Answer:
1: ridicule
Explanation:
Using context clues, the narrator is saying that people are mocking them, ie making fun of him for being scared. They are clearly not happy about being made fun of, saying anything would we better than the pain they feel of being ridiculed. Even though they are feeling agony, that cannot be the answer because it was already written in the passage. Ridicule is the better answer. Ridicule is a synonym for mockery, and ridicule is also the dictionary definition of derision.
