The forest selected to be the location of the survivor's colony was a few miles from the orchard, so it took less than fifteen minutes for the ship to reach its new anchor point.

Kevin checked the fuel gauges on the bridge and was relieved they'd appropriated extra supplies from the Coral Blade clan as the ship was running on empty. They never would've made it this far without bolstering their stockpile.

As the engines powered down, Kevin looked out at the jungle where they would be going. The lush color of the trees faded off into a greenish-gray haze on the distant horizon. The sun was already descending in the west, and Kevin knew they had better hurry, or they would be forced to find their way around in the dark.

Doing a final check of the controls, Kevin left the bridge and climbed down the ladder to the main deck.

George still slumped against a cargo container, but the golden retriever had changed from sitting beside him to resting its head on George's lap. The priest slowly pet the animal, his actions mechanical.

"George?" Kevin called softly so as to not startle the priest or the dog. Both looked in Kevin's direction.

"We're going to need your help," Kevin informed him.

"I know," George said slowly. His voice was strained as if he'd been deprived of sleep for a week. "You need the helicopter to lay the initial cargo net for the base structure."

"No one else has the skills to fly it," Kevin pointed out. "I was hoping you did. If you can't, or don't want to, we can still get the equipment we need up there; it will simply be a longer and harder job."

Giving the dog a final pat on its head, George stood up.

"I can fly it, but I previously did a check on the helicopter," George stated. "Aviation fuel is different from the standard kind the ship uses, and the chopper is running low. We'll need to be quick and precise about what we're doing because it won't stay in the air long."

"Understood," Kevin accepted. "Once we drop the net over the trees, I'll descend from the chopper by a cable and tie off the net to the trees to keep it stable."

"What about the inflatable life rafts collected from the military base?" George asked.

"Once the net is secured, you can drop them into it," Kevin stated. "We just need to make sure the cargo net can take the weight without slipping."

"If you'll open the hull doors, I'll start warming up the helicopter," George suggested.

"Will do," Kevin consented.

As George vanished through a side hatch and went down to the lower level, Kevin walked over to the helipad and turned the key to power up the control panel on a stand beside it. Pressing the illuminated green button, he activated the doors.

Built into the forward deck, the large doors were virtually invisible until they began to open. Lifting into the air, the huge sections of reinforced metal raised into vertical positions and cleared the way for the lift system in the hold below deck.

The lift system resembled a three pronged fork lift. Two of the metal forks were under the main body of the silver and blue helicopter, and the third supported the tail. The lift raised the aircraft out of its protected hold and extended out over the helipad before setting it gently in place. Retracting the forks, the lift withdrew into the hold once more, the doors closing down on top of it.

George, having made good time to the lower level, had managed to get into the helicopter before its reposition to the helipad on the forward deck. He currently sat in the cockpit, going over his preflight checklist.

Kevin went over and opened the rear compartment behind the pilot's seat. Conscripting several civilians watching the activity, Kevin had them assist in the loading of the supplies they'd need for the first stage of the base. They started with bundles of cable and rope and packed them beside a large collection of inflatable rafts. The massive cargo net serving as the foundation of the base was loaded last so it would be closest to the door and the easiest to deploy when the time came.

Thanking the people who'd assisted him, Kevin shooed them away from the helipad to prevent injury during takeoff. As he climbed into the crammed full rear compartment, Kevin noticed a familiar face in the cockpit.

"When did you get the new copilot?" Kevin asked, looking at the golden retriever sitting beside George.

"He got in while you were loading the supplies," George replied, petting the dog.

"It's your mission," Kevin said. "You can fly with whoever you want."

Kevin settled back against the lumpy cargo since extra room for sitting didn't exist anymore after they'd filled the space with equipment. He didn't know how the dog would react to being in the aircraft or how it might disrupt their mission, but Kevin was aware of how the emptiness left behind by Isabella's absence was affecting everyone. If having a dog on the flight helped George, Kevin wasn't about to deny him a friend.

The main and tail rotors both began turning and spinning up to top speed, becoming faster and faster until only a blur of movement. The aircraft, out of service for years and badly in need of a tuneup, shook its passengers as George increased the throttle. Slowly, the helicopter lifted from the ship in a cloud of dust kicked up from the deck and soared into the air.

Kevin kept an eye on the dog, but the canine was staring out the window excitedly and enjoying the view. Taking a hint from the four legged passenger, Kevin directed his gaze toward the passing scenery. The tops of the trees flashing by below him reminded Kevin of the appearance of broccoli.

"You'll need this," George said over his shoulder while handing back a walkie-talkie. "It doesn't have the range to reach the ship, but I can talk to them on my radio and reach you through this."

"Good idea," Kevin complimented, taking the radio and clipping it beside his badge.

The chopper had flown a fair distance inland. Although it made getting the refugees to their new home more difficult, it gave the colony more protection if a storm were to sweep in from the sea as the outer trees of the jungle would absorb the brunt of the high winds and punishing surf. The helicopter slowed as it neared the designated location.

