As they genially conversed over breakfast at the diner, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that his friend's political views made him physically ill. 

 They traded brains for blather; peace for a piece of the power; truth for tirades. 

 Their world grew smaller and smaller until it was just him. her, the dog, a few birds on the windowsill, and a couple of squirrels in the yard. 

The killer could be anyone, even you. 

 The water receded, the sun dried the land, and we began the long process of picking up the pieces of our lives, again. 

They got us to think in 120 characters, to dream of viral fame, to feel hollow inside so we could fill the hole with their useless products.  

The light seeped in bathing the room in brilliance but it couldn't burn away the darkness from the corners of his mind.