"Your death will mean nothing," her rough tenor says, breaking the deafening silence he had long grown used to.

When was the last time anyone had made their way to his cell? It felt like years, but he assumed it was closer to several days. He was still alive after all. Or was he? There were times that he firmly thought himself to be dead and this new reality was his punishment- his Hell. Then there were other times that the smell of human waste and vomit was too pungent, too real, for it to simply be death. Not even Hell could be as bad as his current living space.

"Does anyone's death have meaning?" he questions curiously after a long moment. Emotions like anger and hate had dissipated months (perhaps years) ago. Whatever energy he had left was used to remember his brother- the only person he had ever truly cared for. He liked to think that when it was time for him to die, he would get to see Isaac again. It was a pitiful, pathetic wish, but that's exactly what he had become...pitifully pathetic.

Her reply is hard and yet compassionate at the same time. "Yes, if their lives meant something."

Somehow he croaks out a chuckle. "Well, then there you have it..."

Her black boots move until they're pressed against the metal bars. Her closeness is surprising enough for him to lift his heavy head just to see the expression on her face. As usual he finds that he can't read her. "I never believed you to be a quitter, you know," she says, the comment sounding more like a challenge than anything else.

He rakes his eyes over her, trying to figure out why she's here and why it sounds like she actually cares about what's going to happen to him. She doesn't care. He knows that, but it's hard to remember when he's been in solitary confinement for a year. The loneliness weighs on him like a heavy blanket. The desire to be around other human beings overwhelms him in his waking hours and haunts him in his dreams.

Her voice breaks him out of his reverie. "They're debating on what to do with you. Right now there's 6 people in a meeting, ready to determine your fate."

"It's about time," is all he can think to say.

"Half of them want you dead," she replies pointedly.

"And?"

Surprisingly enough, she slips her thin arm through the rusty bars. It's only when her warm hand wraps around his shoulder does he fully realize that she's touching him. It's been so long since anyone had touched him. In fact he couldn't recall anyone touching him as gently as she was now. "And you saved my life," she whispers shakily. "I can't let you die without knowing why you did it."

"Is that why you've been visiting me?" He had wondered countless times why she would take the time to see him once a week. It had started a few months ago, long after the Dauntless rebels had broken him.

"I don't know why I come."

The uncertainty in her green eyes backs up her quiet revelation. He'd often wondered if perhaps the people in charge was sending her down to get information from him, but he could never explain why the would send her. Unless she had informed them of his "good deed" and they thought she would be able to pry something useful out of him. But after months had gone by without her asking any questions regarding his involvement in the war, he had let that theory die.

His silence seems to make her uncomfortable because she quickly takes her had away and shifts back. "Why did you shoot Peter, Eric?"

"I didn't want you to die. I can't explain why," he adds before she asks him why it mattered in the first place. He can't give her an answer because the reason is still a mystery to himself. His memory has taken him back to that moment countless times since his imprisonment, and still he isn't sure why he turned his gun towards Peter instead of the obvious enemy. Perhaps it was the way she had stared them both down...as if they weren't truly a threat to her. For years, he had spent his life marveling in the death of others. He used to feed off of his victims' fear, and in that moment he remembered that she hadn't shown fear. That had caught his attention.

Never had he underestimated a person the way he had Tris Prior when he'd first met her. Never had he regretted it more than when Peter had a gun aimed at her head and knowing that he couldn't let the bullet pierce her skull.

Her inhale of breath drew his gaze to her slender neck. How could someone so small, be so powerful at the same time? "Saving my life could save yours," she says.

"I don't need your help," he rasps. Being cruel is instinctive. It's almost too easy to let the old hate take over his mind. "A disgusting stiff isn't going to be able to do anything."

To his astonishment, she smirks. "I knew you were still in there somewhere. I'm not giving you false hope, you know. I have the power to make them rethink your death. A year ago we were in opposite positions and you chose to spare me..." Lowering her head, she seems to stop breathing for several long moments. "I feel that I owe you a debt."

"You don't owe me anything."

"And yet here we are." She smiles. Not a happy smile, but also not a sad one either.

She's serious, he realizes. The magnitude of the visit finally starts to sink in and he can't breathe. Mind racing, he struggles to his feet only to lean against the wall when his legs refuse to hold his weight. "Let's say they don't kill me," he says. "What kind of life would I even have? A life behind these bars? No." He shakes his head. "I would rather die."

"I'm not sure what would happen exactly, Er-"

"Then I don't want your help," he cuts in. "I'll be fine on my own."

"You'll most likely be dead. They'll inject you with poison and then that will be the end. Is that really want you want? Are you okay with it ending like that?"

Ever so slowly he begins to sink back to the hard ground. Exhaustion grips him and he realizes what he really wants. "I just want it to be over. I don't care how."

5 seconds later she stands, looking down at him with an expression he knows to mean that he hasn't won the conversation. "I don't think I can live with that. I would apologize but I'm not sorry." With that she makes her way back up the dank hallway, leaving him alone once again.

I just can't leave this pairing behind! I'm far too in love with Eric. Feedback please! Not to sound desperate, but I love reviews.