Killer on the Road

Deeply eerie Brake has just 11 minutes of airtime, but that’s long enough to set up the frightfest ahead—and to remind readers that hitchhiking is a fatal mistake. After introducing Bucketmouth in Chapter 0, LaBlanc picks up the mic as 18-year-old Harper, who disregarded the warning and is trying to thumb her way away from her controlling mother. She’s bypassed by preachy holy rollers (at least they leave her three sandwiches) before she’s serendipitously picked up by Kissy and Jam, just returning from Yellowstone. They’ve also got Harper’s ex, Dillon, and Harper’s tween sister, Meg, is just ahead—neither would let Harper run off alone. The quintet thinks they’re headed to freedom, only to come face-to-face with insatiably hungry Bucketmouth. Someone (Indigenous—because that’s the only superpower here) must stay alive to tell the tale. LaBlanc unflappably narrates through paralyzing fear, murderous adrenaline, and determined control. Jones appears at the recording’s end to offer personal provenance.