TLDR: I was jumped during a gang initiation and stabbed in the back.

I was walking home from a corner store when I was 14 and some guys started yelling at me. I grew up in the ghetto side of town and was one of the only white kids in the area, so this wasn't uncommon for me. I'm an average sized guy, but "intimidating as hell" to most people. I kept walking, minding my own business. One of the guys (around my age. Maybe a little older) got up in my face and starts harassing me. I just gave him the "really, dude?" look and said "I'm just walking here. Get the fuck out of my face and go back to your friends."

Turns out he was the distraction guy. Next thing I knew my head was pulled down to the ground and I saw 5 pairs of shoes all standing around me.

Basically I just did my best to defend myself...until I felt a sharp pain a little bit above my mid back on the right side. I had no idea what had happened and jerked back. Went into complete shock and passed out on the sidewalk.

I came to with a bunch of people standing over me calling emergency services. There was blood everywhere. I wasn't out long, so I was still in shock. I got up and bolted down the street to a friends house where we stuffed the cut with toilet paper and strapped it down as best as we could to apply pressure. Luckily this friend was older than me and had a drivers license, and took me to a close friend that was an EMT, ex marine, firefighter, and warrant officer.

When we got to his house he went into action immediately. He got the bleeding to reduce a lot and stitched me up right there in his bathroom. He asked a bunch of questions to try and figure out what had happened. I explained everything I could to him in as much detail as I could. He let me stay with him that night just to be sure nothing happened.

In the morning we sat down and he had this really serious look on his face and started explaining to me everything he knew about the situation. Long story short is it was a gang initiation in the area to pick a victim and kill them before you could be part of the gang. If the fact that I shouldn't even be alive wasn't enough he through in the fact that when I jerked the blade had ripped from the right side of my back to the left across my spine. Had it been a few centimeters higher or lower I could have been paralyzed.

I drive by the place where this happened almost every day even through its been 7 years and still shutter. Not only at the fact that I almost lost control of my limbs, but that I also shouldn't be alive.

It's something I don't talk about a lot when people ask where it came from, and hell, my parents still have no idea that it happened. But when people do hear the story their jaw hits the floor. It's cool, but terrifying at the same time.