The day is March 19, 2017; acid rain has contaminated the water in the central part of the United States, cutting the central part away from the rest of the United States. The two coasts must carry on life separated because the central part is fenced off. The only way to the other side is to go straight through the “Mutated Zone.”
Larry Connabridge and his co-worker, Jerald Owens, need to get to a military base in the center of the zone to deliver top secret military supplies made by their company. The base they are traveling to has been taken over by mutated animals and Larry and Jerald must deliver new weapons needed to kill the mutants. Larry and Jerald decide to take the biggest risk known to man, to go through the Mutated Zone.
As they are about to enter they are stopped and told they will have protection by the military. They will be accompanied by a group of Army Rangers to help them reach the base. There’s only one problem: the only way to go across is by land, by foot to be specific.
But almost two days into the travel they finally figure out what they are up against: animals that have grown at least two times larger than normal. Animals that normally wouldn’t hurt a fly are getting very aggressive and pose a direct threat to the humans. They make a desperate call to another military base to the north and they travel there to re-stock on supplies and ammo for the rest of the trip. Now re-stocked and reloaded they find a small village and soon find out nowhere is safe for humans. The mutated animals have killed all of the people of the village.
The trees get more poisonous the farther they get in, and the animals can get bigger and more aggressive towards other animals and humans. Near a quarter of the way they have to go by boat to the half way mark. They run into dangerous underwater creatures on the boat ride. The fish jump out of the water trying to eat the birds, and sometimes try to bite them. Once they reach the half way mark, they find out that they can’t move through the night because that is when the most dangerous creatures hunt. During the nights people are always woken up by the sounds of the hunted creatures squealing in pain. Larry and Jerald know how dangerous it still is to go during the day, but their chances are better than at night. The Rangers, who have never escorted anyone this far into the zone, don’t know how dangerous these creatures really are.
Soon they reach a boat that will take them the last 250 miles to the base. All of them think this is it, but just miles away from the safe zone the boat is attacked. All the Rangers and the boats pilot and engineer are eaten. So Larry and Gerald set off on a floating piece of what’s left of the boat. Into the darkness they keep floating. Knowing that the military troops still need their help, Larry and Gerald keep swimming to the base.
As they reach the edge of the base, they can see that animals have the troops trapped in their compound and are always trying to get in. The weapons the troops have do not work on the mutated animals. Larry and Jerald use the special weapons they have brought to kills some of the animals by the door, but then are counter-attacked by a larger group of animals. The men soon get help from the trapped military troops who lay down constant fire on the animals with, their machine guns, which holds them off, but can’t kill them. Larry and Jerald manage to get away long enough to kill the rest of the animals. When all the animals are dead the military takes Larry and Gerald into the compound. They have enough of the parts needed to make more special weapons. The troops now have what they need to get out of the Mutated Zone.
The government recognizes their extreme courage and willingness to risk their lives to save the Troops, and awards both Larry and Gerald the Congressional Medal of Honor.