Jersey Devil?!?! (Extended mod)

So I was frolicking around the wastelands, tryign to get to zom zoms, when this giant bat creature swoops out of nowhere and fights me. I used all my sling pebbles (had ranged skill), even started hitting it with a spiked bat (had feeble trait, tho), but alas, it bit me to death. It happened early on the game, too, so how the hell am I supposed to fight or run away from these?