James's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, all he could hear was the soft hum of his own breath echoing against cold, stone walls.
"Where… am I?" he whispered, voice hoarse.
He pushed himself up slowly, blinking as his surroundings came into focus. The cave was massive, like something pulled out of an ancient myth. Stone pillars reached high into the darkness, disappearing into shadows, and glowing carvings etched into the walls pulsed faintly with soft, golden light. It wasn't damp or cold like a subway tunnel—it felt… ancient, sacred, like a place lost to time.
"This is new," James muttered, brushing the dirt from his jeans. He staggered to his feet, his head spinning from the fall. "Okay, so I didn't just hit my head on the way down… right?"
He took a cautious step forward, his sneakers scuffing against the smooth stone floor. There were symbols carved everywhere—swirling runes and intricate patterns, all glowing as if they were alive. His curiosity flared despite the uneasy knot forming in his stomach. It was as if the room wanted to tell him a story, waiting for someone to listen.
---
As he walked deeper into the cavern, he found himself standing before six colossal statues, each carved from marble so white it almost glowed. They towered over him, their faces stoic and powerful, like gods frozen in time. Beneath each statue was a letter:
S
H
A
Z
A
M
"SHAZAM," James read aloud. "What the hell is this?"
He glanced at the first statue, the one with the letter S etched beneath it. The figure looked regal, a crown resting on his head and a scroll in one hand.
"Solomon... Wisdom?" James guessed aloud. His voice echoed strangely in the hall.
The second statue held a club, muscles bulging as if it could lift the heavens themselves.
"Hercules... Strength."
Next came a massive figure supporting the world on his shoulders—Atlas, representing stamina. Then Zeus, lightning crackling from his hands, followed by Achilles, whose fierce expression radiated courage, and finally Mercury, a sleek figure with wings on his sandals.
James took a step back, eyes wide. "This is... either a weird dream, or I just stumbled into the lair of an ancient cult."
He wasn't sure which option he preferred.
---
At the center of the hall, something glimmered—a glowing orb, suspended on a stone pedestal. The light inside the orb shimmered like molten gold, flickering and pulsing with an almost hypnotic rhythm, as if it were breathing.
James felt his feet moving on their own, pulling him toward it. His heart pounded in his chest, but he couldn't stop. He reached out a hand, fingers trembling slightly, and touched the orb.
The second his fingertips brushed the surface, the letters beneath the statues began to glow in sequence: S... H... A... Z... A... M.
The name hung in the air, weighty and electric.
James frowned, feeling strangely connected to it, like a word buried deep in his subconscious was waiting to be spoken. "Shazam…" he whispered, almost as a joke.
The moment the word left his lips, the entire hall exploded with light. A deafening crack of thunder echoed through the cavern, and before James could react, a bolt of lightning shot down from the darkened ceiling, striking him dead center.
"Holy—!" he tried to yell, but the sound was swallowed by the roaring energy coursing through him.
Every nerve in his body lit up like a live wire. He felt himself growing stronger—his muscles tightening, senses sharpening, his very essence shifting. For a brief moment, he wasn't James Carter anymore. He was something else—something powerful, ancient, and unstoppable.
His mind raced, trying to make sense of the surge of energy flowing through him. Strength unlike anything he'd ever felt filled his limbs, and for the briefest second, he was a god among men.
Then, just as quickly as it had come, the power faded. The light dimmed. The orb's glow softened, and James staggered, the thunder fading into silence. He stood there, panting, his heart racing in his chest.
"What the… hell… was that?" he muttered, his hands shaking.
Looking down at himself, he realized that he was back to normal. No superhuman strength, no lightning crackling from his fingertips—just plain old James in his tattered jeans and hoodie.
He glanced up at the statues again, as if expecting them to come to life and give him some answers. But they remained silent, staring down at him with the same blank expressions.
"Okay," he breathed. "So… I just got hit by lightning. Inside a cave. And now... I feel... weird." He rubbed his hands together, trying to shake the residual tingling from his fingertips.
For a moment, James wondered if it had all been in his head—just some elaborate hallucination triggered by the fall. Maybe Rebecca's conspiracy theories were rubbing off on him. Or maybe he'd really lost it this time.
He could already hear Marcus's voice in his head: "Dude, you need to stop watching late-night alien documentaries."
But deep down, James knew this wasn't a dream. Something had happened. Something real.
---
Just as he was about to take another step toward the orb, the ground beneath him began to shift. A soft hum filled the air, and before James could react, the same crack in the earth that had swallowed him earlier reappeared beneath his feet.
"Oh, come on!" he shouted as the ground collapsed again, and he was yanked upward—like a reverse free fall—through the tunnel of darkness.
With a gasp, James stumbled forward, finding himself back on the New York sidewalk. He stood frozen, panting and disoriented, as people rushed past him, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just been inside a mystical cave filled with statues and lightning orbs.
He ran a hand through his hair, his mind reeling. The memory of the power—of that name—still buzzed in his head. But here he was, standing on solid ground, as if nothing had happened.
"James?"
He turned sharply, and there stood Rebecca, holding her phone, a look of mild concern on her face. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
James blinked, still trying to catch his breath. "Uh… yeah. I'm fine. Just—just a weird day."
Rebecca gave him a curious smile. "Weird how?"
James opened his mouth to respond, but then thought better of it. "Yeah, so I just fell into a magic cave and got hit by lightning. No big deal." Probably not the best conversation starter.
"Just… one of those days," he muttered, forcing a smile.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow but didn't press him further. "Well, if your day gets any weirder, call me. I could use a good story."
She gave him a playful wink and walked off, leaving James standing there, still trying to make sense of everything.
As James watched Rebecca disappear into the crowd, one thought echoed in his mind: What the hell just happened to me?
And more importantly… what the hell was he supposed to do next?