Another vision

Oliver have desperately been wanting to speak with Jasper but he hadn't gotten a chance since due to the lengthy conversations and interrogations he had been going through with Detective Specter. He became so annoyed at the fact that Jasper, having been in the woods before he even heard the voice while he walked along the pathway, should no doubt, be the more suitable person to be called prime suspect, but instead, everyone was going about believing detective Specter's lame theory about him having something to do with what happened to Alex.

Oliver however, was madder at the way the news seemed to have drastically spread throughout the four corners of the orphanage like wildfire, and while everyone passing stared at him in the most awkwardly suspicious manner, quickly looking elsewhere when he tries to look, Jasper moved around like a freeman.

Oliver had been wanting to meet Jasper personally and ask for a clear explanation of what he was doing in the woods the previous day, and why looked so tattered and dirty. Being the only one aware that when Jasper arrived at the scene, he came from the deeper part of the woods, Oliver was going to use that as a major catalyst to make him have no choice but to explain himself. He initially wanted them to talk privately, but now realized that a third party was necessary to witness the evidence, and there was no better eye witness than the girl standing right next to him.

Now that he had finally seen Jasper, he could not find the right words to ask him all the questions he had been longing to ask. He figured it would sound awkward to just abruptly ask such questions.

"Sup, how did it go with the sleazy shamus?" Jasper said as he approached Oliver and Felicity where they were.

"Jasper, it's been quite a bad day for your friend," replied Felicity, "all this is way so unfair," she added.

"Yeah, I heard. Those guys can always be a pain in the ass, you shouldn't really worry about any of this," Jasper said.

Oliver was yet to mutter any word, he just listened to the two of them, how Felicity tried to express her sympathy for the unfair treatment he received from the HCI agent, how Jasper bragged about his long history with the authorities, and how they don't usually stand by their words.

"Seeing you here right now looks like there's finally some good news because I remember hearing something like the HCI taking you with them," Jasper said to Oliver.

"Actually, that's what was going to happen, but the principal came at the last minute and prevented that from happening," Oliver replied.

"Well, I already guessed that would happen. So far, that's the only thing I like about Father Moses, he would always protect his students, no matter what," Jasper said.

Oliver was still thinking of how he was going to bring up the question, when Felicity suddenly made a certain comment which either miraculously or coincidentally, was almost similar to what he wanted to say, and seemed to be the perfect opening he was looking for.

Have you guys noticed something about all this, the fact that the both of you were present in the forest yesterday, but only Oliver gets to answer all these crazy questions, and gets to be treated like he's some sort of… serial killer," Felicity said.

Oliver just listened to what Jasper going to say, waiting patiently for the perfect time to strike.

"I guess maybe the reason they're strongly onto Oliver is that he saw Alex before I did, and he was the only one that had blood on his hands. They think he's the one that should know something," Jasper explained, meanwhile, Felicity didn't seem satisfied.

"Forget about the dumb theory, Jasper, am speaking of reality here. Oliver arriving at the scene before you, was just by chance, and I think the reason he had blood on his hands and you didn't have, is because he was more eager to help, while you, as always, couldn't stand the sight of blood. For me, I sense a conspiracy. The detective clearly doesn't like you Oliver, and I still wonder why," Felicity said.

"I think Fel's right. You're gonna have to be super careful these days, Oliver, because it appears you've got enemies in high places," Jasper said jokingly.

There was a brief moment of silence. Oliver quickly realized that this was his chance.

"Um… about what Felicity said, I wanted to ask you something later on yesterday, but it kinda skipped my mind," said Oliver to Jasper.

"What were you gonna ask me?" Jasper asked, as his brows wrinkled with concern.

"While you were in the woods yesterday, was there any time you noticed something strange, like… like unusual sounds, or maybe, rapid movements through the…" Oliver said before he got interrupted.

"Oliver," Jasper quickly cut in. "Should you really be asking me that question, because last time I checked, you were there before me, which means you had a better chance of sensing something," he explained.

Felicity turned to Oliver now, having that expression that says; 'I think he's right'.

"But… No, that's not true," Oliver insisted.

They both stared at him, quizzically, expecting an explanation for the comment he had just made.

"I mean… It's true I was the first to see Alex, but you on the other hand, happened to have been inside the woods before I even got in, so technically, you were the one with the better chance of sensing something," Oliver explained.

Felicity's lips were pursed open in puzzlement. At this point, she was totally confused about what was true, because Oliver just stated a whole different explanation, which totally countered what she already knew about the case.

Before Jasper was about to say something, Oliver quickly said;

"You approached the scene from the innermost part of the woods, remember? When you met me trying to stop the bleeding, and you were so shocked at the amount of blood that he had wasted?"

