Peter David 
Hunted – After Earth: Ghost Stories (Short Story) 

On a distant planet called Nova Prime, the United Ranger Corps defends the galaxy s remaining humans from an alien race known as the Skrel and their genetically engineered predators, the Ursa. But one ordinary man may have just found the key to humanity s last stand: a secret weapon hidden deep within his own psyche. Ghost Stories: Hunted is the first of six ebook short stories that lead up to the events of After Earth, the epic science fiction adventure film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith.For all his charm, looks, and skills on the holographic battlefield, Daniel Silver has been drifting through life in Nova Prime City. After proposing to his girlfriend and getting rejected in the cruelest way possible, Daniel has no choice but to accept an altogether different kind of proposition. Sigmund Ryerson, an eccentric energy magnate, has asked him to lead a civilian expedition to take down an Ursa, the flesh-eating beast that Daniel has only ever faced in simulations. The excursion could get them all killed, if a patrolling Ranger doesn t arrest them first. But when Daniel s death-wish nearly comes true, a twist of fate leads him to make a discovery that will change his life and life on Nova Prime.