Re: SGT Linda Zimmerman
Expecting something along those lines, linda simply pocketed her phone with another sigh. Then she got up off the stump, shifted her pack on her shoulders, and started hiking, back towards her cabin and SUV, so she could head back to the base.
About halfway back, she stopped in her tracks, silently cursing MWO McManus. There in the middle of her path stood a deer, about three hundred yards away, on the other side of a natural depression in the rocks. She took a moment to dig out her doe tag, intent on shredding it where she stood, but put it away after a moment and kept walking, the doe shooing itself away once she got nearer. If she was lucky, she'd be back before the season ended, and she could still avoid having to buy meat for the winter.
The rest of the hike went by uneventfully, and she checked her watch once the trail ended behind her cabin. She still had an hour to make the 35 minute trip, which was good. Heading inside, she dropped her pack on the chair just inside the door, taking the trail rations back out and putting them back in the shelf. That done, she stripped and had a quick shower, keeping her hair dry so she wouldn't have to do anything with it past the braid it was already in. After that was done, she put on her uniform, gathered the rest of her supplies, and left, locking the door behind her. She pulled out her phone as she hopped in her Durango, making one last call as she bounced down the dirt road to the highway.
"Hey, Bill? Yeah, hi, it's Linda. I got called in again, I think something's up. Chances are I'll be off again, so go ahead and writw me off the schedule till I get back. 'Kay, thanks. And do you mind stopping by and cleaning my fridge out in a few days, it was short notice, and... Yeah, key's where it always is, thanks. Make it up to ya, my pack's on the front chair, if you'd like, I still got that doe ticket, just make me some jerky and a few steaks if you decide to use it and I'll call it even. Yeah, that's it. Thanks. Bye."
She hung up the phone and dropped it in the center console just as she hit the highway, turning onto it and making best time to the base. Another quick check of her watch showed her she'd make it in plenty of time, probably wind up about ten minutes early.