He looked Jasper straight in the face now, waiting to hear him try to deny or oppose him.

"Yeah, that's… true," Jasper mumbled thoughtfully.

Felicity was the most confused person at the moment. She couldn't help but wonder, as the truth unraveled before her eyes.

"Wait a second, are you saying Jasper was already inside the forest before you entered? like he got in first?" she asked, with her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I guess so," answered Jasper, "Actually, I'm just realizing that now," he added.

"Then why is Oliver like the main factor in all of this, why are we hearing something else? My god, Oliver, this is really serious conspiracy going on right here," Felicity exclaimed. She was totally out of words at the moment.

Oliver was on the verge of asking Jasper what he was doing in the woods yesterday, when all of a sudden, a sharp shooting pain hit him hard in the head, causing a deep ache in his skull. It felt like an electric shock, the one that comes with that blood-sucking sensation.

"Oliver!" Felicity screamed out loud in panic, as Oliver unexpectedly collapsed to the floor.

Jasper and Felicity were both in tremendous shock, gazing widely at Oliver as he lay motionless on the ground, wi a million miles gaze in his eyes.

"Oh my god, what's happening to him?" Felicity said, with raw. panic in her voice. She was starting to get frantic with fear at this point.

"Come on Oliver, talk to me. Come on…" Jasper pleaded as he struck him severally by the side.

They both witnessed his iris vanish right before their eyes, leaving his eyes white and blank.

Right there on the floor, Oliver saw quick flashes of white light pass through his eyes, then suddenly, there was darkness. There was silence for a while now, then after some time, he began to hear low indistinct sounds from a far distance.

Gradually, light began to fill his eyes once more, slowly revealing his surrounding. It wasn't long till he recognized where he was. He found out he was still in the school hallway, but this time it felt so alien. Jasper and Felicity were no longer there, in fact, the entire hallway was empty. The air was cooler, and the atmosphere was calm. The passage was as quiet as a graveyard.

Oliver slowly went further, wide-eyed, mystified. All of a sudden, he started hearing the sounds of fast-falling approaching footsteps from behind him, followed by a voice.

"Oliver!" the voice called out, echoing through the hallway.

Oliver quickly turned to see, as the name he heard was his name, and the voice, was strangely familiar. Lo and behold, he saw himself walking straight ahead. Far behind was Felicity, walking fast towards him. Oliver sensed she was desperately trying to catch up with him, but kept going.

"Oliver, wait up! Okay Please can we just talk?!" Felicity pleaded as she struggled to meet up with him.

"You saw the file, what else is there to talk about?" Oliver sounded with agony in his voice. Meanwhile, Oliver looked on in wonder. He had never imagined being in such a broken state. He was so desperate to know what the problem was.

"Yes I saw the file, I don't care. Please let's just talk, okay."

He finally stopped, allowing Felicity to reach him. Oliver watched both himself and Felicity as they stood there before each other. He noticed that Felicity's eyes were misting.

"Is this true?" she asked him. "Did you… did you kill them? Did you murder your parents?"

Oliver was extremely shocked, on hearing the words that had just proceeded out of the mouth of Felicity. Before he could hear the response he was going to give to the jaw-dropping question by Felicity, everything suddenly faded to darkness.

Gradually opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the floor of the hallway, with Jasper standing over him, and Felicity kneeling beside his head with concern all over her face. Oliver realized that he just had a vision, though he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it yet.

"Jasper! He's awake," Felicity exclaimed, exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God," Jasper said.

Oliver let out a deep grunt, as he struggled to drag himself back to a vertical base. Jasper and Felicity helped him to his feet. He was sweating so much that his shirt was soaking wet. He wondered how long he had been unconscious.

"Are you okay?" Felicity asked him.

Oliver responded with a weak nod, meanwhile, Jasper wasn't convinced at all.

"I'm certainly not buying that," Jasper said, "Come on, we got to take you to the clinic."

"No," Oliver grunted, "I'm fine."

"Oliver, I don't think you're…" Jasper about completing the statement before the interruption from Oliver.

"I said I'm fine," Oliver said, then turning to Felicity, he said; "We've got some studying to do, there's no time for that."

"Oliver, I don't think that's important right now. Your life is what matters the most," Felicity replied.

"I already missed one day, I can't miss two in a row," Oliver insisted.

At last, they both agreed that he was okay, though half-heartedly. Oliver went with Felicity to the old library, while Jasper headed upstairs.

Glimpses of the visions began to flash through Oliver's mind at this moment. Though its understanding was not yet clear, Oliver sensed it was trying to send a devious message. Something terrible was coming, and this time, he was the victim.