MERCY - *COMPLETED*

Chapter 1. - When A Stranger Calls.

It was late in the evening, a cold December night, as a young girl, Juliette Lang, made her way through the parking lot of the towns 'big name' department store, SMRT Mart, and towards her car at the end of her shift. As she got ever so closer to her car and over the ice-slicked pavement, she took her keys from her coat pocket and used the key fob to unlock it as she took her final steps. She had opened the driver's side rear passenger door and placed her bag behind the front seat before closing the door and making her way to the driver's door and taking her usual spot.

The wind flew swiftly down the forward running street as snow fell from the sky and coated the roads and other surfaces with its shimmery white sheen; It appeared that most people stayed away from the roads on this night, likely fearing for their safety. Her soul had felt crushed due to the latter degrading comments made by belligerent customers throughout her shift; and so she grabbed a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from her center rest area and found a lighter sitting in her passenger seat before lighting a cigarette to ease her nerves before her drive home.

She lurched out of the parking lot and onto the main city street in her little red sedan; It was quite the eye catcher-something that you would probably see in a well-kept 90's car magazine. It had a good paint job, but the sound the exhaust had paired with the loud belt 'squeal' made for a headache that anyone unlucky enough to be close had to bear.

Juliette made a turn on what seemed to be a dead end that then turned to a driveway leading about a half a mile out where you'd find her home; Nothing special, just like Juliette's car, the house had problems too- her life was full of problems, and she always felt as though she was drowning; all alone at that. She parked her car and went inside to start her nightly routine.

Once she had entered her home,
She stripped off her coat,
kicked off her shoes,
peeled off her socks,
and once she closed the door blinds- off came her bra.
She was home, though problems followed here as well.
She was safe.

She made her way to the bedroom and put on a change of clothes before she proceeded to the restroom to do her business. After she had finished, she went to the kitchen and into the pantry where she pulled out her favorite instant ramen. She placed the dry ramen in a bowl, filled the bowl up with water, and then began microwaving the noodles. "5 minutes sounds about right" she thought to herself as she set the timer.

From across the kitchen, startling a complete silence, the home phone on the kitchen counter began to ring. She grabbed her phone from her pocket to check for any missed calls; but to her shock, there was none. She locked up her phone and placed it back in her pocket as she made her way towards the landline. One more ring came through before the phone was in her hands. She accepted the call and like lighting the receiver reached her lips.

She took a long breath.
"Hello?"

A brief silence followed before a man's voice began to flow through the phone.
The delivery so silky and masculine;
"Hello, I was trying to talk to the owner of 456 Elm Lane, would you happen to know if that's possible?"

She paused for a moment, taken aback by the possibility of it being about more late bills, she sputtered "I'm sorry, you caught me. I'm late on the bill. I'll pay you when I get the chance!"

The man began to defend himself in a hurry, "Oh! No, you've got it all wrong. See, I'm calling on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and we would like to see about planting various trees on your property in exchange for financial compensation. Would you mind taking a brief survey with me, it will be taking notes about your property and possibly noting the acreage."