Creepypasta stories

Jailbreak: R3d Bal00n

Recently, in my school, there has been some huge hype over this process coined as "jailbreaking". I'm sure you've heard of it, it's a method to make iPhones open to third party data. It basically bypasses the Apple filter and opens the phone to a wide variety of options.

The point is, recently, there had been a major spike in interest in jailbreaking. All of my friends were getting it done, and pushing me to go through the process as well. I was quite concerned about taking any risks with my phone, so I found myself being rather reluctant to do it. However, after relentlessly provoking me, my friends eventually convinced me to go through with it. 

When I got home, I looked up many different pages on how to jailbreak. Many were just ads or traps that would spam your e-mail. I noticed hours passing before I discovered any indication of a viable jailbreak. I swiftly grew indifferent to undergoing the process. I decided not to allow this whole jailbreak hype to devour my precious time on a Friday night. 

My finger was just inches from the computer's power button, when a video flashed on screen. I found it rather odd, I was indeed on YouTube, but I had not clicked any video or any links. It looked like any other tech geek talking to the camera. He was recommending a jailbreak that he called "Red Balloon", however it was spelled "R3d Bal00n". 

I was surprised, as it looked authentic and real, and decided to give it a try. I clicked on the link and was eager to find no surveys or ads, only a download button that I quickly pressed. The download started and took no longer than a couple of minutes. I followed the instructions, which were quite simple. They, in fact, juxtaposed what my friends had told me; apparently I was supposed to put my phone in DFU mode - basically make it open to new software - but the video instructed me to simply plug my phone in. 

Instantly, the screen on my iPhone went black, and a red balloon popped up in place of the apple symbol when it rebooted. I recall waiting for hours, seeing no change in the screen, only that red balloon. It wouldn't fade; the light emanating from my device had no alteration, just the same red balloon logo. I decided to give it sometime and went to bed. 

When I awoke in the morning, I went right away to check my phone, and as I expected, it had finally changed screens. The display now was the same normal lock screen I was accustomed to. I was discontent initially, expecting the jailbreak had not worked, but I quickly noticed something different. The standard slide to unlock had now switched to a button that read: "pop the balloon".

I tapped the button and a simple prompt flashed on the screen. However, this prompt looked strange, it wasn't iOS, that was the first thing I noticed. It looked more like an older version of Windows XP, it was extremely bland looking, a perfect square colored in gray and filled with black text. I read the text which simply asked, "Are you sure you want to pop the balloon? The changes may not be reverted. (Yes/No)"

I felt a little threatened for some reason, but I went ahead and pressed yes regardless. The lock screen disappeared and I was greeted with the same home screen I had before, except now the background was that red balloon I had previously seen during start up. My apps had vanished from the screen, the only visible sight was a red balloon. I tried to click on some basic icons.

I opened up the App Store icon and waited, as it displayed a message saying "blowing the balloon." It finally opened on the screen. However, to my surprise, it looked nothing like an App Store, the layout was the same, but rather than selling apps it was selling items. It listed a pair of Asics shoes, a Blink 182 shirt, jeans, and some socks. I was bewildered at the results. Had this jailbreak turned my App Store into a clothing department?

As I continued to scroll, my emotions shifted from confused to concerned. The next items paralleled products you might find on the black market. It listed a pair of kidneys, a liver, pounds of flesh, and even a heart. I was rather discomforted at this moment, and attempted to click on one of the items. The phone wouldn't allow me to and just displayed the message, "It’s too late to claim it once you've popped the balloon."