[ WP ] Two friends search for food in the post apocalypse but instead find something else .

`` Hey Joe, are you sure that this is the best place to look for food, buddy?'' Keith asked while jimmying the lock to the front door of a large, windowed grey building. 
 
 `` Sure it is. Look, a daycare is a good place to hit. These places are full of food that's all individually wrapped. People brought their kids home before it hit, or during. It'll be empty. Families wanted to stay together you know?'' Joe looked around, scanning the streets for threats: crazies from radiation, bigger raiding parties, anyone who had a gun before it happened. The lock clicked and Keith swung the door open. 
 
 `` Bingo.'' 
 
 `` Aright, let's move quickly. We need to find where they prepare the food. We need to hit it fast, and we need to get out of here before someone else comes along.'' Joe whispered, giving a final glance to the street before slipping into the building. 
 
 The layout was pretty straightforward. One large room was full of toys and little wooden tables, complete with little, coloured chairs. In the centre of each table were art supplies and paper. There was another large room towards the back of the building designed for napping; the floor was lined with gym mats and blankets; there was an adult-sized chair next to a bookcase full of preschooler books and a mat of interlocking alphabet tiles. Keith's heart sank while looking around. 
 
 They opened a door and found a large, genderless bathroom with rows of tiny toilets. There were change tables, and despite everything that had happened in the world, this place smelled fresh, like powder and lavender hand soap. 
 
 `` Keep moving.'' Joe urged, retreating and opening the next door. It revealed a sterile, industrial kitchen. The counters were immaculate. The dish rack by the large sink was replete with bottles, sippy-cups, and small, coloured plates featuring Spiderman and unicorns. Keith hurried in after him and proceeded to tear through the tidy cupboards. 
 
 There was n't much, but they filled their bags with granola bars, juice boxes, packets of cookies, and fruit cups. They took the formula and pablum to trade. They would be able to eat for a week if they rationed it properly. 
 
 `` Not bad, Keith, not bad. Let's go.'' Joe motioned for his friend to follow him, then held up a hand. `` Did you hear that?'' 
 
 Keith strained his ears and listened. It was silent, except for their breathing. As he was about to shake his head, he heard a faint sound, like a kitten mewling. Quietly, he followed it, attempting to find its source. 
 
 He padded out to the reading room, the sound growing stronger, a desperate cry. It was coming from a pile of pillows, and he felt himself unexplicably running towards it, tearing pillows off the pile. He uncovered a tiny, bawling infant, and scooped it up into his arms. 
 
 `` What is it?'' Joe asked from behind him. Keith cradled it in his arms, and at his touch it stopped crying. Although he had never held a baby before, he found himself cradling it against his chest, swaying gently. 
 
 `` It's a baby.'' Keith answered, his voice just a whisper. He closed his eyes and held the child closer. Had someone tried to stifle it under the pillows, or had it been an act of mercy prefacing the end of the world? 
 
 `` No shit.'' Joe said, now beside him. `` I know where we can trade it for a lot of food.'' 
 
 Keith glared at his friend. Joe's face had absolutely no trace of humour. He was n't kidding. Keith held the child, still closer, realizing that the world he knew, and the people he had known who occupied it, were forever changed. 

