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. For one would-be Ranger, the battle between life and death is a welcome respite from a criminal past. “Ghost Stories: Atonement” is the last 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.

Cade Bellamy is the only Ranger recruit with a criminal record. After fighting the Ursa that interrupted his arrest, Cade receives a reprieve from Prime Commander Cypher Raige, with one stipulation: Cade must stop serving himself, and preserve humanity—as a Ranger. Soon, Cade is a cadet, breezing through physical challenges but brushing off the teamwork being a Ranger demands. Cade trusts no one, perhaps not even himself, and can’t help but question if the path he has chosen is the right one—unaware that the answer he seeks is an arm’s length away . . . in the form of an Ursa.