~The Will to Survive~ (Super soldier) Male reader x Clementine.

|RESTORATION| Chapter: 40 Welcome Aboard

[Y/N's POV, dream]
You were in a dark forest with the moon shining down in you. You were alone, looking for Clementine and AJ. Your dream was very similar to the hallucinations you've been having recently.
"Clementine! AJ! Where are you?" You called out in a panic.
"Y-Y/N." You heard a weak whimper from a few yards away. You looked over to see what looked like Clementine laying on the ground. You ran over to her to see that she was covered in blood. What hit you worst, was that her guts were spilled out of her body.
"Clementine!" You shouted with fear and worry. You knelt down to her and cupped her cheek with your hand and held her right hand with with your other.
"Clementine. Christ, what happened?" You asked her as tears started falling from your eyes.
"Why?" She weakly asked.
"W-what, what?" You asked back.
"Why did you do this?" She asked as she coughed up blood.
"Clem, please. Don't speak, y-you're gonna be alright. I'm right here." You replied.
"You're gonna get everyone killed at some point. AJ, me, Scott, Kirk, Dawson, Cedric, Kayla, and everyone at the school." Clementine said in a deep dark tone.
"W-why are you saying these things?" You asked with concern. She didn't respond. She took one more breath before letting death take her.
"Clem? Clem?!" You shouted with worry. You looked down beside her at a pool of her blood and saw your reflection. Only, it was you as a walker again. You then looked at your hands to see that they were rotting and decaying with Clementine's guts in them.
"No... no... AHHHHHHHH!" You shouted before waking up.

[Y/N's POV, Awake]
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" You shouted as you woke up from you're horrific dream. You were sat up in your bed, sweating bullets and breathing heavily. You then looked over to see Clem standing at the side of the bed, staring at you with shock and worry. You stared back for a bit before collecting yourself and wiping the sweat off your face.
"*Sigh* I'm sorry, Clem. I uhh... didn't mean to wake you." You apologized to her.
"You had a nightmare. You were saying my name a lot. Then you started flailing around in the bed, so I got out." She explained.
"I uhh... yeah. It was pretty bad. It's like my hallucinations are taking over my dreams now. Every time I have one, it's about you, either dead, or dying from my hands. I don't know why." You explained. Clementine then walked over and sat down on the bed and caressed your cheek.
"Are you afraid I'm gonna die somehow? Because of you?" Clem asked.
"M-maybe? I don't know. I don't think it'll happen. But..." You replied before she cut you off.
"You're right. It won't. You have always protected me, along with AJ. And as long as you plan on continuing to, I'll be fine. You should leave earlier in the morning to see Kirk again about this. Maybe he'll have a diagnosis." Clementine explained.
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I'm being a little paranoid. I'll see Kirk first thing in the morning. Sorry I woke you." You replied as she got back in bed with you.
"Don't worry about it. Just try and get some rest, babe. I love you." She said before pecking your lips.
"Love you too." You replied before going back to sleep.

