Rejuvenated by the peach sugar Izzy ran a half marathon in record time! If the Olympics still existed, Izzy would be a shoe in for the gold! As she ran, she would set mini goals for herself. She panted, "I'll run until I reach the dilapidated barn in the distance." Once she reached her target, she rewarded herself with a little exploration time.

Before heading into unknown territory, she took out her outdated map. "Woodburgh... Woodsburgh..." She fingered the map. "Come on! I've been heading north? Ugh, this map is useless!" She mumbled to herself about the missing the street signs and sinkholes where roads once were (and some other choice words 'young ladies should never say') and sat down on a big rock. Izzy always wished for a big rock of her very own.

Bell once told her, 'Wishing for a big rock a waste of a perfectly good wish.' Izzy objected, "But if you make your wishes attainable they're more likely to come true." And because of this Izzy climbed to the top of the blue-grey bolder and claimed it for her very own. She shouted, "From this day forward this awesome rock shall be Izzy Quest's and all beasts had better stay clear or else!" A voice from inside the barn interrupted her as she was placing an imaginary flag on her rock.

"Or else what?" The voice challenged her.

Izzy slid down her rock in an ungraceful manner. "Is someone in the barn talking to me?"

"Someone or something," the voice toyed with her.

While rubbing her back-burn Izzy decided, she was obviously braver than whatever was hiding in some stupid cowshed. Slowly she pushed back the lopsided wooden door to reveal a sun streaked dusty interior. "Hello?" She creped further inside the barn. "Who in this oversized outhouse is talking to me?" She looked around the barn and saw the usual, a pile of moldy hay, stalls, a broken pitchfork and squish--fresh dung! The squishing sound was followed by peals of laughter. "Okay what's so funny? Who's there?" The laughter subsided with a snort. "I dare you to come out and show yourself you coward. You sound like some stupid boy and I'm not afraid of males of any size!"

"What about males of any species?" the voice taunted.

Izzy took the bait, "Of course you're right to say males aren't human... perhaps you aren't so ignorant after all." She scraped the dung off her Nike with an ancient pitchfork.

The voice became a bit bolder, "And you're right I'm not so ignorant... But I am very hungry though."

"We're all hungry these wretched days... why don't you fish or something? Boys seem to like that sport." Izzy wiped her foot on some dry hay.

"The water is too cold this time of year," the boy-voice whined.

Izzy searched warily, "Well yes, but it's not like you need to go into the water to catch the fish; unless you are a--"

"Bear?" The moldy pile of hay turned around and stood up, showing his full form--a four-year-old brown bear.

"You're a b-b-b-bear..." Izzy backed away and muttered, "I'm going crazy... I caught some dreadful disease in the tunnels and I'm delirious with fever...." She felt her forehead. "Funny I don't feel hot. Perhaps I'm cold and suffering from hypothermia, or dreaming... yes of course! I'm sleeping and having a freaky dream." She backed into the barn door and disturbed a sleeping pigeon which flew wildly into the bear. The bear shrieked and pretended to be a pile of hay once again. Izzy recognized child-like terror when she saw it and her fear of the beast faded. Suddenly she felt wide awake and motherly. "Hey it's okay... it was just a pigeon. You're a bear; you could eat that bird if you like..." Then talking to herself she mumbled, "You could eat me if you like..."

The keen animal ears heard her. "I don't like girl meat," the bear pile quivered.

"Good thing," Izzy relaxed. "I don't have much meat on my bones these days anyway." Izzy stepped a little closer to the brown beast. "So you're a boy after all... a boy bear." Then realizing this was not the amazing part of what was happening she used her super jumping powers and clung onto a beam directly above her head. Dangling she said, "Bears-don't-talk."

Relaxed by her obvious fear of him the bear stated, "Of course we talk. Everything talks."

Still hanging by her arms Izzy said, "No, not everything talks... flowers don't talk."

The bear lumbered closer to Izzy and in a singsong voice said, "They do if he wants them to...

Izzy swung her feet and began running in the air. Her goal was to perch on the beam overhead and be out of harm's way.

"You want a lift up there?" The young bear stood on his hind legs revealing 7 feet 9 inches of stature.

"Your touching me would certainly defeat the purpose of me trying to get away from you." Izzy swung her legs once more achieving her goal. Now she clung, by her arms and legs, body side down, clinging onto the dusty beam. "And what do you mean flowers talk if he wants them to? Who's the he you are referring to?" As Izzy argued, she pushed herself up and over until she lay on top of the rafter. Exhausted she stood up and stated the obvious, "You can still reach me way up here can't you?"

The bear stretched and touched her sneakers with his giant paw, "Yup."

Izzy looked up and saw a nature-made skylight above her. She jumped up and caught the inside of the splintery hole with her hands. "Ouch!" The young teen cried and willed her body up and out onto the barn's roof. After a strenuous success, she was met by the young bear who sat effortlessly beside her.

"Bears can do lots of things 'sides talking... We are very skilled at climbing too."

"I can see that," Izzy seceded. "Well you obviously don't seem too keen on eating me. So what do you want?"

"I told you, I'm hungry." The bear scooted a bit closer to Izzy, knocking a few more shingles off the roof.

"Whoa there chunky... you're liable to collapse this entire roof. You gotta name bear?"

"Yup... it's Lonely."

"Okay Lonely... I'll make you a deal. I'll help you catch some fish from the river, we can clearly--and yet not so coincidentally--see from way up here. And you will tell me who he is that makes bears talk."

"I'll do you one better." Lonely grinned. "After I eat, I'll give you a lift to Woodsburgh.

Izzy fell off the roof.

Izzy headed toward the river with her new companion, "So your problem isn't you can't catch fish--it's you don't like to get wet right?"

"Yup..." the bear said as he rippled along beside her.

"Just like a boy--afraid to take a bath."

"I have nothing against bathing Mizzy, it's just so c-c-cold this time of year."

"The name's Izzy, lonely bear. Here use this," she said handing him the pitchfork from the barn. "Stand on those rocks above the water line; and when you see a big fish simply stab it."

"Simply stab it?" Lonely asked incredulously. "You say it as if it's an everyday occurrence."

"Look, bears have very good reflexes and since you don't want to get wet this'll have to do." Ceremoniously Izzy held the tool out to him.

"Fine but if I fall in the water, I will not take you to your destination." Lonely reached for the pitchfork.

Annoyed Izzy pulled the pitchfork back. "Who said I needed you to?"

Lonely bowed his head, "He did..."

"Who, the king of the bears?" Izzy asked sarcastically.

"No... the King of everything." Lonely took the pitchfork and propped himself on a moss covered river rock. He thrust the fork into the moving water--splat! He caught three fish at once! Effortlessly, Lonely caught large trout one after the other and tossed them to Izzy. Her mouth agape she caught each and everyone into a large feedbag. Izzy's mouth was open so wide it made Lonely chuckle. This gave him the idea to reach a different target. Fish slap!

"Hey watch it bear!" Izzy bent down to pick up the flopping fish on the shore. Next to the fish was an old-fashioned lighter. "Huh... this looks like the one I lost in the tunnels. Wouldn't it be weird if this thing actually..." she flicked the Bic, "...worked?" A flame ignited and Izzy set about making the best campfire a girl and a bear could ever hope for.

-End of Chapter 14-

Author's note: I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please vote, comment, follow and add The Wasting  to your library. If you've got a book you'd like me to check out—COMMENT here! I'd be delighted.