Free Legacy by Tom Sniegoski

pick up the sound of heavy breathing from somewhere up ahead.
    Lucas squinted, trying to see through the darkness. “Is that you?” he asked, catching sight of a moving shadow. “What’s wrong? Is it silent-but-deadly day today or something?”
    A roar like nothing he’d ever heard before filled the airand was followed by the sound of pounding footfalls heading directly toward him.
    Whatever it was, it was big. Lucas could feel the vibrations through the floor, and it was on him before he even had a chance to react.
    It was a man—at least he thought it was a man—a big man who moved like a freight train. The figure growled, driving him down with arms the size of steel girders. Lucas took the full brunt of the attack, lifted off his feet and landing in the middle of the gymnasium floor.
    Who let a giant gorilla into the building?
he thought as he scrambled to his feet.
    The mysterious figure roared again, charging at him through the darkness.
    Lucas felt the first waves of panic as his attacker burst out of the shadows with an ear-piercing shriek. The creature snatched him up by the front of his T-shirt and slammed him viciously to the floor. The air exploded from Lucas’s lungs in a wheezing blast, and colored lights blossomed in front of his eyes. He fought to keep from passing out.
    As Lucas gasped for air the monster stood above him, lifting a bare foot with a grunt. Lucas knew he was preparing to bring it down and crush him.
    He rolled out of the way just as the massive foot fell. The ground shook as it landed where his head had been.
    His attacker roared in disapproval as Lucas sprang up.
    A gigantic hand surged through the blackness and wrapped around his throat. Lucas gasped as the monster man began to squeeze.
    He struggled uselessly to breathe. He felt his life start to slip away.
    His attacker began to laugh, a horrible sound. Lucas didn’t want it to be the last thing he heard before he died.
    The right fighting technique came to him in a flash; it was an aikido move.
    Lucas brought his hands up, grabbing hold of his attacker’s wrist with one hand while applying just the right amount of pressure to the elbow with the other.
    The monster man screamed out in pain as Lucas carried through, using his attacker’s weight and size against him to drive him to the floor. It was as if all he had been taught was lining up inside his head.
    The monster didn’t stay down for long, rising to his feet with a growl.
    But this time, Lucas was ready for him.
    The key was to stay out of the monster’s reach. His opponent was a brute, relying almost totally on strength and savagery If he couldn’t get to Lucas, Lucas couldn’t be hurt.
    Using speed and agility, Lucas kept away from the monster’s clutches, zipping in when an opening presented itself to strike at sensitive areas on the monster’s body.
    It wasn’t long before the giant was lurching about, his body stiff from multiple blows, and he began to slow down as the fight slowly drained from him.
    Lucas couldn’t have felt better.
    This was where it all came together, all the long months and hours of training. This was what it was all for!
    The monster was hurting, and his attacks became even more savage. Sloppy.
    As Lucas circled him, keeping out of reach and deciding where to hit him next, the large man surprised him. Believing he was attacking to the right, Lucas dodged to the left, only to have the beast of a man change his direction suddenly and with a roar, snatch him up off the floor in a powerful bear hug.
    The monster man roared with laughter, pleased by his cleverness, as he began to squeeze.
    Lucas felt the first of his ribs snap. The pain was incredible. Even with the nanites inside him working overtime, he wasn’t sure how much more of a beating he could take.
    Glancing down, he looked into the hate-filled eyes of his attacker, more beast than man. The monster was smiling, his razor-sharp teeth almost glowing in the darkness of the gym.
    A