"Here we are," George announced. "You ready?"

"I don't think I ever will be," Kevin said only partly in jest before sliding back the side door and preparing to deploy the cargo net.

George flew in low and slow over the jungle, and Kevin kicked out a portion of the cargo net, succeeding in entangling one of the many trees below the helicopter. As the chopper continued ahead, the net unfurled and spread across the treetops. When the last of the net whipped out the door, Kevin reported it to George.

"Net is deployed," Kevin shouted to be heard over the sounds of the helicopter and the wind screaming past the open door.

"Turning around for second run," George responded, pulling the control stick to the side and banking hard around to cross back over the net a second time.

Rather than passing straight overhead as George had done on the first run, he slowed his craft to hover over what he estimated to be the center of the cargo net.

Wrapping a smaller net around the life rafts, Kevin connected them to a cable and winch mounted on the outside of the open door. He threw a pack full of rope and connecting clips onto his back. Dropping a cable, Kevin put on some sturdy gloves before sliding down the cable and landing roughly atop the jungle canopy.

Some of the branches, new and covered in more leaves than bark, accepted his arrival well enough, but the older branches didn't bend as much and offered painful impacts upon landing. Leaves were dislodged in great numbers and showered the ground below.

Kevin clipped his safety line to the cargo net and began the difficult process of connecting the cargo net to the trees in order to prevent it from slipping off. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a portion of rope and a pair of metal clips. Securing the clips to either end of the rope, Kevin wrapped the rope around one of the tree branches, including some of the cargo net in the loop. When the two connectors clipped together, the first one was complete.

Hooking a safety line to a tree, Kevin navigated the moving terrain. The branches shifted and swayed beneath him, making his footing difficult, and the cargo net had the unfortunate ability to stretch, making every hand and foothold give slightly and impart the feeling of being about to plunge to his death.

Kevin made the circuit around the perimeter of the net and tied off the edges to the trees. He crossed the center of the net and tied several additional locations for extra support and stability.

"Ready for the rafts," Kevin shouted into the walkie-talkie. He was forced to raise his voice to be heard over the hovering helicopter.

"Here they come," George replied, triggering the winch and lowering the tied bundle.

Kevin unhooked the package from the cable and let the inflatable rafts spill out across the net. Having been well secured, the net held and didn't get pulled down by the increase in weight.

"Good to go," Kevin reported. "Get back to the ship and start bringing in the cargo and people."

"On the way," George acknowledged. His helicopter banked smoothly and shot across the sky, heading back toward the ship.

Knowing it would be a few minutes until George returned, Kevin set about deploying the rafts. Using more of the rope and clips from his pack, Kevin linked each raft to the cargo net and the nearest tree for double protection. Once they were hooked in, he activated them, and the orange rafts filled up in seconds as the pressurized air was released into them.

Connecting tarps to one edge of each of the two dozen rafts, Kevin provided a covering to hopefully keep the survivors warm and dry in spite of any adverse weather.

The sound of a helicopter made him look toward the sky, and he saw the streamlined aircraft cruising toward the treetop encampment. The helicopter swooped in low, the wind from the rotors rustling the leaves of the jungle canopy.

"I need the space for people and cargo," George said through the radio. "Can't have any repeat passengers."

Kevin opened the copilot door and whistled.

"Come on, dog," he encouraged, motioning for the dog to climb out of the helicopter and into one of the inflatable rafts. The golden retriever hesitated until George gave a reassuring pat.

"Go," George encouraged.

The dog jumped down, and Kevin petted the animal in welcome to its new home.

"Sit. Stay," Kevin instructed, and the canine obeyed. Leaving the dog where it was, Kevin started working on unloading the cargo from the rear compartment, dumping it in the nearest raft.

The dog moved to the edge of its raft, putting its paws on the side and wagging its tail, clearly interested in all the activity.

As soon as the helicopter was unloaded, Kevin slammed the door, and George gained some altitude before turning back to the ship for a second load.

"Want to see what I'm doing?" Kevin asked the dog, and the animal wagged its tail in response. Kevin smiled and brought his work over to the raft occupied by the dog so it could see. Kevin had a series of long rope strands. He secured a clip to one end and a battery powered lamp to the other. "See that? We hang these from the net all around, so when the people start coming, they can follow the lights and find us. Neat, huh?"

The dog barked, causing Kevin to chuckle. He doubted the dog had the faintest idea what he was talking about, but animal seemed enthusiastic about it.

"Good dog," Kevin praised, patting it on the head. Before leaving to start hanging the lights, he gave a final instruction. "Stay."

Kevin clipped a few lights into position and lowered them down under the net before George started his return flight.

"Kevin," George said through the portable radio.

"Yeah, George," Kevin answered. "Go ahead."

"Razor reported movement to the north," George stated. "He couldn't see what was causing it because the underbrush was too thick, but something's coming."

Kevin didn't need to be told what was the source of the disturbance; he knew. The zombie horde was on its way.