Story Competition - Help Choose My Entry!

Okay, so I wanna enter this little nerd contest for this MMO game I'm playing online.  The folks playing are a pretty broad audience, and will be voting, so looking for feedback on which of the two short stories I should submit.  The only rule is the story be 500 words or less and use the following ten terms from the game:  colony ship, revolt, island, alliance, farm, silver, architecture, wedding, culture, and spy.  Oh, the deadline is April 30th for submission, so anyone who has time for feedback, please vote:

Both stories are barely one Word doc page long, so more of a challenge than I thought it'd be.  Anyway, here is story #1:

                “Colony ship!”

                David and Billy both turn to look at James, Billy’s older brother.   James rarely says two words together.  He hardly ever really talks at all in front of David, actually, and when he says anything, it’s usually just one random word, barked out at no one/nothing in particular.  You could never meet his gaze, James.  On account of him being an autistic savant or something like that, and with a kind of Tourette’s thrown in for good measure.  And while he didn’t swear much, when he did bark out his words (or the rare word pair), he made them kind of sound like a swear word, if you know what I mean.  I ask Billy, “Did you tell him we just started a unit on the Mayflower colony ship?”

                Billy hit pause on his Xbox controller.  “You know what?  I didn’t.” 

                We both look at James, who, of course won’t look us in the eye.  He just kind of rolls his head like a blind person.  Only he can see.

                “Gold!”

                Billy says, “I think it was just random.”  I’m not so sure, and I say so.  Billy rolls his eyes, “Come on, David, what do you think he snuck after us to school like some kind of”

                “Spy!”

                We both look at James again, and I know both our mouths are hanging open.  Then Billy kind of shakes his head and says, “He’s done that before.  Finished someone’s sentence.   But we still don’t know if he knows exactly what we’re talking about.”

                “It’s kind of weird,” David murmurs, looking at James out of the corner of his eye.

                “Come on, dude, you’ve known him for three years now.  Get over it.”

                “Architecture!”

                David sort of shakes his head and scoffs.  “Whatever.”  He and Billy go back to the Xbox, but David continues thinking. Man, three years, he’s right. But he still creeps me out.  I mean, I feel sorry for the guy, and all, but still.  Especially since he won’t ever say my name even though I know he knows it coz Billy says he uses all his family’s names and sometimes even talks with them.  But all I ever hear is “Farm!”  “Alliance!”  “Island!” And it’s annoying coz you want him to explain if they mean anything.   I mean, why does he pick the random stuff he does?  And what about like today with us at school starting on the Mayflower….it’s like that time his older sister came home from college and was going to tell Billy’s family she was getting married and James said “Wedding!” right when she was getting ready to tell and NONE of them knew besides her and she started crying and said James ruined her surprise and he didn’t even seem to be aware.  It’s creepy.

                It’s later.  David is leaving.  He and Billy played for another two hours and all David heard from James was, “Revolt!” and “Culture!”  David is jogging across Billy’s lawn.  He lives right across the street from, and is already thinking about what he’s going to eat when he hears, incredibly, coming from James, “David!”  And he turns to see the drunk driver bearing down on him.

And here is story #2.  

“When’s the Colony ship?”

                Mr. Gold swivels, cocks his head.  “The same time it always does, Mr. Silver, why do you ask?”

                Mr. Silver chitters, rubbing his nose with glee.  “You’re so easy, Mr. Gold!  We better hope the other colony doesn’t have a spy!”

                Mr. Gold makes a clicking sound.  “Hah!  Those uncultured swine!  As if they even have the brains to have a spy!  Why, have you seen their architecture??  So amateurish!  Why I…..I….”

                When he sees that Mr. Silver is chortling with glee, Mr. Gold realizes he’s been “had” again.  Mr. Gold did not like to be “had.”  He lifts his head up to look down on Mr. Silver.  “I think maybe it’s time you went back on Farm Detail, don’t you think, Mr. Silver?  Get some sun?”

                Mr. Silver sulks.  Mr. Gold struts off.  “Make sure the Colony ships out shipshape, Silver!”  Mr. Gold laughs his way down the corridor.

* * *

                “I’m late for the wedding, I’m late for the wedding, ” mutters Mr. Mud as he scrambles down to the large room, already filled, a ceremony in full swing.  Mr. Mud mutters more as he settles in at the back.  “Why we all have to view this ceremony is beyond me.  I could be busy working my way up the chain!” 

Others around Mr. Mud show, by their body language, they are unappreciative of Mr. Mud’s mutterings.  Mr. Mud is undeterred.  “I could be working my way up the chain.  I’m a good worker.  I could be a Nickel.  Maybe even a Copper.  And if I was a Copper…”

A nearby Nickel hisses, “Hush, Mud!  We’re here for a wedding.  Not to listen to your mutterings.”  Ms. Nickel turns huffily back to the ceremony.

Mr. Mud mutters more mutely.  “And if I was a Copper, I bet I could find a nice Silver girl to marry.  We would form our own alliance – like our queen up there with that guy from the other colony.  I think he used to be a Mud!  The queen seems to have a taste for the worker bees.”  Mr. Mud paused.  “Sometimes I feel like we’re ALL ‘worker bees’.”

Mr. Mud was morose. “I’ll never make it to that island in the sky,” was his last mutter.

* * *

                “Revolt???” hissed Mr. Copper, and then wiped at his face.  He was honored to be friends with a Nickel, but this particular Nickel, well she was something else!

                Ms. Nickel natters on. “It’s the perfect time! Their guard is down because of the wedding.  They won’t suspect anything because they think others will be cowed by the new Colony Alliance!  I can be on the throne before anyone knows what’s happening!”

                Mr. Copper was confused.  “Is that actually, logistically, possible?”

                Ms. Nickel does not respond as she is suddenly drenched in stinking fluid before bursting into flames.  Literally.  As does Mr. Copper.  And Mr. Mud and the wedding party.  And Mr. Gold and Mr. Silver.  All are in flames. The entire colony.  All because a young boy who discovered an ant hill was bored.

VOTE NOW!!  And THANKS!