[Small time skip]
It was now 10:20 in the morning and you were in the hospital. Kirk was looking over your brain activity using an old EEG machine to record your neural activity. During this process, another doctor walked in.
"Hey there Kirk. Am I interrupting? Someone asked him.
"Ah, doctor Lingard. Nah, just checking Y/N's brain waves here." Kirk replied.
"So you're Y/N. The famed super soldier. Heard Clementine found her boy. Glad to hear it." Lingard said while walking over.
"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you're still kicking." You replied.
"I'll be sure to pay her a visit. Also, would you mind if I ran some tests on you? I'm interested to see how your anatomy works differently than normal peoples." Lingard asked you.
"Uhhh... I guess not. Kirk, you done looking at my brain?" You asked Kirk.
"Yeah. I'm just gonna analyze what I've got real quick. I'll update you when I get back." Kirk replied before walking out with some papers, presumably with your test results.
"So, what will these tests involve?" You asked Lingard.
"Oh just some body scans. Gonna take a look at your cells too. If that's alright with you." Lingard replied.
"That's fine. Just... don't do anything weird." You responded.
"Wonderful. Just sit down in the bed and I'll connect some electrical nerve stimulators to record muscle activity. Then I'll do a full body x-ray." Lingard explained. You complied by walking over to the bed and sitting down.
"Could you remove your shirt please?" Lingard asked. You then removed your shirt, revealing your scarred and built upper body.
"Well, can't say I've met anyone quite as bulky as you. Guess all the talk was true." Lingard said before sticking the nerve stimulators to your upper muscle groups.
"This'll just send light shocks to your muscles, repetitively activating them. And don't ask how I have these. Just know that some places still have decent technology." Lingard explained.
"No surprise there. We had good technology in The Battle Hardened. Better than this." You replied
"Oh so it's a competition now?" Lingard jokingly replied.
"Heh, now why do you say that?" You replied with a chuckle. Lingard then started the machine that activated the stimulators.
"Gah! Shit!" You shouted in pain.
"Just a hunch. Oh, forgot to tell you it'll sting like a bitch." He replied with a cheeky grin.
"You don't say." You sarcastically replied.
Lingard then looked at a screen on the machine and started writing on a clipboard.
"Amazing. Your muscles contract and retract very differently than a normal persons. Also, they're much more dense than what they should be. I'd say a standard 9mm couldn't even pierce too far into them." Lingard explained.
"Still hurts though." You replied.
"Well, a bullet is a bullet." Lingard responded. He then turned off the machine and walked over to you.
"Alright, now for the x-ray." Lingard said while taking the stimulators off of your muscles.
"Please, lay down on the bed." Lingard said before dragging over a refurbished x-ray machine. You did as he said and laid on the bed. He then started scanning your body over and over again before shutting the machine off and pulling out the printed scans.
"Alright, I'm just gonna look these over. Kirk should be back any minute now." Lingard said. As if right on cue, Kirk walked in with some papers and greeted the both of you.
"Doing some testing on him as well I see. Whatcha got?" Kirk asked Lingard.
"Take a look." Lingard replied, handing Kirk some papers and the scans. Kirk grabbed them and looked them over, before widening his eyes in shock.
"I knew it." Kirk said under his breath.
"What? What's on those?" You asked him.
"Remember when I explained how your body learns and has the potential to improve from trauma?" Kirk asked.
"Yeah, I remember your little science lesson." You joked.
"Well, I was right. Before your incident at Deltas boat, your body's cells functioned at a much more efficient rate than a normal persons. As well as your immune system and metabolism. Your metabolism burned at a much faster rate than normal. About 4 times faster. Now, it's more like 5 times faster, according to these numbers. Not to mention your bone and muscle density now increased since the accident as well. You just keep improving." Kirk explained as he set the papers down on a desk.
"I guess that doesn't surprise me. Wait, if my metabolism is burning faster now, then why haven't I lost any weight?" You asked Kirk.
"Simple, you've been eating more. Before, you could go days on end without needing food or water. But now that your body is functioning more intensely now, your body needs more energy, in which case, you get from food and water. So your finding yourself eating more often now." Kirk explained.
"Huh, I liked not needing much food or water though." You replied.
"Well, you're gonna have to get used to it. But ultimately, metabolism doesn't have that much to do with weight. So, there's no chance you'll ever gain a substantial amount of weight." Kirk explained.
"I guess that's a relief." You replied. You then saw Clementine walk in and greet Kirk before turning her attention to Lingard.
"Dr. Lingard? You're still here?" Clementine asked with a shocked expression.
"Sure am. Nice of you to finally pay me a visit. How's the boy? Heard you found him." Lingard asked.
"He's fine, and healthy. Thanks for asking. I found him exactly where you told me he was. Barely got him out." Clem explained.
"But you did. That's all that matters. Glad he's alright. I'm guessing you're here for him though, and not a social call." Lingard replied, gesturing over to you. Clem then turned to you and smiled. She then blushed, seeing as you still had your shirt off.
"Uhh... what's going on?" Clem asked you.
"They just ran a few tests on me. Why're you here?" You asked her.
"What, a worried girl can't visit her boyfriend at the hospital?" She asked with a sarcastic grin.
"I didn't say that." You replied with an eye roll. She just giggled before you stood up, put your shirt back on, and walked over to her.
"So Kirk, any info about what's going on with my head, and why I'm having these hallucinations?" You asked him. His expression became serious before he walked over to you and Clem.
"Dr., could you give us some privacy please?" Kirk asked Lingard.
"Sure thing, I'll be in the lobby if you need me. Good seeing you Clementine." He replied before exiting the room.
"Alright, what's going on? You don't have a very reassuring look on your face right now, Kirk." You said to him as you walked over to the bed and sat down. Clementine did the same and sat next to you.
"Well, it's not the best news. But it's also not terrible news." Kirk replied. He then walked over to the desk, grabbed a piece of paper and walked over to you and handed it to you. You looked up at him with concern then back down to the paper before grabbing it. You started reading over its contents before stopping on two words.
"Penduncular hallucinosis? What's this?" You asked with confusion.
"It's a rare neurological disorder. One that causes vivid visual hallucinations. They typically happen in dark environments, but they have the potential to happen at any time, no matter the environment. That is, depending on how serious the case is." Kirk explained.
"H-how? How do I have this?" You asked with disbelief.
"Well, it could have something to do with a brain injury or trauma to the thalamus, or the midbrain. It could have happened during the boat incident. The hallucinations can last for several minutes and often involve people and environment that are familiar to the effected individual." Kirk explained.
"That's why I keep seeing you in them, Clem. And they keep happening in Richmond. Is there any way to treat this?" You asked Kirk.
"Honestly, I don't know. It could go away over time, due to your regenerative abilities. But that's not for certain. If you notice them happening less often, then the serum is probably getting rid of it. Meaning it's healing the damage done to your brain." Kirk explained.
"There's damage to my brain?" You asked with shock.
"Yeah. If you'll look at these x-rays, you'll see." Kirk replied before handing you the x-rays. You looked them over and noticed some markings as well as some swelling near your midbrain.
"Oh my god." Clementine commented in shock.
"Why isn't this already healed yet?" You asked Kirk.
"Well, your regenerative ability works differently for your internal organs. Basic wounds done to your body heal exceptionally quickly. But any damage done to your bones or internal organs, will take longer." Kirk explained.
"Shit. Well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it but wait. Thanks for looking me over, Kirk. We should wrap this up and get ready for today. It's our last day of recruiting." You explained while standing up with Clem.
"Sure is. I like it here, but it's about time we move on. See you soon." Kirk replied, waving goodbye as you and Clem left the room and eventually the hospital.
Outside, you and Clem were walking in silence back to your apartment. She looked over to you with concern and saw your emotionless expression, staring at the ground.
"You gonna be okay?" She asked with worry.
"Yeah. I'm just hoping I can shake this disorder." You replied honestly. She then grabbed your hand. You looked inter her eyes and saw her smile.
"You will. I know you will. I know you're not gonna let some brain disorder get the better of you." She replied. You smiled back before pulling her in for a hug.
"Thanks Clem. You're right. I'm not gonna let this get the better of me. I've got too many people depending on me. And I won't let them down." You said as you looked into her eyes.
"That's my dork." She replied before leaning in and softly kissing you. You returned the kiss before the both of you continued walking.