Iron Mountain (Paperback)

Iron Mountain continues the story of a teen surviving the breakdown of the United States after a massive terrorist attack. Along with his family, Jim must escape a disintegrating West Coast, that is descending further into chaos as people try to escape the nuclear and biological attacks. The military has sealed off zones to prevent the spread of infection and desperate refugees begin fighting their way through the roadblocks to reach safety. Rioting, anarchy and destruction spread like wildfire. The national guard is tasked with saving refugees, quarantining the infected, searching for the guilty and restoring order. However, the combination of attacks, infection and circumstances mean that they are fighting a losing battle. Survivors and refugees struggle to survive every moment. Each family, each person, must find their own food, shelter and safety. The military sets up special refugee camps in California. This drops normal, middle-class people into the third world, forcing them to share space with other survivors, infected people or even terrorists. The ocean provide refuge for Jim again, but the new faces they meet might be helpful friends or deadly enemies. Because of the emergency, some who believe in conspiracy theories see this as the disaster they have been waiting for all along. They form their own paramilitary groups and execute their own plan to restore order. This, unfortunately, allows old hatreds to fester and flourish. Jim's search for a safe place in a dangerous world will uncover desperate choices and painful truths. Neighborhoods can become war zones, men can become monsters and kids can become heroes. Jim might survive, but nothing will be the same.