The Echo (seeking representation)

A meteor shower of astonishing magnitude lights up the night sky. When one fragment crashes in the north-east of England, it releases an invisible wave of energy that begins to change life on Earth.

The next morning, Jess, a talented solicitor, and her husband Josh, a biologist, carry on with their ordinary routines, unaware that their world has already shifted. That evening, Jess begins to feel unwell. By the following night, her condition worsens until her body starts to transform before Josh’s eyes. Her skin ripples and she becomes something both beautiful and terrifying: a mermaid. Gasping for air, she cries out in pain, and Josh, desperate to save her, takes her into their pool so she can breathe.

Jess’s transformation is only the beginning. Across the globe, people begin to change into creatures of legend such as mermaids, werewolves, and fairies. At first, governments dismiss the reports as mass hysteria, but panic spreads when politicians and scientists begin to transform as well. In Downing Street, Prime Minister James Carragher struggles to contain the chaos while his administration collapses around him.

Josh does his best to care for Jess, but she grows unpredictable and violent. Her hunger becomes uncontrollable, and one night she attacks him. During the next full moon, thousands of people who thought they were unaffected experience their own transformations, confirming that the phenomenon is spreading. Violence erupts as fear grips the world. Governments begin rounding up the affected while protesters demand answers.

Dr. Caroline Prentiss, a government scientist, and her assistant Holly investigate the meteor impact site alongside astrophysicist Lucy Nixon. Lucy believes the meteor released a strange kind of energy that the team names the Echo. Together, they try to understand its effects while political pressure builds. Meanwhile, Jess begins to hear a haunting song that calls her to the sea. Heartbroken, Josh takes her to the coast, where she disappears beneath the waves.

In Liverpool, a group of men led by by a violent man called Alex attack a small community of fairies. In retaliation, the fairies turn the attackers into children, wiping away their memories. Caroline and Holly attempt to investigate but suffer the same fate. The world grows more divided, and fear of the transformed spreads. To restore some form of stability, Carragher signs the Treaty of Gibraltar, creating a new nation called Elarith as a refuge for the affected. The Azores’ inhabitants are forced to relocate, leaving bitterness behind.

Fifteen years later, the world remains uneasy but calm. Lucy, now physically younger after prolonged exposure to the power of the Echo, continues her research. She reconnects with Alex, once a violent gang leader and now a kind and gentle PhD student who remembers nothing of his past. 

When Josh and Lucy are summoned to Elarith by Queen Amara, they learn that fragments of the meteor may hold the key to reversing the effects of the Echo. Before they can act, the merfolk, led by their leader Kael and his queen, Jess, rise from the ocean and use their siren song to enslave both humans and the affected. Only Amara’s protective magic shields Josh and Lucy from the enchantment.

Captured in London, Lucy eventually succumbs to the song, and Josh is turned into a monstrous servant. Kael, wielding a trident forged from the meteor’s core, rules over a world under his control. Four years later, Amara gathers enough strength to free Josh and Lucy, and together they lead a rebellion against the merfolk.

In the final battle, Lucy seizes Kael’s trident and faces an impossible choice. She can use its power to cure herself or to drive the merfolk back into the sea forever. She chooses sacrifice over salvation, ensuring humanity’s survival but giving up her chance at life.

After the conflict, Lucy returns to her family in Australia, asking Josh to move on. Elarith returns the Azores to their original inhabitants. Jess, now at peace, leads the merfolk beneath the waves, while Josh serves as Elarith’s ambassador to the human world.

Years later, in a quiet care home, a young girl named Lucy plays alone. One day, a stranger visits her and explains that he can help make her better. Lucy watches as his hand begins to glow. 

Currently seeking representation