B-Movie Reels Read Online Free Page B

Maxwell’s influence.  
    Andy aimed the projector onto the white screen he’d already set up. He returned to the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of scotch that was a quarter empty. He cradled it under his arm and returned to the living room. From his backpack, he gathered a notebook and his good ink pen to jot commentary notes.  
    About to settle down, he took a step backward and unwittingly caught the projector’s cord against his calves, yanking it and forcing the projector to slam onto the floor. Crashing down, the light coming out of the lens faded to black.
    “Fuck!”
    He picked it up and discovered it had broken in half. Components rattled inside, ruined and rendering the device a piece of junk. “Professor Maxwell will have a shit fit. Damn it.”
    Andy paced in front of the damage like it was a dead body needing to be buried. What could he do? This meant he’d have to call Professor Maxwell and admit what had happened.  
    He took a slug from the bottle and enjoyed an alleviating breath. “Think this through, maybe you can fix it.”
    The cuckoo clock went off, the yellow bird’s piercing whistle caused him to yip in surprise. “Jesus!” The house loomed around him in that moment, gigantic for one person to occupy. It made him uncomfortable to breathe too loud. Was he afraid someone would hear him?  
    The picture frames propped against the wall nearby attracted him. He bent to his haunches and studied them.  
    The first read:  
    GIDEON: THE GUIDE TO GRAND ILLUSION
    APPEARS AT THE LUXOR HOTEL FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
    NIGHT SHOWS ONLY
    GIDEON BREATHES FIRE!!!
    GIDEON WALKS THROUGH WALLS!!!
    GIDEON HOLDS HIS BREATH FOR TEN MINUTES LOCKED IN A WATER TANK!!!
    GIDEON SENDS KNIVES THOUGH HIS BODY!!!
    GIDEON DEFIES GRAVITY AND CLIMBS INVISIBLE ROPE!!!
    AND MANY MORE DEATH-DEFYING FEATS!!!
    Uncle James looked like a cartoon caricature in a black Valentino suit, top hat and red tie. He clutched a knife in each hand with a self-satisfied smile, his eyes darkened with mascara and pancake make-up. A caption read in flame lettering: MAY BE TOO GRAPHIC FOR CHILDREN UNACCOMPANIED BY ADULTS OR THOSE INDIVUDUALS WITH HEART CONDITIONS, PREGNANT, OR ELDERLY. His signature was next to his photo in gold marker in large cursive writing.
    Where else was magic lucrative besides Las Vegas or Atlantic City? The man toured the United States and even parts of Europe, he remembered. His fame lasted twelve years, and now he was infamous for murder. There was no court hearing for a dead man. The strange episode was swept under the carpet and left a cold case. It surprised him to receive an open-armed invitation from Mary-Sue and Jimmy Jennings, knowing how hard the deaths hit the small town. They knew what his uncle was accused of, and the two neighbors had lived it down. It saddened him to realize the neighbors were more acquainted with his uncle than he was.  
    He scanned other posters, more of the same hype with new captions boasting more death-defying stunts: SEE GIDEON SMASHED BY A STEAMROLLER, GIDEON MAKES A BENGAL TIGER DISAPPEAR, GIDEON DERAILS A MOVING TRAIN, GIDEON READS MINDS AND FORTUNES, GIDEON ESCAPES A FLAMING BOX, GIDEON MAKES AN AUDIENCE MEMBER VANISH, and GIDEON TURNS WATER INTO WINE. The pictorials grew more outlandish; some depicted James with a chiseled abdomen at a muscle-bound one hundred and eighty pounds, and others gave him a Dracula resemblance with gelled back hair and pale skin. It showed him bending steel rods and breathing fire. It was hard to believe this was the same man who was at family picnics, hard on his luck and surviving on dwindling savings.  
    The intake of scotch urged him to run upstairs to the bathroom to ease his bladder. While pissing, he admired the Jacuzzi. After washing his hands, he observed his face in the mirror. His reddish-brown beard and head of curly hair had grown out to scraggly proportions. He wondered if Mary-Sue was serious about giving him a tour. He didn’t look his