Can't slow down now

With no appealing options before her, Venus chose to keep the pace up. The biggest thing that worried her was having the ghouls catch up from behind her. She'd much rather not face off against them again, especially as poorly-equipped as she was.

With one last rub of her soles, Venus set her feet on the road again, picking herself up with a weary sigh, and resuming her rapid walk down the road.

After a short while, Venus found herself focusing almost entirely on the road in front of her. By doing so, she at least managed to keep on the road most of the time, despite her pace. However, her situational awareness was suffering, and she knew it.

With that in mind, she slowed for a second, intending to ensure her tail was clear. That move was more fortuitous than she could have imagined, as a howling zombie chose that moment to burst from the vegetation alongside the road, swiping it's long, clawed fingers at her arm. Instead of catching her arm, all it got was a piece of the front of her shirt.

Gasping in surprise, Venus spun towards the zombie. A sickening thought ran through her mind: She had been so focused on the possibility of ghouls pursuing her she completely forgot the necromancer might have other forces at his disposal.

Several more howls answered, ringing through the otherwise eerily-silent forest. A quick glance revealed more shadowy figures shambling towards her from the dense forest edging the road. By her guess, she was facing at least four zombies, maybe more. Another brief movement farther into the shadows caught her eye, but she couldn't tell if it was another zombie or something else.

Her meager options tumbled through her head. Fight them, and risk reinforcements catching up from behind her? Or turn and flee, hoping she could get away from them?