First contest skin after a while, might need some editing before the deadline. Feedback is always appreciated.

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Vladimir shivered. His guard post, he decided, wasn't nearly as warm as it should have been; nested on the top floor of a former apartment complex, it was an excellent vantage point for the area below, but not isolated enough to protect him from the cold wind. "Probably doesn't help that half the building's missing", he muttered to himself. Clutching his SVDK with his Kirov power fist, bought from a traveling merchant two years ago, Vladimir again surveyed the area below him, using his visor. There were no bears in sight; just ruins, snow and the remains of the old regional road. He hoped it would remain that way for the rest of the night.

Vladimir's thoughts now wandered away to the great fire, back in the camp. Back when he was a little boy, his Mama used to tell him stories around the campfire, stories about Russian heroes of old such as Alexander Nevsky, defenders of Stalingrad, the airmen who crippled the Western armies in the Battle of Paris. Him and the other children shaked in fear after the stories of great cities in the west, and how they disappeared in pillars of nuclear fire. Tales of neverending winter that followed were terrifying, but the worst ones were stories of Siberian bears, stories he hadn't thought to be true until he finished his bear hunter training.

Suddenly a loud roar thundered from below. Vladimir quickly grabbed his rifle and turned his visor on again. Down below, at the very end of the road, was a horrifying beast, emerging from the snow. Vladimir looked in horror as the horribly disfigured and mutated creature, unnaturally large and savage due to mutations caused by the nuclear war, headed down the road. It was a Siberian bear, and Vladimir had to stop it before it reaches the camp.

"Один, два, три", he counted, aiming down the sights. "Now!", he screamed, firing at the beast. Somewhere near, more bear hunters joined the fight, opening fire at the bear. The bear, now completely overwhelmed, withdrew back into the snow. Vladimir sighed with relief. The camp was safe, for now....