The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver

The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver is a two-part novella by Nathaniel J. Nelson. The first part debuted in late 2020 as a collaborative narration between As The Raven Dreams and Lady Spookaria. The second part debuted on December 14, 2021, with the same narrators.

The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver comprises the second and third stories in the Mackenzie Weaver series, following My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver.

Part One
An unnamed narrator pontificates on the concept of one's "life flashing before their eyes" in their moments before death. He then relates the story of his encounter with undead serial killer Mackenzie Weaver.

While a freshman at a community college in Findlay, Ohio, the narrator meets Rose Williams, a Midwesterner who acts outgoing but often appears preoccupied or annoyed. They share a Spanish class and become close friends, often sneaking into bars together. Despite their close friendship, they appear to often be on rocky ground, with Rose being quickly irritable and the narrator making fun of her reliance on a psychic. One morning, the narrator finds Rose sitting outside their classroom, chainsmoking and looking distraught over a Facebook post from an unspecified police department. The post concerns a string of murders elsewhere in the country, and the narrator suspects Rose knew one of the victims, though she refuses to talk about it.

Finally, a week later, Rose admits the truth: she was in the same class as Mackenzie Weaver, who, according to the narrator, was not well known in pop culture or conspiracy theories at this time. Rose has heard the rumors that Mackenzie came back to life to finish killing all her classmates, and, though the narrator believes the story is ridiculous, Rose claims she believes it because her psychic predicted she would be killed by Mackenzie without ever knowing Rose was part of her class.

Over the next few months, the narrator and Rose drift apart. On the last day of freshman year, Rose asks the narrator to return a chair he borrowed from her; when he arrives, she doesn't answer the door. He enters and finds her dead on the floor with her cat, Lexi, unperturbed. Christmas music plays in the background, unexplained. The narrator then comes face to face with Mackenzie, who regards him for a moment then leaves.

The narrator then reveals that the entire story has been a pre-death flashback, and that he is currently in a small room in a public place, facing a more damaged Mackenzie, with Christmas music playing in the background. Before he dies, the narrator wishes his flashback could have lasted longer.

Part Two
In December of 2017, Sophie Rogers, a classmate of Mackenzie Weaver's, works at a high-paying office job in Seattle, Washington, where she is surrounded by images of Mackenzie, now a pop culture icon and star of an upcoming documentary, Eyes of a Killer: The Mackenzie Weaver Story. She receives a note from Mallory Hankins, a name she does not recognize, and ignores it. Later at her apartment, she is met by Emilio Clarke (the unnamed narrator of Part One), who convinces her to meet with he and Mallory.

Meeting at a nearby café, Mallory and Emilio tell Sophie that Mackenzie Weaver is hunting down her former classmates. Sophie, who refuses to believe in Mackenzie's resurrection, blows them off; however, Emilio convinces Sophie by telling her the story of Rose Williams's death, as Mallory tells her about the death of another classmate, Kimberly White, with whom she was close friends. Emilio and Mallory give Sophie a list of the classmates who have died since Mackenzie's resurrection, including Eddie Majors (My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver), whose friend, David Berger, is in contact with them. Using a website for sharing paranormal experiences, Emilio and Mallory have been able to track Mackenzie's progress, believing she will arrive in Seattle on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, Sophie, Mallory, and Emilio sit outside Pioneer Square and wait, Mallory carrying a loaded handgun. Emilio and Sophie discuss Rose Williams, which allows them both some closure. Mackenzie appears and chases them, after a drunk passerby mistakes her for a cosplayer and puts a Santa hat on her. They run through Seattle, Mallory admitting she doesn't have a plan, and eventually end up in a bar. Emilio goes to use the bathroom and Mallory discusses Kimberly White with Sophie: she reveals that Kimberly allowed herself to be killed by Mackenzie instead of continuing to run for the rest of her life. Sophie suggests they stand and fight instead. As they talk, Mackenzie enters the bar and kills Emilio in the bathroom.

Mallory and Kimberly decide to kill Mackenzie at the nearby Kerry Park; they run through a mounting snowstorm until they reach the clifftop area. Mackenzie approaches them through the snow, and Mallory decides to make Sophie leave, despite her insisting on staying: Mallory says that if Mackenzie kills her tonight, it will be Sophie's job to rally her other classmates and lay in wait. Sophie runs away, turning back in time to see Mallory shoot Mackenzie several times, and Mackenzie slash Mallory across the face, presumably killing her.

A flashforward sees Sophie training in boot camp for the United States Navy, gaining physical strength and mental sharpness for the day her enlistment is over, when she plans on killing Mackenzie for good.

Part One

 * Part One takes place in early to late 2014, as explicated by the narrator. This puts Rose's death less than a year before the death of Mackenzie's classmate in My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver, which took place over the summer of 2015, based on Mackenzie's death date of February 14, 2013.


 * The events of Part One are alluded to in My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver, in which the narrator refers to her appearance in Ohio "[...] right before some young guy was killed." The narrator's belief that Rose Williams was male could stem from either a mistake on the website where he found his information, or a mistake on his part as the unreliable narrator.

Part Two

 * Part Two takes place on December 22 and 24 of 2017, as explicated by Mallory's note. This puts Mallory's death roughly three and a half years after that of Rose Williams.
 * At the end of Part One, Emilio Clarke (as the unnamed narrator) references his own death occurring roughly two and a half years after that of Roses's; this is alluded to in Part Two, as Emilio continually refers to Rose's death as happening two and a half years ago, after which Mallory will correct him in saying it was three and a half years.


 * The events of Part One are alluded to in Part Two, as well as those of My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver, the latter of which is revealed to have taken place in 2015.


 * Several previously-unnamed characters are given names in Part Two:
 * Mackenzie Weaver's boyfriend, as well as her first post-resurrection victim, is named as Johnny Trevor
 * The unnamed narrator of My Thoughts on Mackenzie Weaver is revealed to be named David Berger
 * David Berger's unnamed friend is named Eddie Majors
 * The unnamed narrator of The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver: Part One features as a supporting character in Part Two, and is named Emilio Clarke


 * Part Two reveals the names of several previously unheard of Mackenzie Weaver victims:
 * Jimmy Eldredge
 * Kimberly White
 * Derek Hawser

Release
The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver: Part One was released as an audio recording on As The Raven Dreams's YouTube channel on November 28, 2020. The voice of Rose was provided by Lady Spookaria.

The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver: Part Two was released as an audio recording on Lady Spookaria's YouTube channel on December 14, 2021. The voice of Emilio was provided by As The Raven Dreams.

Both parts are available to read on on Nathaniel J. Nelson's website.