's Troy!" Data yelled.

"Wonderful...." I grumbled under my breath sarcastically. It just had to be Troy of all people.

"Troy!" Andy yelled real loudly.

"Andy! Is that you?" Troy's obnoxious voice called down.

"Yes, Troy, it's me. We're stuck down here. Please send down the bucket and the rope."

What? What if it can't hold us and breaks? Are you crazy?!

​​​​​​​"What the hell are you doing at the bottom of a well?" I rolled my eyes, Who gives you the right to know?

​​​​​​​"Don't ask me stupid questions! We're stuck! Just send down the bucket! Come on!"

The bucket was lowered down to Andy, Data, and Brand, who were higher up than the rest of us.

"Hey, you guys. I'm the smallest so I go first, okay?" He stuck his foot into the bucket.

Brand shoved it out, "Get outta there. I'm the oldest, so I call the shots. Andy goes first, I go second, Steph and Mikey go third, Lux goes fourth, Data you go fifth."

"Chester Copperpot!" I looked over to Mikey who was standing below us, still holding the map. "Don't you guys see? Don't you realize? He was a pro! He never made it this far! Look how far we've come. We've got a chance."

"Chance at what, Mikey? Getting killed? Look, if we keep going, someone's really gonna get hurt. Maybe dead. Besides, we've got to get to the police." Andy said.

Mikey walked over to us and stood at our feet, starring up at us. "Maybe Chunk already got to the police."

"Maybe Chunk is dead." Andy replied. My heart sunk at the thought.

"Don't say that! Never say that! Goodies never say "die"!"

Andy stopped messing with the rope, "I'm not a Goonie. I wanna go home."

Mikey mumbled to himself. "But still! Don't you realize? The next time you see the sky....it'll be over in another town. The next time we take a test....it'll be in some other school."

And just like that, I was reminded of why we were down here in the first place. To save our home.

"Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now they got to do what's right for them cause it's their time. Their time! Up there. Down here it's our time. It's our time down here! That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket." He grabbed the bucket Andy was standing in. There was a moment of silence as we all shared looks. Mouth and I made eye contact and as I stared into his eyes I couldn't help but realize how handsome he was....when he wasn't being totally annoying.

Mikey took a puff of his inhaler.

A memory came back to me. It was my wish, what I had wanted since I was little. An adventure. I knew what I had to do. I slowly climbed down from my spot on the rock with the others. I stood in front of Mikey and sat a hand on his shoulder seriously. Then I smiled and said, "I never liked Troy anyways." And everyone was in agreement.

Before we left Andy hung her yellow jacket on the bucket.

We were already walking away when we heard Troy's yell, "Andy! You Goonie!"

I threw an arm around her. That's exactly what she was.