Hidden Behind Light

    Nikolas Scott dragged his load along, hefting it up over his shoulder. It was incredibly heavy, and it was already taking quite some effort to breathe by the time he got to the park. He was only halfway there and already he was exhausted. How was that fair?
    Some people gave him weird looks as he continued along, but they took one glance at his face and went along on their way. No doubt his reputation had reached this town, just as it had in every other place he’d been in. The people would leave him alone.
    In the last few years, a string of murders had been appearing all across the country. Murders were not uncommon in themselves, it was a cruel world afterall, but something about these were different. They were much more frequent, in smaller, localized areas, for one thing. And even besides that, there was something that was just...off about them. The local police were always unable to find any evidence connecting the killings back to anyone.
    And then Nikolas would arrive in town. During his first few ventures, no one would pay him any mind. Now that his reputation was growing, it was more difficult to go along unnoticed. It was annoying, but thus far it hadn’t impeded his work.
    A month, a week, maybe even a few days after Nikolas would show up in a town, the killings would stop. A few days later, the authorities would find a body dumped in the woods or in a dumpster. A signature N-shaped slash would be carved through the chest, along with every single piece of information that Nikolas had been able to find that tied the killer back to the murders.
    The people would no doubt be amazed and relieved. They hailed him as a hero. Some had even devoted a religion to him. The local authorities would sigh and shake their heads. “What can we do?” they’d ask. “He’s a genius investigator. We wouldn’t have figured it out anyways. Who cares? Makes our jobs easier.”
    And so it had gone for the last two years, as Nikolas jumped from town to town, slowly becoming a hero of the people.
    He finally made it to the bridge. With a groan, he hoisted the load up and over the barrier and watched it sail into the coursing river below. They would find her in a few days, along with all of the evidence. By then, Nikolas would be in a new town, with new people to save.
    No one had been able to tie the murders back to him yet. No one thought he was involved in an even closer way. And why would they? He was a genius, and more careful than any killer that had come before him. Who would see him as a villain when he was hailed as a hero?
    Who would view him in darkness when he was hidden behind light?