Now no one inside the army could use their influence to help the colonel. A handful of rational thinkers were urging France and Great Britain to appeal for the colonel’s release. Distrusting the actions of the exiled Serbian government, France and Great Britain pursued formal diplomatic channels to persuade them to reconsider, but the establishment would hear nothing of it.
The following spring, Milos visited Colonel Dimitrijević.
A colorful array of wildflowers adorned the path leading up to the prison, and for a moment, they seemed to mask all the uneasiness Milos felt.
They stood out like symbols of truth and freedom.
Bright-yellow rapeseed blossoms blanketed the hill. Chamomile bloomed on the edge of the path, and poppies grew tall, supporting what looked like red bonnets. Arugula flowers opened into white crosses, and small green fruits hung from nettle. The first leaves of olive and plane trees fluttered. Orange flowers would bloom soon and release their characteristic sweet fragrance.
As Milos breathed in, the vibrant scent of life filling the air seemed to pierce the despair lurking deep within his chest. But he couldn’t stay here savoring it.
He had to find a way to meet with Colonel Dimitrijević in secret and come up with a plan to break him out of prison.
For a monster like Milos, sneaking into a prison was easy. Once inside, he could simply put the guards to sleep. The powdered medicine he’d bought from Xandra proved very useful at times like this.
The medicine could not, however, sway the mind of a human being harboring a belief bordering on faith. If the colonel didn’t agree to escape, then Milos had no way to get him out.
Milos crept silently down the prison’s dim, damp halls. He found the colonel’s cell and used his monstrous abilities to pass through the locked door.
Colonel Dimitrijević sat in a ratty chair, arms crossed as he dozed. His decrepit appearance made him look much older than forty, and his hulking frame—which had earned him the nickname Apis, or “Holy Bull”—was now thin and frail. The color had drained from his skin, leaving behind spots. Milos wanted to cry out in grief. This was what had become of the stubborn-headed hero who had stood against the great powers of Europe for his country, never retreating a single step in battle?
Sensing a presence, the colonel slowly looked up. His eyes had lost their usual fierceness. Upon seeing Milos, however, a glimmer of light returned to his murky pupils. His cheeks lifted in his usual amiable smile. “Milos, you’re here. Or am I hallucinating?”
“I am no hallucination, colonel,” Milos said, kneeling down in front of him. “I came for you. Let’s get you out of here. All the necessary preparations are in place. I only need your confirmation, sir.”
“Can you take the others, too?”
“For now I’m here for just you, sir. I can’t escort a large group by myself.”
“Then I cannot go. I stand at the helm. If those below me are not yet free, then I cannot leave here.”
It was the exact sentiment the colonel had expressed during their retreat across Albania. At the time, the colonel and his brigade had continued fighting the Central forces to the very end, shielding both the refugees and his own army. Milos had been a part of that force. As the boats for Corfu left the port, the colonel hadn’t even tried to board a ship until the very last moment, but continued fighting off their pursuers.
Milos recalled those hardships they’d faced together as he stared at the colonel’s body, weakened by a lengthy imprisonment.
Once they had settled at Corfu and the army had reorganized under France’s protection, Colonel Dimitrijević had also won victories alongside his fellow officers on the Macedonian front.
Milos couldn’t believe that the exiled Serbian government was trying to execute such a great man as a traitor. The colonel had known about the assassination plot that sparked the Great War, but his conscience had gotten the best of him at the last minute and he’d tried to stop it. In the end, it had been too late and he’d ended up watching it all unfold before him. It was true that he hadn’t thought through the political ramifications, but the colonel had never acted for his own self-interest or desires. Everything he did was for his country, all his choices were to prevent the Slavic people from falling under Austrian dominion. Only people with no experience under the boot of a larger power would sneer at that and call it foolishness. Serbia had been fighting the Ottoman Empire for a long time and opposed Austria and Hungary, and it was one of the countries in the Balkan Peninsula concerned over Russian interference.
Even though Milos recognized the colonel’s error, he still couldn’t bring himself to criticize the man.
“Please reconsider,” Milos stressed. “Without you, the government is nothing but King Alexander’s toadies. Do you think Serbia will survive if the country is left in their hands?”
“There are many other great men besides me. The government will surely be steered back on track. Don’t worry. This arrest was a mistake. They will give me a fair trial.”
Milos clenched his teeth. The colonel was being too optimistic again. His generosity and lack of suspicion toward other people was a double-edged sword. There were people in this world filled with incomprehensible malice, and the colonel didn’t understand that those people weren’t swayed by paragons of justice, but simply laughed as they walked over them.
There was no way the colonel didn’t see how during these several months in captivity, they had completely trampled his dignity as a human.
“By the way,” the colonel continued, “would you see if any letters have arrived for me?”
“What letters?”
“I have been writing to my family and friends since they put me in here, but I haven’t received even a single letter in response. I do wonder whether they’re actually sending them.”
The guards must have been purposefully intercepting the colonel’s letters to make sure he wasn’t trying to devise some sort of ingenious plan.
“Please,” the colonel said, almost as if it was a prayer. “Not being able to communicate with those who mean the most to me is the one thing that disheartens me most.”
The colonel cherished his family and friends. To have that taken from him completely must be a heartache akin to torture. The guards knew this and did it on purpose to rob prisoners of their will to fight and crush their spirits.
“If any have arrived, I swear I’ll bring them to you.” Milos had already planned on searching the office later anyway, so it wouldn’t take him out of his way at all. “Please give me a bit of time.”
“Thank you. Could you tell me something of what is happening outside? I do still read the papers.”
“They give you newspapers?”
The colonel gave a mischievous wink. “I have someone who trades them for cigarettes. The workers at the bottom are all good people. It’s the top that’s rotten.”
Milos reported the current state of affairs in great detail. The fighting on the Macedonian front should be resolved in the near future. People were sick and tired of the drawn-out battle and were making real efforts to finally bring about a ceasefire.