The day turned to the late hours of night, as all around the farmhouse remained calm and still.  Johnny and Reena were out on their run while the others waited patiently for an attack that would not come.  Weariness took to most of them, save for Dallen who still remained in the barn overlooking the area.  Ethan waited until after midnight, then he crept out along the haystacks and wooden fences until he was back out in the woods.  

Day 3 since the outbreak:

The high school teacher dressed warm, wearing a large overcoat with a hood, and wielding a hatchet and a handgun at either side of his waist.  On his back he carried a long shovel, as he intended to bury his wife so he could move on.  He traveled slow and quiet, remaining as aware as he could to the sounds surrounding him.  

He reached the fire department building a few hours later, which was now clear of all life and undead at the moment.  He made his way to the roof and took a deep breath, then looked at his wife's body.  Tears swelled his eyes, and he sat there for hours more, crying and remembering her the best he could.  Finally, as the sun began to rise just beyond the mountains, he was ready to do what he came to do.

He covered her in sheets from the station, then carried her down and out into the woods.  He walked straight until he reached a small river, then continued until he found a suitable area.  Gently laying her down, he started digging up the dirt.  The soft soothing sound of the water crashing against the rocks was all he could hear as his thoughts stayed on his family.  He didn't hear the twigs snapping just behind him, nor the slight groan of the walker approaching.  Only when it was a few feet behind him, ready to tear into his flesh, did he look up to see someone down the riverbed.  A woman, red haired, and alive.  

Ethan raised an eyebrow and squinted to make sure he saw correctly.  A second later he heard the step behind him, as he turned and was met face to face with a decayed walker lunging forward.  It grappled him, and together the two fell into the grave hole he had been digging.  His back slammed against the dirt, while his arms stayed firm and upright, barely holding the creature away.  It snapped its jaws just inches from his face, as panic overcame the high school teacher.  He desperately tried to grab his fallen hatchet, but the constant pressure from the undead on top of him made it nearly impossible.